Porto, Portugal 3 Hour Food & Wine Tour with Viator! Was it Worth it?

August 21, 2024

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I usually try to book a few different tours when we travel to Europe, just to help fill in the gaps when I don’t feel like figuring everything out myself. Lately, I’ve been booking a lot of tours through Viator because they have so many options to choose from in practically every city around the world. Before our trip to Portugal, I booked the 3 Hour Food & Wine Tour in Porto to help introduce us to the culture and the cuisine on our first full day there. It sounded like a nice and easy walking tour around the city and a good introduction to the food and wine. Portugal is specifically known for Port (obviously!), so I was super excited to learn a little bit more about it. My husband is a whiskey aficionado and we love trying local spirits and liquors when we’re traveling. I also loved that the tour was only 3 hours long because I knew on our first day in Porto we’d be slow-moving. I planned a full-day excursion to the Douro Valley for a few days later once we were more settled and rested.

WAS IT WORTH IT?

Absolutely! The tour wasn’t super fast-paced or overwhelming in any way. We visited 4 different bar/restaurant locations throughout the city and our tour guide, Cristina, told us all about the history of Porto as she walked us to each destination. We walked through the famous marketplace, Mercado do Bolhão, and the beautiful train station, Sao Bento. She was extremely knowledgable and happy to answer any questions we had. The Portugese people are so incredibly kind and easygoing. We were actually visiting Portugal because we have been considering moving there! Porto was a bit of a bigger city than I was expecting, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I had envisioned that Porto would be a sleepy boating town, but it wasn’t sleepy at all! While it did have that relaxed pace, there was so much to do and tons of restaurants, bars, parks and beautiful landmarks. It was a stunning city. Just be ready to walk up and down a LOT of hills. Portugal is known for it’s steep cities and we definitely came home feeling a lot stronger than when we left!

The tour is super affordable and we were given snacks and drinks at every location. We truly enjoyed getting to know a few other travelers too. Our group was about 12-15 people, which was nice because we didn’t feel like the attention was all on us. We were headed to Lisbon a few days later for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, and 2 of the other couples in our tour group were doing the same thing! We all had tons to chat about. Not to mention, the weather was PERFECT. Another reason we’ve been considering moving to Portugal is because of the mild and beautiful weather. While it does rain quite a bit in Porto, it didn’t disrupt our trip too much. It was usually raining in the morning and would clear up by the early afternoon. Plus, I kind of enjoy the moodiness of a gentle rain while looking out onto a river filled with boats. As a photographer, I couldn’t ask for a more peaceful and calming scene!

I would definitely recommend this tour, especially towards the beginning of the trip. I think you might find it to be repetitive if you book it towards the end of your trip and have already been walking around Porto for a few days. I found it to be a perfect way to spend a few hours of our first day exploring the city. We were able to turn our brains off after the long plane ride across the Atlantic Ocean and just relax and enjoy a few drinks. It helped us get our bearings for the layout of Porto and our tour guide pointed out some major landmarks that kept our internal compasses working for the rest of our visit. Plus, you’ll find that a lot of the traditional Portugese restaurants serve the same styles of food, so after a few days of trying it out on your own and then taking a tour at the end of your trip, you might already be sick of eating codfish and pasteis de nata (though I never get sick of pastries)!

I posted a full video about our Food & Wine tour on my YouTube channel. You can check it out here!

If you’re interested in seeing more of the tours we recommend from Viator, you can check out my Viator Shop here. If you’re looking for hotels recommendations in Portugal, check out my blog post here on my food & travel blog that I share with my sister called C’est Le Brie! I also wrote a more detailed review of this tour on my travel blog here if you want to find out more!

Happy traveling! I’ll be sharing a video and blog post about our full day trip to the Douro Valley soon so stay tuned!

<3 Myles Katherine

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Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 35 mm Film Camera Review with Example Photos in Nazaré, Portugal | The Perfect Point-and-Shoot Camera for Traveling

July 18, 2024

(By using the links and/or codes below it supports Myles Katherine Photography. We may get a small kick back by you doing so.)

Before my trip to Portugal, I pulled together all of the cameras in my house (I think I’m getting close to 100 cameras in my collection now!) and dug through them to find a camera I hadn’t used yet. I always like to take at least one camera on my trips that is a bit of a mystery, just to challenge myself and to get inspired. It’s so exciting to send my film off for processing when I get home, but its especially exciting when it’s a camera I’ve never used before. As I was digging through my boxes of cameras, I came across the Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 and noticed that it had a 2.8 lens on it. I was immediately interested. Any lens with an aperture of 2.8 or wider is a camera I’m interested in.

However, right away I noticed that it wasn’t working. I opened the battery compartment only to find some serious corrosion. I spent the day with a pile of q-tips and rubbing alcohol, scraping off as much corrosion as possible. Eventually, I began to hear the camera make high-pitched sounds when I put some fresh batteries in and I knew I was getting somewhere. The shutter still wasn’t working but for some reason, whenever I flipped the camera upside down, the shutter would go off. I still don’t know why that worked, but the more I clicked the shutter release button, the more it started firing. Finally, I felt convinced that it was working enough to trust it with a roll of film.

I was still super nervous the whole time I was shooting with it in Portugal because I didn’t have time to run through a test roll before my trip. But the shutter seemed quick enough to know that I was at least getting something. I was pleasantly surprised when I got my film back from the lab in the mail. My photos had turned out! I still have some learning to do with this camera, and unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get the flash to work still. I think it might be a bit of a lost cause. But I’m just thrilled that my photos turned out at all! And I truly enjoyed using it throughout the trip. I wanted to share a few of the reasons why I love this camera so far and then share all of my favorite photos from Portugal! I also just posted a video about the Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 on my YouTube channel so make sure to check it out and subscribe to see more of our Portugal adventures!

5 REASONS WHY THE MINOLTA HI-MATIC AF2 IS A PERFECT TRAVEL CAMERA

It’s a Point-and-Shoot Camera
You can’t really get more convenient than a point-and-shoot camera for traveling. They are quick and easy with little to no learning curve. Anyone can use this camera. If you’re a beginner film photographer, this camera is absolutely perfect for you.
It has a 38mm Lens
In my opinion, a lens that’s anywhere from 24-40mm is a great length for travel photography. You’re able to get wide shots of buildings and architecture, but you could also get a little closer in for a portrait.
It’s Compact and Basic
Since the lens is a fixed length, it doesn’t take up a ton of space in your bag like a camera with a detachable lens would. It’s super sturdy with no extra parts or awkward accessories. And since it includes a flash, you don’t need to add one of those on either. I’m super sad my flash doesn’t work, but maybe I’ll come across a Hi-Matic AF2 with a working flash one of these days. :)
It’s Fully AutoFocus
When I’m traveling, it’s hard to work with manual focus film cameras. Sometimes I just don’t have the time to stand there and try to get the focus perfected. My family members are rushing me along, impatient with all of my picture-taking. Or I’m trying to get a photo of a bicyclist or moving subject while they aren’t paying attention. AutoFocus cameras like the Hi-Matic AF2 make street photography so much easier. And especially since it’s relatively small, it’s pretty inconspicuous and makes it easier to get away with taking pictures of strangers.
It Takes 35mm Film
The great thing about 35mm film cameras is that it’s easy to find 35mm film in almost every city. Sometimes, when I’m shooting with my 120 cameras, I’ll run out of film and have a hard time finding a camera store that carries 120 film. But 35mm is a pretty universal film format. I’ve never had trouble finding extra 35mm film on my trips.

As you can tell, I’m loving the camera so far. I’m a little bummed because I had the ISO setting on 400 instead of 200 for one of my film rolls, so the images turned out a little grainier than I’d hoped. But the film stock I used, Harman Phoenix 200, is also known for it’s grainy and high-contrast look, so maybe it’s just a combo of the film stock and ISO setting that I’m not used to. But I know a lot of film photographers actually aim for that sort of look so I guess it just depends on the person! I usually tend to like my photos a little less grainy and more sharp. But to each their own!

Here are a few film brands I recommend using for 35mm film cameras. Or you can check out my blog post, The Best Color Film for 35 mm Cameras. You can also check out my Amazon storefront for more camera/film recommendations. :)

35MM FILM RECOMMENDATIONS:

WHERE TO BUY THE MINOLTA HI-MATIC AF2:

Etsy

Amazon

KEH Camera

FILM I USED FOR THE SAMPLE PHOTOS:

Kodak UltraMax 400 35mm film:

Amazon

Adorama

Harman Phoenix 200 35mm film:

Amazon

Adorama

If you enjoyed reading this post and would like to support my work, check out my Patreon and get early access to my YouTube videos, plus seasonal prints and other fun gifts!

And of course, I wanted to share all of my favorite photos from our Portugal trip using the Minolta Hi-Matic AF2!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a lovely day!

<3 Myles Katherine

(click to enlarge)

My book is finally out! TEMPORARY BEAUTY: A Memoir about Panic Disorder and Finding Purpose through Art & Meditation

April 14, 2024

TEMPORARY BEAUTY: A Memoir about Panic Disorder and Finding Purpose through Art & Meditation

I can’t believe the day has finally arrived! My book, Temporary Beauty, is officially available on Amazon. This book has been a long time coming and I’m so ready for the world to read it.

You can watch my YouTube video discussing my book release here!

I honestly can’t believe I got up to the courage to actually share this book. It’s essentially all of my deepest, darkest secrets tied up in a nice little bow. There have been moments where my stomach has dropped, knowing that people might read these stories. But I keep reminding myself that if I’m nervous, then I’m doing something right. I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone and testing my limits. I’m living my life to the fullest. When I was growing up and going through the dark moments of my mental health journey, I was constantly searching for books that would validate my thoughts and feelings so I could feel less alone. I loved angsty coming-of age novels and books like It’s Kind of a Funny Story and The Bell Jar. I like to think that I would have loved stumbling across Temporary Beauty during that time. In my more adult years, I fell in love with books like The Collected Schizophrenias, Educated and World of Wonders - creative memoirs and honest accounts of personal struggle. While I’ve never really been the kind of artist to be majorly creatively influenced by the work of others, I do think Temporary Beauty falls somewhere in the vein of these books. I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum, which lends to a lot of loneliness and insecurity, but I think has also allowed me a lot of room to grow as an artist. Ultimately though, if I’m able to help even just one person to feel some comaraderie with this book, then it was all worth it. We’re all just searching for community and understanding, especially as we’re navigating difficult times.

Temporary Beauty is a collection of memories, poetic ponderings, travel adventures, journal entries, nightmares, and love stories, following Myles through her picturesque childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains and on to her adventure-filled twenties as a photographer in the Pacific Northwest, discovering herself as an artist. After her diagnosis of panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in high school, she spent her college years struggling to find her footing, finding solace in art, meditation, and travel. Temporary Beauty is a reflection of what it means to be a career-driven woman in modern society, an honest and unapologetic account of the darkness that mental illness can bring, and a conscious reminder of the fragility and beauty of human existence.

"And regardless of my mental illness, deep down I do believe that the day will come where I can walk through the woods, alone, and feel not an ounce of sadness or crippling fear. The grass will be filled with neon-green four-leaf clovers, and delicate pink blossoms will hang silently from the perfectly silhouetted fog-lined trees. I will smile to myself about all that I’ve accomplished. I’ll be proud of myself for defeating my unhinged mind. But that would mean that I’d have to have won the ultimate battle. The one between me and my anxiety. The one battle that never seems to end." — From Temporary Beauty

If this book sounds like something you could relate to, I’d love for you to read it.

And if you feel inclined, please leave a review on my Amazon page when you finish reading it! It will help others to be able to find my book too! And make sure to follow my author page on Amazon for future releases.

Purchase Temporary Beauty!

Thank you all for your support as I’ve been navigating this journey of becoming an author!

- Myles Katherine

(By using the links and/or codes above it supports Myles Katherine Photography. We may get a small kick back by you doing so.)