Porto Trip!

For the first time during my time abroad, I left Barcelona with a group of friends to visit Porto, Portugal. While it might not have the cache of London, Paris, or Barcelona, Porto married a small town feel along the river with a large European Vacation destination and it did not disappoint. The architecture was beautiful and people were incredibly friendly, even if the only word we truly spoke of Portuguese was thank you. The proximity to the Atlantic Ocean allows Porto to have access to an incredible wealth of seafood, and I particularly enjoyed octopus and codfish- which seemed to be everywhere and very prominent on every restaurant menu. Sunday we took a tour via Tuk Tuk, a small taxi-type vehicle that we bounced around on as we passed through the narrow streets along the cobblestone streets. As a city that was owned by the Catholic church for a long time and remains very religious today - a large number of restaurants and shops weren't even open on Sunday - there are around 50 churches of different sizes, architectural influences, and colors strewn throughout the city. On Saturday afternoon we took a tour of a couple of different Port Wineries, which in fact aren't grown or even held in Porto as the grapes are grown in the Douro Valley and held in the city of Gaya which is just across the river from Porto. After the tour I think it is safe to say my wine knowledge and snobbishness now can equal my Dad's! In all seriousness Porto is a great city and if you want to get a different experience from the big European metropolises I would highly suggest Porto.

This upcoming week will be filled with more actual educational time rather than spending half of the classes reviewing the syllabus and getting to know the professor and classmates, but the nice thing is that with each day that I become more comfortable in the city the more willing I am to explore new areas and try new restaurants. I think my love of Sangria and Croquetes knows no bounds, so I am attempting to try them at as many different restaurants as possible- I will get back to you once I have found the best. Next weekend will be another adventure as we head down to Sevilla to explore more of Spain.

Duncan Hensley
Indiana University
Kelley School of Business '18