Well we've just been back home a few days after a truly wonderful 4 night stay at Joao and Ana's apartment and we're missing it already!
From the very moment the booking was made the communication was excellent and we knew we were in safe hands. This was confirmed when Ana met us at the airport as arranged and drove us the short journey to the apartment, explaining sights along the way with her very good English. On arrival Joao was also waiting to greet us and again (with perfect English) gave us a tour of the beautiful apartment before explaining a few of the sights we might like to consider during our stay and the various transportation options which were very easy to understand.
After that we were left to settle in, but were emailed every couple of days just to make sure everything was ok and to check that we had everything we needed. They really couldn't have been better hosts. Friendly, welcoming and professional and with a great sense of humour. Just lovely people!
We had a great time in the local area, walking along the sea front and enjoying a drink or two whilst watching the surfers or just relaxing with a coffee by the sea. We ventured into Porto in the afternoons and evenings and found a couple of great places to eat which even satisfied the one vegan amongst us! One place was in Gaia (S. Martino Italian Restaurant) where we sat on the 3rd floor looking over on to Porto at night. Great food in a great atmosphere with good views and service to match and not too expensive either (about 75-80 Euros for 4 including drinks).
Another great find for a more laid back tapas style meal with vegan, vegetarian and meat options (fantastic ribs!) was AS 7 Maravilhas in a side street in Porto. Oh, and they had 77 bottled craft beers from around the world! Prices similar but depends how much you want to have (food and beer that is!). Get there early though as it's only small and very popular.
Back to the apartment...modern, clean, a welcoming bottle of port, fruit and some other considerate touches. Fantastic sea views and handy for the bus. Taxi is only just over 7 Euros though which we tended to get on the way back. Supermarket, bakery and local restaurants nearby. Couldn't fault anything!
Finally, Joao picked us up on time for our return flight (transport included in the price both ways) to round off a really marvellous break. Definitely planning to go back!
Thank you for your hospitality Joao and Ana! :-)