Porto, Day 1: Vintage Finds at Warehouse Saint Germain, Travel from Bordeaux, Arriving in Porto, Sunset Walk, Drinks at Base

June 10, 2026

We all parted ways this morning, each family moving to different directions. Tricia and the kids were off to catch a train at Bordeaux, to spend another day in Paris before departing back to the States. The Holder family were headed to Bordeaux for another day there, before returning.

Liz and I had another leg of our vacation yet to start – we were also headed to Bordeaux to catch a flight to Portugal.

My aim was to drop off the car early enough so we wouldn’t get charged for an extra day. But this meant we’d be sitting at the airport for several hours (our flight wasn’t until the late afternoon).

We ended up deciding to keep the car a bit longer, and found a vintage shop to visit in Bordeaux.

Outside the entrance to Entrepôt Saint-Germain.

Liz found Entrepôt Saint-Germain, a great vintage consignment warehouse. I wasn’t sure what to expect walking in, but it was a delightful assortment of all manner of wonder.

Both Liz and I remembered this thing, but weren’t sure what it was, exactly.

I was convinced it was a Weebles tree house, but as it turns out it’s a Tiny Tots Family Tree House.

A fantastic Back to the Future poster (in French of course).

I don’t know what this is, but it was fantastic.

So much to look at, and this was still just the first room I walked into.

A small back room, with an odd assortment of pieces.

This was… strange to see. And I’m not certain, but it appeared to be a small series of sketches by Picasso.

In a nearby display case, what looks very much like the control panel for the DeLorean time machine.

Past the main entry area, you walk down a small hallway and the rest of the space opens up.

A Minitel 1, which I’d never seen before but looked absolutely fascinating. Googling later, this thing pre-dated the Internet, and was part of the Minitel videotex online service.

Despite me not having a land line, and despite the fact that this was configured for a French phone outlet from the 1970’s, and despite the fact that I had zero extra room in my luggage… I was very tempted to purchase this guy.

I vaguely recall games of this nature, in arcades long ago. A ball would be moved about using small puffs of air.

An incredible display area – what looked like actual vintage storefronts.

Towards the back, the further you went… the more eccentric the pieces were.

This room was like a surrealist nightmare: dentistry and taxidermy, simultaneously.

A little fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

Not sure what this was, but it was an impressive sculpture. The closer I looked, the more amazed I became.

Detail view.

Not sure what this was, but I was mesmerized by it. Part of me thought it was a portable fuse box, another part of me thought it was a lie detector of some kind.

A closer look. Anyone have any idea what this is? I tried looking it up online, but no luck at all.

Ok – what little I could find leads me to think that this is actually from Parisian beauty brand Bova Star Paris. I’m not exactly sure what it is, per se – but I think it’s used for hair in some kind of way.

Amazingly, very little online about this. I can barely find anything at all for Bova Star Paris.

Again, the further back – the more amazing the sculptures.

From the back rooms, looking to the entrance.

A player piano.

A small, and intricately organized collection of construction toys.

After a quick stop for coffee and lunch, we made our way back to the Bordeaux airport.

A bit of a snafu on our way back, as the gas station wasn’t taking my credit card… so we lost time there. Ended up eating the cost of letting the rental agency refuel, since we were running late.

Then, on getting back to the car rental dropoff… we ended up circling the airport about three times. This, despite me taking a photo of the instructions for how to find the dropoff/return lot.

Here, we’re waiting in line for our plane ride from Bordeaux to Porto, Portugal.

Boarding a plane on the tarmac is always a little unnerving to me. I’m mostly used to walking from the terminal, directly to the plane.

Liz and I realized that our tickets were for the back half of the plane, and indicated that we board towards the rear. We spotted a second set of stairs, and basically just walked past everyone waiting to get back here.

As an American, I have trouble with brands I don’t recognize. Particularly airlines. This was the cheapest flight I could find, and it was ultimately fine – no issues.

But the term “easyJet” just doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in me. I’m a worrier, so I lean towards company names like “ThoroughlyTested Airlines” or “NeverFall Air” I guess.

At the Porto airport, with a huge throng of people waiting to go through the “Nothing to Declare” line at Customs. It was a free for all.

I was half-considering going into the “Goods to Declare” line just to see if it would be faster.

A quick cab ride later (tip: in Portugal, using the Bolt app is oftentimes a lot cheaper than Uber)… we were in our apartment.

The streets are fairly narrow, and where we were staying… cars were not permitted. So we had a slight walk (downhill, thankfully) with our luggage.

The bedroom, with lots of closet space. And a sliding partition wall that closed off this room from the rest of the apartment.

Kitchen area, with microwave, stovetop, and oven. Along with a fridge/freezer.

Perfect sized bathroom, off the kitchen/dining area.

Opening up our windows briefly (it was quite hot) to take a look outside.

The view from our bedroom.

We stayed on Rua das Flores in Porto, a very lively and bustling street with all manner of shops and restaurants.

Lots of tourists always walking about. Our apartment entrance was just off this street, but we were about 4 stories up. While there was a lot of activity, we barely heard much noise at all.

Post dinner, we shopped around a little. Liz, contemplating canned sardines.

While we were both tempted, our shared allergy to shellfish gave us pause. The last thing I wanted was to try some seafood, and then spend the rest of the trip sick.

Funny I should mention this concern because… well, you’ll see eventually.

Walking around afterwards. Did I mention the steep inclines in Porto?

More walking around.

While I had a lot of things on the itinerary, we cherry picked things here and there. Tonight, we ended up walking to Base for a late night drink.

Note: most folks eat quite late in Portugal. If you’re eating at 7PM, you’ll likely be dining with tourists. Most dinners begin around 8PM or later.

The sunset also ends up being quite late (though I’m not sure if this was just the summer, or if it’s always like this). But it would be light out until around 9PM or later.

On finding Base, we made a note to come back after looking for a good sunset spot.

The spot listed (a recommendation from Claude AI) ended up being locked off to the public. There was a small fence that could be hopped, but that felt a bit much.

From the fence, here’s the area. I can see why it was a favorite spot to see the city.

Love.

Back at Base, with some drinks. The great thing about this bar is that it’s a rooftop bar, but with a huge area of grass and trees.

At various areas, there were small tables and cushions set up. I was amazed that it was not packed with people, but felt lucky to find a spot away from the crowds.

Photo of me, working on a Piña Colada. This was a drink that Audrey wanted to try out while we were in France (and she was of legal drinking age)… but never got a chance to.

Of course, I sent this photo to her. For the remainder of our time in Portugal, there were Piña Colada stands all over the place.