Well it started well, as we were amazed that we had quite a good sleep in, given that we were in the middle of town and near the railway station. With the windows open all night too, I certainly was surprised by that. So being late risers we searched out a coffee and then strolled to the part of town we finished the day before in. As we wished to go to the Photographic Museum. First things first though. It was time to fill the growing bellies.
We found a great little spot on the square of the Jardim da Cordoaria the day before, but then we had already eaten. The best part about it was that they had a menu of the day. So we decided to be the first customers of the day, it ended up being a popular choice. By the time we had finished the meal, we were one of 6 groups eating there. We would love to have thought they wanted to be like us, but it was no doubt the fact they saw the lovely food we were eating.
Marty nervously awaiting to see what happens with the order she has placed.
First up with our carafe of Vino Verde was a legume soup with vine leaves in it.
Next for Marty she had her sardines flash fried and red rice.
I went quasi English having a sausage, chips and fried egg.
The difference with Portugal is that they still pride themselves on what they do in many things food associated, and the sausages are tagged with the group that makes them. These are called Alheira which was originally a Jewish bread-based sausage to hide the fact they didn't eat pork. Still it didn't help them, as the Christians stole the recipe added pork to the bread and other ingredients the Jews used and then proceeded to boot out the Jews from the country, and people tell me Hitler was original!So after lunch we went and sat in the beautiful garden nearby to observe some persons. As really this is one of the most entertaining things to do, no matter where you are. It is great to see what sort of people live in a location or at least what sort of people a location can attract. With a long lens and a little patience, you can find some fun pics too.
I think he had a bad day at work.
The old and the new, funny that the new is the one checking out the old!
If this isn't a uni lecturer I will be very surprised.Whilst strolling around the gardens, we found a really nice set of little statues. Of a man falling down from the steps while his friends were offering great support. There were about 6 different sculptures around this park all in different orders, with different people on it offering different settings. Of course Marta couldn't resist but to get involved with these little characters, much to the amusement of some of the local people passing by.
A tickle for one.
A laugh for another. Admittedly, the photo below is not from the park, but just up the road. But she was scarily cool and had a big camera so she must be ok.
We were in the Gardens as we were trying to kill off some time until the photography museum was open, as they had a 2.5 hour siesta. We did the park then grabbed a quick coffee. The coffee was really good. I also had a cake thing-o, it looks like a sweet vanilla slice but it is actually all marshmallow. So not only was it sweeter than sweet, but it was rather difficult to eat and if people know me..... I am able to make a mess of anything and so there was icing sugar, marshmallow, pastry and happiness everywhere.
All of this wasn't from the Casa Oriental, but the cafe nextdoor. I just loved that the Casa Oriental advertised chocolate and didn't really appear to have much in this description, but it did have mounds of cod (not smelling quite as sweet as the coffee or chocolate would have).
After my coffee and Marty's ice cream, we still had some time to kill before the museum opened so we strolled the streets behind the museum. As we turned the corner, we felt something staring at us..... was it a stalker, a serial killer, or even a rapist? No, it wasn't one of these things but it was all of these things. In the pictures below, you will see the scary blighter.
We continued down the street at a brisk pace so we weren't attacked by the dangerous local. We were looking at all the random doors of the area. Many old and crusty desperately crying out for some help, some love, or at least just a lick of paint. That is when we spotted something pink out of the corner of our eye. It was a man! A man in a pink shirt?! Surely not?!? I saw him working away on some boats and I asked if I could take a photo, he said no, because he said it would be better if I could come into his workshop and see what he does. How sweet, or was he related to the street's other serial killer?
So we headed in and struck up a conversation in our spanglishese (Spanish, English and Portuguese) and now know that Manueal Dos Santos Vilela is a retired gent who loves to make models. He makes mostly boats such as the Cutty Sark (as seen above) and now working on a ship from Columbus' fleet I think it was the Santa Clara. He has also made steam boats, planes and musical instruments. He was amazing, so fun, warm and welcoming.
He showed us how he worked.
And saluted as we disembarked his little world. It was about now that we started to really like Porto. It was a place which now filled us with imagination. Behind these crusty paintless doors there are locals like Manuel who have great stories and big warm hearts. This is what we had hoped to find everywhere, and we hope to find everywhere we travel. It made us smile the rest of the day and even now when we mention his name we cannot hide our smiles.After the smiles of Manuel, it was off to the museum where the guards would ensure that we would only be allowed to enter at the exact moment the sign said. We entered the building which from memory was originally the law courts. It felt quite austere and souless at times, others it was like you had sections of sun poking in just to warm you, or a serial killer that could lurk by.
While the museum was nice, the exhibits really didn't stimulate me in the way I had hoped and we the decided maybe alcohol would do this. So we ducked down to the Vila de Gaia on the other side of the river from the old town. This is where all the port wine houses are and has a completely different feel to it. It feels open and breezy and really warm and welcoming. The buildings are the same age as the other side of the river but are less graffittied, vandalised and cleaner in general. You can tell which side is more touristy than the other.... is that a good thing? I am unsure. We went to a number of different port wine locations to sample. I was on a mission to buy a bottle of 1976 port (yes, the year I was born) and so we asked about this at all the cellar doors. This is a great tip for someone wanting to taste great port. Tell them you are interested in an old vintage and for a specific reason. We were able to taste ports from 1974, 1978, 1982 and 1988 free of charge, where as all the stupid tourists were paying 3 or 5 euros to taste the most recent vintages. There are many options here to taste and some have great feelings to them when it comes to being surrounded by barrels of port, some that are from the 1800's. But to be honest, I preferred tasting in the Douro. I like the rural and regional feel of it.
This said, it was beautiful in the late afternoon sun, all long shadows and smiles.
Sometimes buildings just offer simplicity that I adore, I love the way things can just be there and work and not be complex at all.
But I am a sucker for great detail when you get the chance too. :) This building was a very good version of both.
Here you can see the Dom Louis Bridge in the background, a quick lesson in history that it was designed by the same guy as the Eiffel tower.... see the similarities?
Do you see them now then?
I also had this strange feeling that I was being followed by someone famous here..... I am on the right.... I took this picture but there wasn't actually anyone next to me.
And then I saw this....... it was like..... like a..... sign.......!
So that was a great day in Porto and a complete shock to me, Marty and the Sandeman! Porto is a great place... what will tomorrow bring?
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