Near the sea

“Nos hôtes ont fait tout ce qui était en leur pouvoir pour que nous profitions de notre séjour le plus agréablement possible. Ce sont des personnes très simples , très ouvertes aux autres , très souriantes. Tout en étant très pris professionnellement, ils nous ont proposé de nous conduire à environ une centaine de kilomètres de Porto pour passer une journée ensemble. Tout était parfait: le lieu, les échanges, le restaurant...Nous les remercions chaleureusement pour leur disponibilité et les attendons avec impatience à Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe. Marie-Hélène et Claude ”

“Nous tenons à remercier Marguarita et Paulo pour cet échange.Notre séjour fut très agréable.Nous avons communiquer avec Marguarita et Paulo avant et durant le séjour.Marguarita parle très bien Français ce qui nous à fortement aider ! Leurs appartement est spacieux , lumineux et bien situer pour visiter Porto. Le bus (ligne 601) pour Porto se situe à proximité de l\'immeuble. Nous avons appréciez la piscine et le spa dans la propriété. Nous avons également échanger nos voitures et tout c\'est très bien passé.Nous avons pu visiter de beaux endroits tels qu\' Aveiro, Braga ou encore Guimaraes. A notre retour notre maison était très propre. Nous les recommandons fortement !!!”

“We spent unforgettable two weeks (interrupted by a four-day visit to Lisbon) in Paulo\'s and Margarida\'s modern, spacious, and very comfortable apartment in the beautiful city of Porto. The apartment complex provides extra amenities, such as a swimming pool and two tennis courts, of both of which we made ample use. The apartment is located close to the Atlantic ocean, providing the visitor with a choice between the wide and sandy beach of Matosinhos and the rougher and wilder beach of Leca da Palemeira with its architecturally stunning saltwater Piscina das Mares. Both beaches have nice promenades and are close to some wonderful fish restaurants, such as O Valentim, Mauritania, or O Alves. The apartment is well-connected to the city center: One can either board bus number 601 near the house entrance and take it directly to the Cordoaria Park near the Clerigos Tower in the city center (past the fabulous Casa da Musica), or one can take the Metro from the nearby Matosinhos fish market. But our favorite route was bus number 500, which offers a scenic ride along the Atlantic Ocean and the Rio Douro riverside promenade, past the Foz do Douro lighthouse. I recommend all of Paulo\'s and Margarida\'s exchange partners that, while in Porto, they take the Porto walkers’ free walking tours. There are two separate routes, each of which takes about three hours, and both are great fun and very informative. We also greatly enjoyed the tour of Porto’s Port wine cellars. But best of all were our hosts, Paulo and Margarida, who welcomed us in their home with some great Portuguese specialties (Portuguese cheeses and sausages, olives, Mateus rose wine, and, of course, Pasteis de Nata) and who made sure throughout our stay – via WhatsApp – that everything was fine and we felt comfortable. We did for sure! Muito Obrigado Paulo and Margarida!”

“In Porto in northern Portugal we had a nice and pleasant made from beautiful apartment made available by our friend Paulo and services that truly luxurious condominium offers: appreciated in a special way the sauna and jacuzzi! Thanks to Paulo and Margarida for allowing us this wonderful experience!”

“Acabamos de pasar un fin de semana estupendo en casa de Paulo y Margarida. Es un piso amplio y luminoso en una zona residencial con todo tipo de lujos: sauna, jacuzzi, piscina... Paulo es un anfitrión perfecto, nos recibió amablemente, y disfrutamos de la playa y de un buen pescado en un lugar mágico como es Matosinhos. Esperamos volver y recibiros de nuevo como merecéis.”

“Best exchange ever and now paulo and margarida are our best friends in Portugal! We have done a wonderful exchange with Paulo during last December 2014! He went to the airport to receive us and after received us in his wonderful apartment in Leça da Palmeira, Porto and prepared us a superb dinner with traditional Portuguese food and, off-course, special Porto wine! Their apartment is perfect, with a very warm and welcoming atmosphere, very well equipped (even with sauna and swimming pool) and well located (just few meters away from a nice supermarket and a bus stop that will leave you in Porto city center in less than 20 minutes. Their location is also very good as a base to explore Northern Portugal. With Paulo´s comfortable car, we have visited historical cities of Guimarães and Braga, both around 40 minutes drive from Paulo´s house, well connected by a modern highway. They also invited us to Margarida house, in Condeixa, very near to Conimbriga roman archeological site (a very interesting old roman town in the center of Portugal) and have done a guided visit for us in Coimbra (oldest university center of Portugal). Finally, they also served us superb good Portuguese food in Margarida very beautiful house. So, in just a phrase, this was a perfect exchange! Nice house, good location, superb good food and the best of all: Paulo and Margarida, now our best friends in Portugal! Considering all this, we strongly advice you to exchange with Paulo and discover all beauties Porto city and Northern Portugal have to offer. Victor and Elen, Brasil”

“Abbiamo appena finito di trascorrere 2 settimane nella meravigliosa casa di Paulo e Margarita. La casa è grande, pulita e con tutti i confort, vi è anche una piscina - jacuzzi- palestra, insomma tutto ciò che si può desiderare. Il nostro è stato uno scambio non simultaneo, quindi abbiamo trascorso molto tempo insieme, Paulo e Margarita sono delle persone veramente speciali e generose che hanno reso la nostra vacanza indimenticabile. Consiglio vivamente uno scambio con loro. Grazie.... Danila Gianni Micol”

“We were so pleased to get the opportunity to visit this apartment for a second time. Once again we had a wonderful stay including a trip to Casa Da Musica arranged by our host Paulo. Himself and family were very welcoming to both ourselves and our friends. The weather was lovely so we spent a lot of time by the pool and the beach. Thanks again, Eilish and Frank.”

“We enjoyed our stay at Paulo's comfortable apartment. It is quite big and has all appliances. From the living room you could look out on a big swimming pool which we used several times. There is also a sauna and a jacuzzi. The underground parking we found very convenient also the security people help in case it is necessary. There is an excellent supermarket only 200 metres from the house also a bus stop if you do not like driving in Porto city. Thank you Paulo also for helping us with emails and for a very nice evening in a restaurant at the river. Looking forward to meeting you in Vienna next year Helene and Helmut”

“Nous avons fait connaissance avec des gens trés genereux, trés agréables et disponibles. L'appartement est tres bien situé, trés fonctionnel. Nous avons fait cette experience avec la pluis en hiver, et ce fut malgrés tout, super. On y mange tres bien, et c'est tres abordable. Excallent pour un sejour d'une semaine ou deux. Paulo vous Fera decouvrir sa ville avec tendresse. Herve et Nathalie.”

“He estado en la casa de Paulo y Margarida, me ha gustado mucho son super amables y te acogen con mucho cariño, tuvieron muchos detalles muy buenos con nosotras. Fueron a buscarnos al aeropuerto y tuvimos una cena muy bonita en Oporto los cuatro fue todo muy bueno. Y al dia siguiente les acompañamos a ellos también al aeropuerto. Su casa es muy bonita y acogedora con mucha luz nos gusto mucho estar allí y nos hemos sentido como en nuestra casa, tambien Oporto es muy bonito, pasamos allí la noche de San Juan que es muy divertido. Recomiendo totalmente el intercambio con Paulo y Margarida son muy buena gente y me han cuidado muy bien la casa, y también de mis perras, las han tratado con mucho cariño.”

“Lovely spacious, sunny apartment with views of the Road Bridge across the river, giving easy access to all the tourist sites, Braga, Guimaraes and Bom Jesus do Monte etc. Yet still within an easy 15 minute drive along the river to Porto Town. With beaches even closer at 5 minutes. We were made very welcome by our hosts who embrace the Home for Exchange concept with big hearts and helped to make our week very enjoyable. Thank you once again Paulo & Magarida and we look forward to seeing you next year.”

“We stayed in the flat of Paulo and Margarida in Matosinhos and enjoyed it very much. The flat is very large, comfortable, clean, flowered and pretty. Paulo and Margarida are very kind people, they let us their car to explore around Matosinhos. it was possible to fly to Lisboa for 2 days. But it could be possible also to go with Paulo's car. He told us. It is very easy to go and visit Porto by tram-bus. There is a station not far from the house near the famous harbour of Porto (Leixoes). There was a very clean and easy shop to buy something to eat at 2 minutes. The "big village" or little city Matosinhos is very nice to walk near the sea. It was really a pleasant stay at Paulo and Margarida's home. We recommend it to others travelers.”

“We would like to thank Paulo and Margarida for sharing their beautiful home with us and for their wonderful hospitality. They were very giving of their time and gave us a great welcome, a tour of the city of Porto which we found very helpful and even cooked dinner for us. It was also our pleasure to meet Paulo's daughter Ines and her husband Pedro and spend some time with them. We had a great holiday in Matosinhos and the apartment is ideally located close to Porto and lovely beaches. We enjoyed the local restaurants and in particular the great buzz and food down by the fish market. The swimming pool, gym and jacuzzi in the apartment complex were an added bonus and it was a novelty for us to be so close to IKEA. All in all it was a wonderful experience and an honor to exchange with genuinely lovely people. We would love to return at some stage. Eilish and Frank”

“Nous avons été superbement satisfaits de notre échange avec le Portugal qui est un pays plein de ressources. Paulo est une personne cordiale et toujours disponible, entre autres, un excellent chef cuisinier! Eh oui, nous avons passé deux très belles soirées en compagnie de ses deux filles aussi. Nous conseillons de profiter de cet échange. L'appartement est moderne, grand et confortable. Un petit plus: piscine, jacuzzi et sauna! Allez-y vous ne serez pas déçus! It was very nice swap with Matosinhos, close to Porto. Paulo and his daughters are very sweet and friendly people, always available with their guests. You will enjoy a lot your holidays because the place is beautiful and the apartment super comfortable. We recommend this trip! An attractive bonus: pool, jacuzzi and sauna too!”

“We spent an unforgettable week en August 2011 in Matosinhos. The house meets all conditions for a pleasant stay: comfort, proximity to the sea, easy communication to Oporto and very good and cheap restaurants. What grilled sardines near the port! We were very well attended by Paolo and his daughters with whom we shared conversation and bike rides. A very good experience that leaves us with the desire to continue the exchange of houses.”

“Our exchange with Paulo was fabulous. His condo conveniently located & is very roomie with 3 bathrooms. We brought friends from Canada & he served us dinner the first night there. It was wonderful to meet him & his 2 daughters while enjoying a lovely dinner. Porto is a must visit city in Portugal. He will return for his time in Costa da Caparica at the end of April. We added an extra time saver by bringing our own bedding and towels for such a short visit. Our friends were also very impressed with Paulo, his condo, and the whole Home Exchange concept. We are looking forward to our next winter in Portugal and know that we will be seeing our new friend Paulo. Thanks you again for your hospitality & friendship. We will keep in touch forever. ;-)”