Porto's Craziest Celebration! Can We Americans Party Like the Portuguese?

#porto #saojoao #portugal
Join us as we celebrate one of Porto, Portugal's most anticipated events of the year, São João! Everyone's been raving about this amazing and awesome party, but we wondered if we're ready for it. Could we be too old for this kind of celebration? We were battle-ready with our hammers, so we had that going for us...
Hammers? Yes, hammers. When I told my daughter, she worried and wondered about us. I reassured her. "Be safe out there," she said.
This party originated during the 14th century, and the hammers had other iterations like lemon tree branches. In the 1970s, branches were traded in for plastic hammers, creating a unique and fun tradition.
We started our evening in the WOW (World of Wine) Cultural District, watched the fireworks, then made our way back home, walking along the Douro River, where the party was still going strong. How crazy were the parties? Watch to find out.
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Have you been so focused on your regular day-to-day that you’ve forgotten what you want out of life? A few years back we were in the same place...maybe worse. We’re Chris and Melissa. We ditched the suburban house to travel, pursue our dreams and embrace midlife. We’re sharing our nomadic journey in hopes of inspiring yours. Be sure to take a moment and subscribe to keep up with our #slowtravel adventure. We typically upload videos every Friday.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Do you want help planning a trip to Portugal? We can help! It's free too! (Melissa's help is free, the trip unfortunately will not be! 😂) Let us know more here: traveljoy.com/webforms/KQW7mmw8cbiM9oEVdFNjQAnf/forms/ZCd4vdv6xnRx7wjz4kBnWw8A/link ✈

[@carlossaraiva8213]

São João festivities in Porto are amazing. Unmissable. You guys got into the spirit of it and that's fantastic.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

It was a blast!

[@carlossaraiva8213]

@@chrisplusmelissa Literal hammer time 😄

[@aquario742]

Serão sempre bem vindos ao Porto.

[@mariadagracalucasgoncalves9149]

Se are the best 🎉😍😄 in all the places 🤭

[@DLFH]

Looked like a most excellent fun time had by all with some of the biggest smiles all evening long.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

It was a crazy good time!

[@danielsemyck7683]

So much fun! My wife and I are retiring to Portugal in 2025 (if we can still afford it) and we've marked this down as a must-do. Still deciding between Albufeira, Tavira and Madeira as our final destination. Scouting it out in April next year. Thanks for your very informational and fun videos!

[@chrisplusmelissa]

It was fun. It's a tough decision deciding on a place. If you have the ability, try a couple of places before buying property. Albufeira gets pretty crazy in the summer they say.

[@NinaCraftGames]

Madeira is really pretty, but there isn't much since it's an island, so I recommend somewhere in the mainland

[@andreribeiro521]

As a portuguese person who is not from any of those places, I recommend Tavira. It is much calmer than Albufeira, The beaches are warmer than there and it is MUCH MUCH less touristy. Also, Madeira is getting overcrowded and it is not in the mainland, so it is harder to travel to the other towns of Portugal and Europe in general. Another big plus is that Tavira is very close to Spain and should be like 150 km or something to Sevilla, so you can go to deep Spain whenever you like and it is very beautiful. Also Tavira is a much more beautiful and historic town than Albufeira. However, if it was just for the place without taking into account number of tourists and distance to other parts of Portugal, Madeira would be first by far

[@carlossaraiva8213]

Albufeira is a souless yourist trap. There's beyter places to live in. Try looking for Alentejo.

[@JoaoMonty]

@@andreribeiro521 I second that advise.

[@duosiris34]

Melissa tired face at the end of the video just cracked me up 🎉🎉🥳

[@chrisplusmelissa]

🤣 Yes... we got a laugh about that when putting the video together. There was a lot more tiredness and grumpiness that got cut.

[@norbertoencarnacao7756]

This is the best video and you, Chris and Melissa, love Porto.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

We do love Porto. :)

[@jeanninekalua9016]

Wow, what a party! Im impressed totally as i would have gone to bed a long time before 2:30 am, lol

[@chrisplusmelissa]

We would have too, but we couldn't get home! :D

[@111aem]

Great video! I saw the fireworks live on TV at 8am in South Korea! Next year if you are still in Portugal you have to go to the festival of São João de Braga . São João de Braga is the oldest São João festival in Portugal and is without a doubt the largest popular festival in Portugal! Americans do not know definitely how to party like the Portuguese.😄

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Thanks. We do NOT know how to party like you lovely people, we admit it. 🤣

[@tiagomacedo8025]

Porto is bigger... and im not from porto

[@gracasilver8574]

A maior é a festa do Santo António em Lisboa

[@andrevilhena4149]

Vai me desculpar, e eu sou natural de Viana do Castelo, e nao compare o invomparavel: o SJoao no Porto é muito maior em tudo relativamente ao de Braga...Para alem do enquadramento de ambas as cidades quanto aos fogos de artificio..Nao compare a beleza plastica do lançamento do fogo no Porto, no Douro, e o de Braga que é lançado, nao ha outra hipotese, no centro da cidade.Nao ha que inventar , assim como o Santo Antonio é unico em Lisboa , o S Joao é unico no Porto e as festas da Sra da Agonia são unicas em Portugal no que toca a romarias.Nao vamos inventar.Abracos.

[@andrevilhena4149]

​@@gracasilver8574Mas como festa maus democrática onde todos se misturam com todos o S Joao leva a palma.O Santo António ja é muito organizado com casamentos., marchas e o S Joao é unico porque é desorganizado, caotico no bom sentido onde todos se misturam sem controlo.Festas diferentes uma da outra para alem de que o S Joao tem fogo de artificio lançado ,seguramente, de uma das paisagens urbanas mais belas que existem na Europa.E o Porto à noite é qualquer coisa de mágico, charme, e de uma beleza plástica sem igual em Portugal.Sou nascido em Viana do Castelo .Abraços

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Check out a few of our tips for having a blast at Porto's São João Festival: chrisplusmelissa.com/should-you-get-hammered-in-porto/

[@dinissampaio-pires]

As a Portuguese abroad, this warmed my heart! Great video, next time until 7 am ahahah

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Glad you enjoyed it! 7 AM?! I've done that once in my life, doing it again would be tough.

[@peterferreira1025]

Amazing video as usual. You know how to get us viewers laughing. Wish I had your energy. ⚡🤣🥂

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Thank you!

[@carminfrancisco339]

Okay… now this celebration is on my bucket list 🥳

[@chrisplusmelissa]

It was sooooo cool.

[@pvdogs2]

Great video!! I just saw a clip from one of your videos (viewing an alligator statue in Montreal) on a Discovering Montreal video that was being reacted to by an Australian Channel.

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Wait… what?! 🤣

[@pvdogs2]

@@chrisplusmelissa Ha Ha. You are in a video, within a video within another video.

[@RickStack]

Awesome video! Looks like a blast!!

[@chrisplusmelissa]

You might have to check it out next year.

[@RickStack]

@@chrisplusmelissa Definitely!

[@marvinzainko542]

❤ Enjoy!!! I did.

[@mariadagracalucasgoncalves9149]

Madeira is too small 😋 Tavira is small too but has everything 🤭

[@joaquimsilvadomingues6927]

Show show 🙏🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹❤️🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹

[@miguelaraujo2116]

Another amazing video 😊 but chris I only count 2 beers this time 😅

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Thank you. I had a couple more than 2 beers, but not too much more. I had work to do. 😂

[@miguelaraujo2116]

😂😂😂

[@fredkarenclark4551]

Is there anything that you could buy back in the US that you can't get in Portugal?

[@chrisplusmelissa]

There are many things. Too many to name.

[@carlossaraiva8213]

MAGA hats. Who would want that crap in Portugal?

[@fredkarenclark4551]

@@chrisplusmelissa my husband and I will be visiting Portugal from Canada. We'll be in Porto Sept 28 - Oct 1

[@joaquimsilvadomingues6927]

🙏🥰🥰🥰🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹🇪🇺🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️❤️🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹

[@TheWishmasterpt]

As a portuguese i can say u guys really got into the spirit of this emblematic party, sardines are really an aquired taste, i dont like them to much myself 😂 I really admire the american culture, especially the work ethics u guys have, and i must admit the XX century was the american century, u guys as a nation gave so much advancements in technology, medical and so on to this planet in just a century that only a few nations did in the history of mankind, like Portugal did in the XV and XVI century, thats why i see America and Portugal are so similar but in diferent time frames. We add the minds and the will to transform humanity, but sadly these values are fading away, for us they did many years ago, just hope that Americans can turn the tide. With that out of the way, all i can say is welcome to Portugal and enjoy what this wonderfull country as to offer, both in social and historical context. Cheers ❤

[@chrisplusmelissa]

Thank you for the kind words. :)

[@carlossaraiva8213]

American work ethics is the exploitation of the workers by the rich. Nothing to admire in that.

[@beachlover1258]

🤣🤣🤣