It is rather unique for an European town. Slums and grandiose architecture exist side by side, and they have a spanking new metro that is cleaner and better than that of many major cities.
The people aren't racist either, which makes it even more awesome. However, it seems that Asians don't come to this part of the world, because I have only seen 2 other Asian people other than myself, and everywhere I go people notice me. The main language of this area is Portuguese, but almost everyone speaks English here, and they are very friendly.
Too bad for the French though, because nobody speaks French here and I've had to help two groups of French tourists who got lost. One of the groups was an old French couple who were lost, and the lady decided to ask me for directions. I pointed her the right way, and the old man refused to believe me and walked off in the opposite direction.
What, just because I'm Asian and je ne parle pas francais bien means I cannot give directions is it. I thought pointing was something everyone understood. Silly old man. In the end his wife gave him a big scolding and he resentfully trudged back in the right direction.
At the end of the day my camera died on me though so I had to buy a new one. It was totally not what I was expecting to factor in my holiday budget so it's going to be bread and water the next few days for me. The highlight of my day though was when this Japanese girl actually thought I was a Japanese guy and talked to me, before realising I was Singaporean. Wow, like what a compliment man. Even the Japs think I'm Jap. I always thought it was just the angmohs. It totally made my day and I was smiling like a retard for hours after that.
Some of the sights of Porto
Awesome architecture. Even after I thought I was eurojaded this still made me go wow.
That clock tower in the background is the symbol of Porto. It overlooks the whole city. It was my first stop because I used it to orientate myself so I could walk all around Porto. If you ever visit Porto, bring a map and make this your first stop too. After it you'll have no problems walking around.
The Lello bookshop. A very Harry Potter looking place. It's a bookshop but nobody goes in to buy books. It's so funny because you see all these people inside taking pictures and the owner looks damn sian.
The main cathedral of Porto, simply called "Catedral". So imaginative, the Portuguese.
View from the top of the tower, overlooking the historical district of Porto and the river.
The two sides of the river.
Having a wine tasting session. If you want to know, the wine was good. There was white port, red port, and very old red port, because Porto is famous for port. Like duh. Like I said the Portuguese aren't very imaginative with names. I can't remember the terms the guide used for describing their tastes so I'm not going to try.
Typical street in Porto. The cobblestones had me cursing because my knee acted up again.
The Stock Exchange Palace of Porto. The person there said "No pictures", after which I turned around and took this, before proceeding to walk straight out. Sorry I no understand English, I Japanese.
Chilling out around Porto at random places. Haha.
There was a soccer tournament for kids on the streets of Porto so I stopped to watch. Damn cute right, can you see the kid there about to take the freekick. The other kids even have the kind of positions soccer players usually adapt at freekicks. Interesting.
The Majestic Cafe. I took a picture and forgot to turn off my flash, giving all the people inside having breakfast a shock. Well, cheese! Goes well with breakfast!
Porto has a lot of these churches, with painted tiled walls. It's something I've seen only in Portugal.
The main shopping street. The day I chose to do shopping also happened to be Portugal's National Day (10/6/2009), hence all the shops were closed. It was also raining heavily. My luck is awesome.