This Week:
- Going out to a pub crawl two nights in a row in Porto – which one was better?
- An unexpected moment that brightened my day while booking a train in Spain.
- Walking 45min through sketchy back streets to get back to my hotel at 12:30am.
August 2023
| Su | M | T | W | Th | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 31 | 8/1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 9/1 | 2 |
Where In The World Was I?
- Porto, Portugal
- 🚅
- Vigo, Spain
- 🚅
- Santiago De Compostela, Spain
- 🚌 & 🚅
- Avignon, France
- 🚅
- Orange, France
Just Give It A Second Try (Porto)
This riverfront was just gorgeous on my afternoon photography walk!
Eating The Same Food Over And Over
Carrying on with the “I couldn’t be bothah’d” to find new and exciting restaurants, I ended up eating at this one place 3 times (over 3 nights in Porto).
BUT it was actually incredible food (more food pics below).
It’s called Honest Greens. I could’ve sworn they were in the U.S. too but from what I saw they are just in Europe. Super fresh, high quality ingredients, and healthy food! I could’ve eaten there forever.
So okay it wasn’t the same food, but it was the same restaurant 😄
A Trip To The Beach
Porto was a pretty chill trip for me (for maybe obvious reasons, after the next section). I didn’t really explore too much outside of my walks around the city and putting the drone up over the river – both highlights for sure.
So I saw the metro/tram/light rail connected to this small town a bit north on the beach so I decided to spend a little afternoon up there exploring!
I sat and just soaked in that afternoon sun, listening to the waves crash on the beach and the wind whipping across the fine-grained sand.
Maybe Try ONE More Time
The hostel I stayed at had dinner (10€) as well as a pub crawl (15€) every night, so my second night I decided to go for it.
I met some people over dinner and was convinced into going on the pub crawl.
We joined with at least one other hostel to form this huge group and went to 4 bars and 1 club.
That night I would say it was just “okay.”
One of the bars played (what I’d consider) oldies dance/disco music pretty much exclusively and the rest had a good amount of music that I just didn’t really know or vibe to.
I had met a couple people but I didn’t really dance with them while in the bars. I more-or-less just bobbed my head the whole night.
I was in this one crowded bar and was standing on the side by the wall. I saw this group of 3 guys standing together a couple people away from me.
One of them looks over at me, looks to his friend, says something, then they both look over back at me with almost this smug look. I could only imagine he said something like “hey look at that tool over there alone.”
You might say, why assume so negative?
Well about 15 seconds later a couple people are squeezing by him and his friends, and he pushes his (smaller) friend into them, smiling like it’s a joke.
🤦♂️
They left a couple minutes later.
That was a small moment that kind of riled me up, but feel like it somewhat represented this night.
I made it to the club (at 2am) and it was definitely the best of all the bars, but still not exactly the vibe I was looking for.
I finished that night thinking, “eh”
So the next night (my last night) I wasn’t really in a big rush to get back to the hostel for the pub crawl time.
But after I showered I saw one of the guys I met from the previous dinner (who didn’t go out) who was going out and all excited.
I thought, eh, if it’s gonna be anything like last night, I don’t think I would choose to go.
But then I thought, well, what decision is going to be the most uncomfortable for me? What am I going to grow from the most?
And there was an immediate answer that popped in my head. So, I reluctantly put on my clothes and went out with the group.
And boy did I pick the right decision.
This night was wayyy different.
We literally went to the same bars/club, but something about the second group was different, maybe a bit more extroverted energy.
There were dance circles where it was easy to join in, the music was a little better, and I made a couple other connections throughout the night.
So despite getting to sleep at 3:45am and waking up at 7am for an early train, I thought going out that second time was like 5 times better than the first and well worth it.
It’s crazy how big of a difference one night/one group of people can make.
Back In Spain (Vigo)
The train ride over from Porto was SOOO pretty, wow.
The Renfe Seat Reservation Lady
As soon as I got into Vigo I went to the Renfe ticket counter to figure out seat reservations for the next couple of trains.
I found another music festival in the south of France literally within a week and wanted to figure out if it was doable to make it.
The ticket counter was swamped with people after everyone got off the train. I could tell the stress level of the room was generally high. After waiting for a bit (not as long as in Barcelona and Madrid!), I finally got up to the counter, but the direct train I wanted was fully booked.
I went back to the drawing board and eventually found an alternative route.
The lady I talked to was able to book the first train within Spain, but couldn’t book the international train into France. I overheard her venting to one of the employees how she should be able to book international trains.
But before I left, she started Whatsapp voice messaging either a coworker or a manager in Madrid about this.
There was some back and forth before she finally got on the phone with this person. About halfway through, she thrusts her fist in the air and says “yes!” (she’s able to book the international train).
Her mood completely shifted.
She was super bubbly and happy, running around the back trying to get the right papers and details to book this train.
She printed my ticket and I thanked her. On my way out I said one more thank you and she said “buen viaje!” with this huge smile on her face waving back.
That transformation was such an amazing little moment.
Spanish > Portuguese?
It was actually really interesting to notice, I felt a lot more comfortable being back in Spain. Mostly because I was back in a place where I at least knew the basics of the language.
Portugal was my first country where I don’t know the language and was just so confused by how it’s similar to Spanish that I kind of gave up trying to learn Portuguese 😅
And it was even more interesting how about an hour after I thought that, I went to brunch, and the waiter after I was done said my Spanish was actually quite good compared to others. Huh! Nice.
The Cies Islands
I originally wanted to stop in Vigo to go ferry over to the Cies Islands.
But, when I arrived someone from my hostel said you need both a ferry ticket AND a reservation to even get on the island and they were all book for weeks.
I ended up going down to the ferry dock where they sell tickets and asking if it was possible to go. From the 25% of their spanish I understood, there was a chance I could go and just go to the beach but I needed to call their ticket office to figure out.
By then I was just so tired (from ~3hrs of sleep) that I just decided to walk around Vigo some more, then went back to the hostel and took a nap.
Next time.
El Camino De Santiago (Santiago De Compostela)
I loved the stone streets and all the cathedrals here!
El Camino
I learned in Vigo by some other people staying at my hostel that there’s this hike/walk called the Camino De Santiago where tons of people will walk from Porto to Santiago De Compostela, about 280 km/173 mi, which generally takes 12-14 days.
So when I got to Santiago De Compostela I saw sooo many people with backpacks and walking sticks who made the trek!
I met one guy from my hostel who did it and we went out to dinner together with his other friend that he met on the camino.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where everyone finishes their camino, was absolutely stunning!
From The Coast Of Spain To France In Under 24 Hrs
Overnight bus from Santaigo De Compostela to Madrid (9hrs)
Train from Madrid to Figueres, Spain (just south of the France border) (4hrs)
Train from Figueres, Spain to Avignon, France (3hrs)
Maybe Stay Closer To The City Center… (Avignon, France)
I stayed in a hotel here that was close to the train station but further from the city center.
Every couple of hours there’s a regional train into the city center, but I took the last one of the night. I wanted something better than McDonald’s for dinner and to at least explore Avignon a bit!
But the restaurant I wanted to go to had their kitchen closed…
And so I ended up going to this fast food place anyways…
And then watched this fight on the street where this guy had a bad bloody nose and the police came and broke things up.
And spent most of my night trying to figure out the transit system and how to get back.
And then tried 4 times to get a Bolt (Uber) home but there were no driver’s available.
So I ended up walking 45 minutes through back streets, on this (basically) pitch black bike path through the woods, by this Halal place blasting music at 12:30am, but I made it back. I never felt in danger but it was definitely an “ehhhh” on the sketch-factor. Don’t tell mom 😅
Maybe I’ll stay a bit closer to the city center next time…
Food From The Week
- Honest Greens (x3) (Porto) – I could eat there forever
- Fábrica da Nata (Porto) – pastel de nata, a Portuguese classic
- daTerra Baixa (Porto) – 100% vegan buffet
- La Cultural Brunch (Vigo) – the waiter was surprised by how much I ordered (also by my Spanish)
- Tasty Poke Bar (Vigo) – with the random guy from the hostel
- The Coffee Land (Vigo) – surprised me how good the food was
- Vilar 64 Gastrobar (Santiago De Compostela) – tapas and a pulled pork burger
- Bresca (Santiago De Compostela) – tortellini
- La Nonna Brunch (Figueres) – literally the only one there at 3pm
- Brunch Coffee (Avignon) – amazing waitress but judged by the French couple next to me
What’s Next?
I’m off to a music festival in the south of France.
Finally, an artist I actually know and like!
Wow! Welcome to France… I guess… and we won’t tell Mom. 😁