It’s been nearly three years since the Barbarians went on a one-day canyoning trip near Porto with Latitude41. Back then we had been involved in a number of collaborations with other providers of adventurous activities and we did not want to take any of the shine from them. However, now is the right time to start singing the praise for the good people of Latitude41. Considering that our blog is featuring plenty of activities involving height, including skydiving and rock-climbing, it feels silly to mention it again and again, but here we are: I’m terribly scared of heights. I’m not at all being cute or joking. If I’d have to pick one thing that scares me more than anything else it would definitely be heights. After more than ten years of happy marriage, Ms B, who is totally not scared of heights, still does not understand how I can be […]
Rock-climbing, off-roading and a visit to a Roman gold mine (from Porto)
My Greenway Tours, run by Eduardo Mata together with a business associate, and which, on Tripadvisor, ranks #21 out of 133 tours to do in Porto (the other ones mainly being about food/wine, or tours of the town), invited BSqB to come with them on a one-day outdoor adventure tour while I was visiting Porto (Portugal) last week. My wife, who is writing this blog with me, only joined the following day, so I was accompanied by an old German friend of mine, who spent the whole week with me as my fellow blogger and as part of our customary boyz-only annual celebration of madness. I grew up in a small town at the doorstep of the Bavarian Alps and have done my fair share of outdoor adventures in the mountains, but this was an absolute blast! Eduardo also grew up in the mountains, and clearly was more serious about […]
Goa Bicafe, Porto
On the day of my arrival in Porto (from Lisbon, by train) I was so tired, I struggled for two hours to fall asleep, then decided to go for a little walk, it was about 2am and I did not expect any bars to be open in the proximity to my hotel. But what do you know, I bumped into one of the most fun bars I had been to in years: “Goa Bicafe, cafe, snack, bilhares” in Rua de Fernandes Tomás (close to corner with Campo 24 de Agosto and 2 minutes walk from 24 de Agosto tube station). The owner, whose name I can’t seem to remember by the life of my mother, was serving behind the bar and a few regulars were finishing up their beers. They were clearly set to close shop for the day, but the friendly owner started a lively conversation with me […]
One Week in Pretty Porto
One week Porto sounds like a lot to some people, who think Paris can be done on a weekend, but if you have the time, one week Porto might be just what you were looking for. It was my first time in Portugal and I had a brilliant time. I was joined for most of the week by Nils, an old friend of mine, who was visiting from Munich – you can see two of his guest blog posts here (Kalmykia) and here (Grozny). Then my wife, Ellie or MsB, as she likes to call herself for blog purposes – she is writing this blog with me – joined for the second weekend. My name is Stefan, by the way, or Mr B, if you like. Things to Do We did most of the touristy stuff like all good travellers (can’t miss out on the top sights). The city is […]