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Melissa's Travel Journal

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Melissa's Travel Journal

I'm the Melissa half of the Chris+Melissa YouTube vlog focused on travel, food, and fun.

18/02/2024

“Life is too short to drink bad wine.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thank goodness there are so many lovely wines in the world to drink!

17/02/2024

Porto is a city full of magical little moments.

On Rua das Flores, you can stop into .cafe and have a small portion of Port wine served inside of a locally-made chocolate shot glass. and I did that about a month ago. I think it was then that she pointed out how the city is full of magic moments.

You can sit down and relax and do a chocolate and wine tasting or buy a few chocolates to bring home (like I did on Valentine’s Day). I also bought a couple of miniature bottles of Port wine. The woman I purchased our special treats from shared that the way to enjoy the pairing is to take a bite of chocolate and have it in your mouth when you take a drink of the wine. She was right. It was exquisite.

Chocolates:
* Dark Chocolate with Port Wine
* Milk Chocolate with Caramel
* Port Wine Truffles
* Red Hearts with Passionfruit filling

15/02/2024

Rome is a city rich with detail. A single work that your eye delights in might be the result of various artists’ work over several centuries — like the fountain of the Pantheon.

Designed in 1575 by architect Giacomo della Porta and sculpted by Leonardo Sormani, the fountain was altered in 1711 when the central obelisk of Ramses II (from around 1200 BC) was added to its upper basin. These are things I didn’t know when I stood in Rome snapping photos of it. I just knew that I liked it.

Going through the photos I snapped in Rome has been unlike going through the pictures I’ve taken in other destinations. There’s so much to see and so much to know that it feels impossible to synthesize it all at once. Since I’ve been home in Porto from our trip, I’ve been looking up details on what I saw and piecing things together.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is now on my Kindle’s TBR stack. Maybe I’ll read it before my next trip to Rome. I didn’t toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain, but I hope I make it back anyway.

14/02/2024

“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.”

— John Keats

Keats is one of several writers who spent time within the walls of Caffe Greco.

As I drank my espresso and ate my bowl full of berries, I looked at the walls full of art and the plush red seating and wished there weren’t so many places to get to before leaving Rome. It felt like a good place to sit and ponder life’s important questions.

13/02/2024

It was here, at Castel Sant’Angelo that I took my favorite picture of Rome (photo #2).

Castel Sant’Angelo was built as a monumental tomb for Emporer Hadrianus and his family between 134 and 139 A.D. During its 1800+ years in existance, it’s evolved. A lot. Fortifications, towers, and luxurious residences within have been built. It was dedicated to Archangel Michael in the 600s. In the 1300s, the papacy took “permanent” possession of the building, and it became a fortress. Napoleonic troops occupied it in the late 1700s. Now it’s a remarkable museum with some wonderful views.

The museum is open Tuesdays - Sundays and only costs 12 euros to enter.

12/02/2024

Tucked away from Porto’s touristy areas, the claims .pt makes about itself are true – its cuisine is unpretentious, full of flavor, and cozy – so is its service and atmosphere.

Mercante Restaurante’s is concise and curated with evident care. Like the menu, the restaurant is small and elegant. Its tables, covered in white linens, are well-spaced. As quiet talkers, my husband and I appreciate this detail so much. We sometimes give up on conversing in restaurants that pack as many in as the fire code allows.

Raquel guided us to a bottle of .brands T when we let her know that we like red wines from Alentejo. It isn’t an Alentejo wine per se, but uses grapes from that region. It tasted rich and almost smoky.

Chef Pedro Ribeiro helped deliver our starters and meals. He explained the preparation and flavors to expect of each one, like a dear friend who wants to delight you while you’re a guest in his house.

I cannot explain what we ate as well as he can, but I can tell you that we each loved every element of our meals:

🍽️ Baked in-house sourdough bread served with local Olive Oil and Azores butter topped with dried tuna tartare and seaweed.

🍽️ Fried Potato Terrine served with Sabayan Foam - potato heaven.

🍽️ Creamy Pearl Barley, Wild Mushrooms, Baby Vegetables, Parmesan, and Feta – a hearty and delicious dish.

🍽️ Pork Cheek, Potato Puree, Broccolini, Pork Jus. I stole two bites of Chris’s dish, so I can tell you that the pork cheek reminded me of Sunday Roasts at my grandparents, but richer in flavor.

🍽️ Sticky toffee pudding with warm caramel poured over it at the table—delicious decadence.

🍽️ Chocolate caramel tartlets gifted to us at the end of our meal.

With dessert, we drank .port 10 Year Port. It’s divine!

A couple good things to know: Reservations are required and easy to make online. It’s easy to get to from the touristy areas.

11/02/2024

Did you know that Eve took a bite of a fig, not an apple? According to our guide, the apple is a translation error.

I learned a lot of things and saw an incredible amount of stunning artwork on the Semi-Private Vatican Tour (with the Sistine Chapel) I booked for my husband, Chris, and me. We had access to St. Peter’s Basilica to enjoy at our own pace at the end of the tour.

Without our knowledgeable and passionate guide, I don’t think I would’ve gained much insight into what I looked at, and I know I would’ve been overwhelmed.

A few travel tips:

1. Do not make reservations for lunch or anything else after the tour. I booked lunch for an hour-plus after thinking it’d be more than enough time. It was not. Chris and I want to go back to Rome to spend more time in St. Peter’s Basilica.

2. Shoulders, knees, and everything in between must be covered! No exceptions.

3. Visit in winter if you want to save money and avoid the heat and the crowds.

07/02/2024

Sometimes, during my travels, I drink to (and for) my health.

I felt dehydrated on Rome-leaving day. After so many indulgent meals, it was time to refocus on the food and drink my body needs. Lucky for me, at the my husband and I stayed at, there’s a place called MiT Food & Coffee Brewery.

I saw the Depurativa on their drink menu, a smoothie with kiwi, celery, and melon. I asked the barista if she could add ginger to the drink as well. It wasn’t a problem at all. The drink was delish. And good for me too.

Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t balance out my sinful eating. I ate so much pasta and pizza and so many treats in Rome. I even ate pizza and gelato just a few hours after drinking this good-for-me drink. But it felt good to take a moment and make a nourishing choice.

Do you attempt to balance out your food choices when you’re on vacation?

06/02/2024

Happy to all who celebrate!

If you look closely, you can see that the chopsticks on the table behind me have orange helpers on them. When we first went to , I couldn’t use chopsticks without them. Then, Fonesco, an exceptional server at Yakuza, explained in Harry Potter terms how to use them. To my husband’s amazement, I can now use chopsticks without having to concentrate much on what I’m doing.

Yakuza’s vegetarian sushi rolls blow me away — the attention to detail, the variety, the deliciousness. My favorites are the little Padron peppers and the tempura ones, but they are all amazing.

If you’re planning a trip to Porto and if you love sushi, bookmark this spot. I’m far from alone in my opinion. Their ratings are exceptional, and I believe I read about them in the New York Times after we’d already been.

05/02/2024

Does this Starbucks cup make me look American? How about the running shoes?

If not dress shoes of some sort, stylish tennis shoes that go with one’s outfit are de rigueur in Europe. My running shoes aren’t even trying. Plenty of Europeans go to Starbucks, but I think walking around with a to-go cup is still not so common. The only others I’ve noticed holding such cups in public appear to be tourists like me.

I often do my best to blend in, but I think sticking out helped my husband and me the other day on the train. We sat across from two women — perhaps a mother and her adult daughter. An announcement was made entirely in German. Our experience to that point had been that announcements were made in German and English. A short while later, many people got off the train, including the two women who sat across from us. Not being familiar with the area, we thought it must be a popular stop. The younger of the two women came back onto the train and let us know that if we wanted to continue on, we needed to switch trains.

If I hadn’t been looking so obviously like an American tourist, would she have known that my husband and I had no idea what was going on? Not everyone had gotten off the train.

Typically, it’s best to blend in. That way, the hawkers trying to fill up tourist buses and otherwise get the attention of tourists leave you alone. Also, it’s good to not stand out as a target — especially in this world that is becoming less and less hospitable to outsiders everywhere. But I’m glad that being myself in the world worked in my favor the other day.

Of the many things I miss most about living in North America, beyond the obvious closer proximity to family and friends, is prioritizing function and comfort when it comes to day-to-day apparel. Oh, to run errands in Lululemons, a baseball hat, and running shoes again!

02/02/2024

Cheers to one of the most interesting and delicious craft cocktails I’ve ever drank — the Maui Hana at the rooftop bar, Mun. Its ingredients are vodka, homemade cardamom liqueur, hibiscus syrup, lime, and my favorite, mugo pine velvet — I loved how it reminded me of walking through forests in Finland and the PNW.

Mun divides their cocktails into categories like desert, jungle, forest, and so on. The swanky rooftop bar was one of several reasons my husband and I enjoyed our stay, and we can happily recommend the DoubleTree Monti Rome by .

01/02/2024

Happy to those who celebrate!

Porto is the perfect place to sample dark chocolates, thanks to its best friend, Port wine. I have now lost track of how many times I’ve visited — a delightful artisanal chocolate bar that’s close enough to the tourist areas but not on one of Porto’s main tourist streets.

Their chocolates, all made in-house with care, are divine. In photo #2, there’s a little bowl of chocolates — those have caramel in the center and are an obsession for both me and my husband, . The last time we went, he let me have the last bite because it was my birthday — an extraordinary kindness. If you’ve tasted them, you understand the mighty sacrifice he made for me.

If you go, the best way to enjoy the chocolates (IMHO) is by ordering both the Port wine-tasting and a chocolate-tasting plate. After getting a feel for what sort of flavors you prefer with your chocolate and with consideration of the wines, a just right plate will be presented to you. Then, as each wine is poured, you can learn a bit about its history or its flavor profile.

If you fall in love with their chocolate and wish to bring some home, they have gift boxes of various sizes. On one of my trips to Dubon, Chris was working. So, I was kind and brought some home to him. We’re now even.

Cheers to all of you chocolate lovers!

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Rua Das Flores, Nº 206
Porto
4050-263

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