2026-10-31 These boots were made for walking and don't touch my hat

 

In a town about 45min away from Porto by bus (covered by our Porto Metro card) is what was the industrial center of Portugal, São João de Medeira. Some/most of the factories that produced textiles are gone, but some remain and these lovely museums continue the history of those that keep us in comfy, and not so comfy, clothing. BONUS - we were the only ones there for the most part at both museums.

Calçado is the Portuguese word for shoes, but the more umbrella term for it; shoe, footwear. shod, shoewear, shoe-making .  Sapatos (shoes,heels, footwear, loafers, pumps, shoelaces) refer to the article of clothing more often in speaking. Kinda like the Aves/Pássaro discussion.

Stacey recruited her friend Janet and they had a lovely day enjoying the museums, buildings, food and beverages of the town, while JR stayed in Porto and participated in an Urban Sketchers event.

This bronze of a shoemaker is in the foreground for the building that used to be the hat factory.

The museums are well curated and speak to not only the process but also the tenacity of the people, the horrible conditions in which they worked, and their participation in protests and change. It's what you would anticipate of the time - dangerous chemicals used with no protection, child labor, women's labor during the war(s), not enough pay, etc.

Interesting types of shoes and their history; zoom in to read the text next to them.  

Also, the story of someone who sold shoes door-to-door.

This is the sewing machine for shoes; the ones for hats is below with that museum description.

I really enjoyed the creative side of the shoe art.  The other image is probably my favorite one as there is a horse in the heel ;)

The building that houses the Shoe Museum also houses the Museum of Arte which we didn't get a chance to peruse.  All 3 museums were reasonably priced - €5 for all 3. However, they close at noon and reopen at 14:30, so we had to pass on the art.  All the more reason to go back ;)

That being said, there also are several factories there, most notably the pencil factory.  You all know we can't pass up a factory tour.  The other reason to go back.  However, these benches are lining the entry to the museum building as well as in the entryway.  We can't wait to go back and see the factory.

This is the section on protests, etc.  If that's not your jam, skip ahead ;)

This was one of the reasons why protesting was important. I've made this one pretty big as it was hard to read in smaller version. Slide the button to the right to see it in English.

     

On to the Hat Museum

This bronze was gorgeous and had the backdrop of the shoe and art museum.

I love, love, love that they used the perimeter of a hat to identify the WC

The machinery was really fun to see.  They were really big pieces.  Also note the silver/grey lines and dots on the floor.  It helps to indicate flow of the exhibits, but the dots also show where there are braille explanations and/or a tactile exhibit.

Lots of visual and tactile opportunities to see the history of the styles of hats. I would love to make a puzzle out of this one.

For the exit/entry to the parking garage, these lovely murals helped define the space.

The town is adorable and we passed this beautiful ironwork window on our way to get a snackie.

All-in-all, a great day trip which we will take again so that we can do the factory tours as they are only open on weekdays.

2026-06-23 Magical São João

We have friends who have an amazing balcony which is oriented to the Duoro River as well as across to Gaia, and has a great view of Clerigos Tower. You can see hundreds, if not thousands, of lanterns in the night sky above the city.

What is São João?

Condensed Version:

São João is Porto's biggest party of the year: an all-night street festival on the night of June 23rd into the 24th, honoring St. John the Baptist. Basically the whole city stays up until sunrise. It is unique to Porto.

Detailed Version:

The weird part: people wander the streets bopping strangers on the head with squeaky plastic hammers (martelinhos). It's a friendly gesture, and nobody's exempt. The older tradition was to wave leeks or garlic flowers in people's faces (to bestow good luck with fertility), and you'll still see some of that.

The smell: sardines. Grills pop up on every corner and in backyards, and grilled sardines on bread with a bit of caldo verde soup and wine is the classic meal.

The plants: people buy little pots of basil (manjericos) with a paper flower and a short folk poem stuck in them. They're the traditional gift for someone you fancy.

The sky: around midnight there's a big fireworks show over the Douro River. People also release glowing paper lanterns (hot-air balloons), so the night sky fills with drifting lights. (These have become more restricted over time because of fire risk.)

The ending: crowds slowly drift toward the beaches at Foz, and plenty of people watch the sunrise there before stumbling home. The 24th is a public holiday in Porto, which makes this much easier.

It started as a pagan midsummer celebration and was later rebranded as a saint's day. It's loud, chaotic, very local, and very welcoming. If you ever go, embrace getting hammered (both kinds).

Our Experience:

We've seen a lot of things in our time, but this is the most chaotic, boisterous, heartwarming event - other than Loveland's "Mary Me and Ski for Free" - that we have ever experienced.

We walked from our apartment - red dot near Bolhão - to the orange dot above Taylor's Port Shop. The walk is almost a straight shot down the major street pictured.

So, we walked down the pedestrian street and through Praça de D. João and Aliados. What we witnessed was incredible.  Bands playing, people singing and dancing, people grilling sardines, bars with DJs on their balconies and most fascinating of all was the sound of plastic hammers with squeakers. Example below.  We were noobies so we had the smallest hammers which require a little more effort than the big ones so we will be purchasing different hammers next year. You can find said hammers in pretty much every store and on the streets from multiple vendors on the day of. The handles come equipped with a whistle.

A couple of amazing things from an American's perspective - were there police and GNR (state) all over?  Yes.  Are there bag inspections or gated areas? No. What are the officers doing?  Allowing themselves to be bopped on the head - mostly by children - and bopping in return. The entire atmosphere was light and fun and absolutely addictive.

Porto allowed us all to light paper lanterns between a set period of time as there was a concern for fire danger as winds were high and we'd been pretty dry. We had so much fun lighting them and watching them ascend to the sky with our neighbors' lanterns. The sky eventually filled with THOUSANDS of them (see first picture above). Absolutely  magical. 

It took a bit of finesse to light the lanterns as the wind was pretty high.  We now know what we did right - and wrong - so next year we will buy more lanterns. 

We bailed around 23:00 opting not to go down to the River and then join the procession to the beach to watch the sunrise.  Maybe next year.

On the way home, we encountered a lantern that had given up the ghost. By 6:00 the next morning, there wasn't a sign of the fact that thousands of people had partied in the streets until 4:00. We lived off this high for days.  Again, this was magical and if you can come during this time, we'd highly encourage it.

2026-06-20 Waterfalls of São João

During São João, locals build intricate, miniature three-dimensional village dioramas called Cascatas. They are similar to Christmas nativity scenes but are dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and celebrate traditional Northern Portuguese village life. The image above is someone's interpretation of the Chapel of Souls which is across from our apartment, and the surrounding figures are the sights around the neighborhood.

They are called "cascatas" or "waterfalls" because they historically featured real or simulated running water trickling down stepped, terraced hillsides made of moss, cork, and stone. 

In and amongst the scenes, is João the 'Cagão' - the pooper, which is a favorite 'hidden' statue in every cascatas. According to the locals, he acts as a humorous subject, injecting playful, down-to-earth everyday reality into an otherwise religious and traditional display.  He is, indeed, in one of these shots.  Can you find him?

Here are JR and our new friend Jennifer creating their vision of what is in the neighborhood for the local cascatas. Jennifer worked on flowerpots and flowers.

There are a number of cat colonies, so that was my contribution as JR made one of the beloved women who is in the neighborhood but is blind and needs to depend on the kindness of others for coins.

2026-06-19 In Our Backyard

As we have mentioned, the Duoro River is not far from our apartment. This shot is the Duoro from the Jardim do Morro on the Gaia side.  The image looks back to the city of Porto and down the river toward the Atlantic. If the weather agrees, the garden is packed every sunset with people of all ages enjoying the sun's show, sharing some vinho and comida, and reveling in the musical talents of unknown artists from all over Portugal.

Walking 20 minutes from our apartment will provide untold numbers of opportunities. This day, the music schools had several groups out entertaining.  Yes, they are wearing wool.  No it was not cold. Yes, they wear these every day to school, even in the heat.