Porto: A Place I Called Home
By: Cady Conner (CAS ’28)
GRIP: Wine, Heritage, and Hospitality in Porto, Portugal
On my last day in Porto, Portugal I looked out towards the Dom Luís I Bridge stretching over the Douro River and tears poured down my face. I wasn’t prepared to leave the incredible people I had met during my GRIP experience and had been dreading my goodbye with the most beautiful city.
When I first arrived in Porto with another student from my cohort, we quickly stopped at our apartments to unpack and rest up, then got straight to exploring. We walked down a random street and were surprised by the emptiness and lack of people. As we continued to walk down what we later discovered to be Rua de Santa Catarina (one of the most popular areas of Porto) we began to see many tourists fill up the road. We passed shops, restaurants and bakeries selling the infamous pastel de nata, one of the only things about Portugal that I knew before arriving, a dessert.
Along Rua de Santa Catarina, we noticed groups of people stopped on one side of the road with their cameras out, so we both looked up and were stunned by the attraction. The Chapel of Souls, a known monument covered in gorgeous blue and white tiles, stood before us. It was something we had both heard of, but did not expect to come across on our first walk around the city. Surprises like this were not uncommon in Porto. I love exploring new places by walking around for hours on end. No matter what direction I strolled, I was always amazed by beautiful sights that made me fall in love with the city more and more.
Porto is not only an easily walkable city (if you look past the never ending hills), it also has an incredible culture which we got to experience through traditional meals and local celebrations. We had a great introduction to its culture our first week, when we enjoyed a fair in the beach town of Matosinhos. The festivities included food vendors, craft sales and many rides and games. I walked around with another one of my fellow Penn students and we stopped to enjoy a Portuguese dessert, pão de ló. Before the night ended, we headed to a small gazebo with a local band playing rock hits. Surrounded by locals, the band transitioned to a beloved Portuguese song (which we were later able to determine by asking one of our favorite coworkers) as the crowd sang along. Although my friend and I did not understand the lyrics, it was magical to see the community members together, feeling the music and appreciating their culture.
The second large festivity was São João. The night before the holiday, when all the celebrations were happening, lanterns lit up the sky with special messages written on them and strangers walked around with plastic toy hammers hitting each other on the head (a very odd tradition, but something I loved for its humor and joy). There were also DJs all over Porto playing sets, many filled with Portuguese songs, that my friends and I had so much fun dancing to. At a few points throughout the night it began to rain, but it was special to see that a little sprinkle could not kill the dancing or spirit. The festivities of São João typically end, or begin (however you’d like to see it) with fireworks along the river. My fellow Churchill’s Port interns and I trekked up the hill taking us from the Douro River to our work and joined the event hosted in our garden bar to enjoy the amazing view of the fireworks. Standing there with my new Penn friends and Portuguese coworkers is a moment I will never forget and one that pulled me closer to Porto.
Every day, I crossed the Dom Luís I Bridge by metro from Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia, then walked along the riverfront at Cais de Gaia to get to work. Seeing the beautiful view of Porto on a daily basis, I became attached to the magic of this little Portuguese town, making it ever so difficult to say goodbye.
Porto holds an important place in my heart for two of the best months of my life. It is a city I’ve promised myself I will return to, so until then, it’s not goodbye – it’s see you later.
Read Related Blogs
What the Wind Knows: Notes from the Steppe
PGS: Mongolian Civilization: Nomadic and Sedentary Will, one of the Penn Global Seminar Correspondents, shares his experience abroad during the May 2025 travel period. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and…
A Thank You Letter to Penn and the World
PGS: Disability Rights and Oppression: Experiences within Global Deaf Communities Tasmiah, one of the Penn Global Seminar Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the May 2025 travel period. Follow along with…
In the Absence of Certainty
PGS: Rivalry, Competition and International Security in Northeast Asia Lala, one of the Penn Global Seminar Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the May 2025 travel period. Follow along with the…