After nearly six hours of walking in the hot sun, wandering up and down alleys, and desperately trying to find Wi-Fi, I arrived at Azulmarmol.

Tile shop in Porto

I had spent a ton of time looking for a tile shop in Porto. And actual tile shop, not something designed for tourists. I found Azulmarmol, which appeared to be tile shoppy enough and made it my quest to find it.

I walked nearly six miles through the city, backpack in tow, looking for the shop. My phone died along the way, making it even more of an "adventure".

By the time I got there, I was sweaty and sunburned...

... and it was closed.

Thankfully, it was only closed for another hour or so. I killed time at Bolhão Market, which I knew about from my research.

(In true Melissa fashion, I forgot about the market, and then found accidentally.)

When I finally got in there, I walked away with three different sets of tile (just four tiles each) for my kitchen, my bathroom, and my father's cabin up in the Thousand Islands.

Tile Shop in Porto

I spent the rest of my trip with that additional weight strapped to my back. I must have wrapped and re-wrapped that tile a hundred times, either to show someone else I encountered on my trip, or to readjust my bag. It nearly burst open and I nearly had to ditch my copy of Anna Karenina.

(To be fair, my friend Annabel told me it was not a good choice to bring that book along.)

By the time I got back to North Carolina, I had nearly dislocated my shoulder.... but I had a lot of pretty tile to show for it.

Drifty Rank: 9/10 drippy bottles of cool, crisp water.

More Tile Shops in Porto

Don't want to go to Porto for tile and cool decor? Check out our picks from Amazon.