Porto, Portugal was my first destination. Downtown Porto is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means that it is an old, really rad part of town. I went to see my old roommate Hugo and of course he was extremely hospitable. I'm glad to be his friend. We saw sites, drank lots of wine, hung out with Hugo's friends until the wee hours of the morning, and ate a lot of good Portuguese food. I am now quite surprised that Portuguese food is not popular in the states because it would do so well! My favorites were Arroz de Marisco and Francesinhas. Arroz de Marisco is similar to the paella but in stew form and significantly better in taste. Francesinhas are sandwiches with steak, ham, and cheese. Melted cheese is poured over the sandwich and topped with an egg. Lastly, a beer-tomato sauce is poured over the entire food-structure (at this point it's about a good 6 inches thick!) and eaten with french fries. It packed with tons of calories I'm sure, but it's so good.
A few initial observations of Portugal: 1) the Portuguese speak really good English! (In relation to Spain, France, and Italy, the other Romance language speaking countries) I had no problem communicating with any of the young people I met. 2) They are a little smaller than other Europeans. They also eat a lot of fish and live longer than other Europeans. I have a hunch that maybe it's the fish.... 3) Tan is the IN thing. If you are not tanned, you are not cool. I guess I'm not cool then. 4) Don't wear white socks. (I found out the hard way.) Only old construction workers wear white socks. 5) Portuguese r's are pronounced like English h's.
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