dust, drizzle, and a whole lotta doubt – porto, you’ve been… something
okay, let’s just… breathe. i’m sitting in a tiny cafe that smells vaguely of burnt coffee and desperation, staring out at a street that looks like it hasn’t seen a decent coat of paint since the eighties. it’s 27.84 degrees and feels like 26.9, which is basically a polite way of saying it’s humid and sticky. the pressure’s at 1016, which is…fine, i guess? temp_min is 27.84, temp_max is 27.84. it’s just…there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. i just checked and it’s drizzling. gloriously, relentlessly drizzling. i’m pretty sure i’ve adopted a permanent dampness.
this whole trip has felt like a slow-motion train wreck, honestly. i’m supposed to be a freelance photographer, documenting ‘authentic Portuguese life,’ but mostly i’ve been documenting my own increasing anxiety. i came here chasing some vague notion of inspiration, some ‘soul-finding’ bullshit that i read about in a wellness blog. it’s not working. i’m mostly just trying to find decent wifi and avoid eye contact.
porto is…grey. beautiful grey, sure, with those terracotta roofs and the Douro River snaking through it all, but grey nonetheless. i spent the morning wandering around Ribeira, trying to capture some ‘moody’ shots. let me tell you, moody shots don’t pay the bills. i managed to snag a few okay pictures - mostly of cobblestones and slightly grumpy-looking fishermen - but nothing that screams ‘portfolio material.’ someone told me that the Livraria Lello is worth a visit, but honestly, the crowds are insane. i’ll probably just stick to photographing pigeons.
i’m staying in this ridiculously overpriced Airbnb - it’s charming, i’ll give it that, but the shower barely works and the neighbors are playing polka music at 7 am. i heard that the best coffee is at Majestic Café, but it’s packed. i’m currently operating on a diet of lukewarm espresso and existential dread. i’m seriously considering just buying a sandwich and hiding in a park.
i tried to check out TripAdvisor for some recommendations, but it’s just a sea of five-star reviews and aggressively enthusiastic tourists. it’s exhausting. i’m starting to think i should just go back to backpacking through Southeast Asia. at least there, the humidity is a little more…exciting. i’m seriously contemplating just booking a one-way ticket.
porto, you’re…complicated. you’re beautiful and crumbling, vibrant and utterly depressing. you’re a reminder that sometimes, the most interesting stories aren’t the ones you plan, but the ones that just…happen. i’m still not sure what that story is, though. maybe it’s just a really long, soggy, and slightly panicked photo essay.
check out more about Porto’s historic center here: https://www.visitporto.travel/en/porto-historic-centre
And if you’re ever in the area, Yelp has some decent restaurant reviews: https://www.yelp.com/directory/porto
If you get bored, Lisbon is just a short drive away.
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