Porto
Porto is a city that prospered at the outset of civilization here from ship building, shipping, navigation, port wine, creative culinary geniuses, beautiful people, and incredible art and architecture.
Archeological digs within and around the area of Porto reveal structures and artifacts attributed to Phoenician and Celtic mariners and traders from around 800 BCE.
It is wet and cool in the winter, dry and occasionally wet and cool in the summer. Rain gear would help ameliorate this mild inconvenience, I imagine, while one enjoys the beauty of the Douro River meeting the Atlantic Ocean, the bridges, the tiled fronts of the centuries old buildings, and the Romanesque fortress walls.
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(Genius segue to modern times): Now, don't read another word of this account until after you have viewed this incredible time lapse vid, the link to which Mary Lou provided:
Timelapse - Oporto Showreel 2015
Captures it well, don't you think? The contributor to this Vimeo vid is pauloferreirapt.
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We decided that we aren't that excited about the Algarve: nice place to visit for a few days, but for extended stays, well, mehhhh. So, we rented an Air B&B studio with a loft (hate the stairs) in Porto's city center. On our first late afternoon stroll in the Foz (Fosh) area, we encountered a small, contemporary restaurant, the Sim Ou Sopas (something like "Yes Soup", it's idiomatic and anyway, I am not yet the guy for precise translations, OK?). As we scanned the elegant menu artfully emblazoned on the glass entry door, we caught the vision of a lovely, young woman, elegantly dressed, approaching from within with a warm, gracious smile. Upon opening the door, Solanja Ribeiro, sole proprietress of the place gave us the Boa Tarde greeting and engaged us in a chat, she speaks English quite well, you see. She gave us her card for future reference.
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| Solanja was very patient with my intrusions into her space. |
After a couple of questions about a dish or two, Solanja described a traditional Portuguese festival dish of beans and various pork cuts simmered in a stew like broth that was not on the menu. "Do you have any openings tonight for a couple of hungry Americans?" I asked. She must have liked the inquiry, responding with, "Yes, 7:30 work for you?"
Oh, My! Life changing experiences are clearly still possible for us. What an evening. Not just because of the delicious food obviously made with love in the heart: Teijoado a Transmontana, Sopa de Couve Flor, Broa de Milho -- look 'em up. Oh, no, not just the exquisite food. There was Miguel from Portugal and Daphne and Lauren from the U.S. They work together in the fashion industry. Miguel grew up in Porto and has been friends with Solanja for quite a while. Their initial embrace of us was ritualistic, thereafter, it was familial.
"We are having a special meal tomorrow night to celebrate Kevin's one year anniversary of Portuguese residency," declared Miguel. "You must join us." We gratefully agreed.
"Who is Kevin?" ML asked. "You'll meet him tomorrow and you'll love him," Miguel assured us. 'Nuff said, we were all in.
The experience of Kevin's celebration made us newly adopted members of a family that includes another Yank or two, an Israeli, several more Portugese, and I don't know what all else. Solanja with help from her friend Diana, another lovely, warm girl who clearly has experience in a restaurant setting. She cuts, chops, arranges, and serves with an abundance of heart love. The meal this night was Robalo baked in a salt crust: so moist, such flavor, so visually appealing. There were a number of exquisite side dishes, the names of which I have forgotten.
Next day, ML gets a txt from Barry, another celebrant. "Hello, Darling. What doing today? U 2 want to meet me for lunch with my friend Carolyn down at the shore?" Barry is a recent emigre from the U.S., having lived in Hong Kong, various places in Europe, and I forget where else. Gracious, endearing man. Carolyn is delightful, another emigre from Seattle, San Francisco, and NYC. Today, Carolyn txt'd ML with an invitation to visit her in Matosinhos, a town adjacent to Porto, at our earliest convenience.
Risotto nero with cuttlefish and an Aperol spritzer for lunch. Of course.
After the good-bye embraces, we strolled some more, continuing the regimen of 10k steps per day, as FitBit tells us. Beautiful leather goods displayed in local shops: purses, shoes, belts, wallets. Of course, clothing, ceramics, what-all, by local artisans. We drove over to Vila Nova de Gaia to scope out the shops selling Port and the cliff location famous for sunset viewing.
Porto continues to amaze us. We'll be retuning to visit and embrace the newly found family members.
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| Grand Daughter Zoe is a Harry Potter devotee, so we had to visit Livraria Lello and provide the proof. |
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| The Dom Luis Bridge, one of six to get you across the Douro |
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| Vivid colors on the faces of these old structures atop these Romanesque walls along the Douro River |