Day 8:Barcelos and Pottery 101

So after finally realising that Porto isn't a horrid urine soaked hell hole, we still decided we would like to venture further afield. So we warmed up Mr Colt after having some time off in the parking bays of Porto, and we hit the open road again. We had decided to head to the town of Barcelos and this was because they have a large market on every Thursday. So we cruised up there, amazed that even before we got into the town, there were many cars parked at any possible location. So we decided to drive on through, away from the entrance from the motorway. And magically, just on the other side of the river, we found a perfect car park. Barcelos tourists 0 - Garth 1. It was a good start to the day, and to continue on this trend, we decided to have a warm up breakfast. So we walked through town and found a nice quiet square. I found another new love..... they had good coffee and a sponge square to die for! :) Whilst at breakfast, we were able to watch the world go by. With the markets being so big and it being relatively early in the morning, we watched. Next door was a big butcher and we got to see the deliveries. It was interesting to watch a guy carry a whole pig or most of a cow down a street where grandfathers and business women walked. It was a good start for the Markets which Barcelos is most famous for. So with the photos there were a million, but I will divide these into the two main categories, food and other. The food was interesting as we walked around seeing all the pottery, mountains of clothes, also the cooking devices and could not find any food at all. Then it turned out we had missed a whole section. Where we found everything from live animals through to the well renowned Cod. So onto the food.....
Ham in Portugal is great. Nice and deep in flavour, similar to Spain but lighter in colour and a little softer on the tongue. It is called fiambre, which is funny if you are from Latin America as Fiambre there is a traditional dish for the day of the dead.
The ole staple.
Direct from Norway!More staples, olives and broad beans.
Great light nearly sweet flavoured cheese.She makes, sells and models rolls.
The fruit was amazing, mountains and mountains of local produce, all picked and shipped quickly so that they aren't squishy or picked green for transportation. Ahhhhh reminds me of home, the great central markets of Adelaide.....

Then came the other goods.....

Of the Avian Variety.
This is a whole lotta cock!
Of the Pottered variety.

The works......The pigs.......The tiny teapots, or are they port sippers? Or can anyone tell me what they are?The tiny port cups.And a blue glazed forest.

Then the clothing related items......
Which country am I in again...You sure it isn't Holland?Then the home brewing supplies.
It is certainly some great and cheap markets. This was packed by tourists and locals a like. With many French people flocking down for cheap pottery, cookware and some interesting little artisan stalls. So we left the grannies to sell their wares and we headed for lunch.
Another great Menu of the day. Marty had the octopus and I had roast chicken. The octopus was certainly the better option on this day. Then it was back through the old town, carrying our new prized possessions and to the car to head back to Porto for our last night there.

So when we arrived, it was getting towards sunset. We wanted to have a drink in our favourite parkside cafes. On the way we were able to pass through the main square in town. I took a quick call on my wallet.
From memory, it was from someone who wanted to know about all the pies I had eaten. Then we cruised through a really cool art installation where they had different artists paint mannequins, I think all up there were about 80 or so. I looked really freaky at night to see all these bodies not moving.
I think the shadow here is a little out....
So Marty created her own shadows.... I liked them.Then some hippy painted bloke wanted to get in on the act too.So we tracked off to the park, dodged the scary tram,
Love their faces here. Checked out some lovely looking fences and their shadows,
Evaded the eyes that appeared to follow us.
Then I let God speak to me. He said "Garth, my leader, please have a dark beer while I bathe you in warming afternoon sun." I thought that God bloke is alright, so I followed his wishes.
Amen..................................... to Porto.