We needed sunshine.

Ryanair ran a sale for €10 tickets.

We went to Porto, Portugal, for Thanksgiving weekend.

It was 50* and sunny!

We stayed at Look at Me Loft apartments. Right around the corner is a market where we bought breakfast pastries, eggs, and juice.

Our first stop was to Santiago for lunch to try the Francesinha sandwich:

The girls and I ate fish. Alex enjoyed an omelet.

We loved all the tile on the buildings.

These are the Carmo and Carmelitas churches with a tiny house in between which was to keep the monks and nuns separate.

The churches are gorgeous inside.

Porto Cathedral is lovely.

We went to the Bolhão Market and bought souvenirs and had a port tasting.

It was by far my favorite port, perhaps because of the personal service.

We bought canned tea for the girls at a shop across the hall and the waiter brought the girls glasses. It was sweet and a nice respite from walking all over the hilly city.

Nata Lisboa serves the best and freshest natas.

We climbed Clerigos Tower for a lovely view.

Lello Book Shop is a must-see for any book lovers.

We bought tickets at the little red booth:

The kids loved the bookshop.

We love the pretty pastel buildings by the river.

Don’t bother eating in any of the overpriced touristy restaurants.

We walked a few blocks in and ate at Largo de São Domingos – or the LSD Restaurant.

Also recommended: Cantina 32, but their menu was a little too fancy for our kids.

Across the bridge, are the port caves.

We walked along the lower car bridge to get to the port caves and returned by the upper train bridge so we bypassed the lower riverside and didn’t have to climb back.

The Sandeman Port Tour was the highlight of the trip for all of us.

My kids are now well-versed on how port is made.

There’s a great little museum open to the public.

The comprehensive basic tour had a costumed guide who taught us how port is mixed and bottled.

She explained temperature and vat levels and showed us how they keep the humidity level stable.

There’s a wall showing the river floods thoughout the centuries.

The kids got glasses of water when we got our port tastings.

Everyone had fun dressing up and posing as the Don.

The Calem Port Tour was ok.

We had pizza for lunch at San Martino. It was very good!

We also visited the famous tiled São Bento train station.

The Equador Chocolate Shop is a feast for the senses.

Just look at all that gorgeous chocolate!

We had our Thanksgiving Dinner at O Buraco.

I liked Antunes better. It was more cozy and the food was tastier.

We enjoyed our little vacation to Porto. It was a much-needed break from clouds and cold.