2026-04-28 When the moon hits your eye

 

Today we continued our exploration of the city and decided to walk over the river to Nova de Gaia and see what we could see. It's a very interesting walk with lots of structures and architecture to enjoy as well as a beautiful garden (jardim) immediately on the other side of the Dom Luís I Bridge. The bridge provides pedestrian as well as a metro line passage.

After walking through/around the Jardim do Morro, we encountered a corner that had 3 Italian Restaurants.  So, we plopped down outside the first one and were excited to see the selection of beers included not only a favotite, Ichnusa, but also Messina. So, we ordered some drinks and enjoyed the weather and people/car/metro watching. JR sketched some and then the food came.

So, in our defense, the pizza was €8 and we thought it would be smaller so we each ordered what we wanted - Margherita and Diavola. That's ok though, we have a bag we always carry and we could take it home for dinner. Well, the pizzas were so delicious we demolished them both. Another great day.

2026-04-30 Puzzle pieces in the dead of night

Now that the desks are built, what does one do with the leftover cardboard.  Well, this one - Stacey - builds her own puzzle board. (Peep the kitchen). Stacey loves a puzzle and now that things are settling in, it was time to procure one and get a board on which to put it. She had one in Denver but it was too big to take and she knew there would be availability here in Porto.

So, the desks came with a lot of structured cardboard pieces. It seemed pretty easy enough to Frankenstein them into a useful surface.  Sure enough, it was!

Once the pieces were together, a trip to the art store to purchase contact cement was in order. Fortunately, it's only 2 blocks away.  With the glue purchased, it was time to trip up the exterior of the boxes to fit the board.  It looks quite good and is very stable.

Now, the pièce de résistance, a remnant of felt purchased at the Espinho Market for €4, which was just the right size. She used the contact cement to mount it and then reinforced it with tape.

It came out great! It's big enough for a thousand piece puzzle, which is her favorite, and still some room on the sides and top for building pieces. It fits on the coffee table, her desk and the dining room table, providing options for sitting and standing. It will also fit underneath the coffee table either on the floor or the second shelf.

Stacey is tickled she was able to design and construct this both in the reduce, reuse, recycle category and the it barely cost anything category. For reference good boards start around €30 and exponentially get pricier the more space/features you want. All in, this was €15. Plus, the build was fun.  JR helped of course!

It has begun! Happy Camper! 

 

2026-04-27 This little porquinho goes to market

One of the benefits of a metro pass is that it extends to some towns outside the city center but which are still considered MetroPorto. JR stayed home to receive a delivery and have the apartment to himself while Stacey headed out with an expat friend to the town of Espinho. This is a beach town that has an extensive market every Monday.  We had heard great things about it but we were NOT prepared.

This market is H U G E! Everything from fruits and veggies to fresh fish - like still looking at you - meet, cheese, clothes, housewares, fabrics, trees - it had everything you could possible want and then some.  

Jennifer and Stacey spent the day stumbling over portuguese as most of the vendors did not speak english and they only took cash. Everyone was very nice and helpful and they enjoyed themselves very much.

And of course, you can't have a market without live animals. I'm not sure if these were for 'stocking' or butchering as there was everything from chickens to bunnies, to hamsters and parakeets along with their habitats.

Of course, the market was SO BIG we had to stop and get lunch and then go back and finish shopping. This delightful beach town is a must visit again and again, not only for the market but for it's beautiful beaches and extensive bike trails.

PS - everything we bought - cherries, snap peas, lettuce, lemons, strawberries, carrots, cucumbers - was very fresh and tasty. They also last quite a while as they haven't been in transit from farm  to the shop for weeks as we are accustomed to in the U.S.

2026-04-24 Take me to the River

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so let's take a walk from our apartment to the Atlantic via the Duoro River aka Riverside Promenade. It's a significant downhill walk to the river and then a fairly flat path all of the way to the Atlantic. Fantastic views of Novo de Gaia lines the  opposite side of the river. There is an enormous amount of construction happening, a lot more than what we experienced in November. There's also a tram that runs along the trail and adjoining bike path.

There's also these delightful streets right next to the tram line on the Porto side.

If you click to embiggen, you will notice that there is a stair up this very, very (muito, muito) inclined street. Also an escalator that is very Portuguese in that sometimes it runs and sometimes it doesn't.

The saving of façades continues.

along with so many statues retelling stories of history and culture.

What is more cultural here than a one meter (3ft) bottle of wine.

We stopped along the way at this delightful container/popup snack bar. The woman who owned it spoke little English so we muddled through in our broken Portuguese.  It was a lovely respite. JR spent some time drawing and enjoying his beer and pastel de nata, while Stacey watched the wildlife, eavesdropped on some expats and enjoyed her cider and pastel. Then it was off to continue our stroll.

They move this Porto sign around and we noticed that for Liberation Day, they had moved it from the praça where it normally resides to the the intersection of the Duoro River and the Atlantic.

This is an area right before the jetty that leads to the Atlantic and is a favored bird watching spot.

As previously mentioned, there are a number of statues along the path and this one was both historic and memorial.

After about 7 miles, we made it to the lighthouse.  The Atlantic was putting on a show.

This was a lovely day and we returned to our apartment via metro bus taking out as much of the uphill portion as possible and collapsed on our sofa, fulfilled with fondness for our new city.

2026-04-18 I never promised you a rose garden

 

We decided that this lovely Sunday deserved a walk in the park. So out we went - downhill - to visit one of the largest parks in Porto.  On the way, there were other interesting things as well.

For instance, this beautiful door

Jardins do Palácio de Cristal is one of many of Porto's historic gardens. There are a plethora of things to see here: Tree lined pathways creating glorious avenues of sunlight and shade, multiple themed gardens, along with rhododendrons, camellias, araucarias, ginkgoes, and beech trees which are scattered throughout, with some specimens dating to their original nineteenth-century planting. Fountains and Statues, multiple types of animal life including peacocks, roosters, squirrels, gulls, etc, and a plethora of terraces and outlooks overlooking the Duoro. There are multiple historic facilities and some culturally interesting ones as well.

Under the 'life finds a way' category:

I do love me a grotto

The overviews of the Duoro were stunning.  We watched a little cloud moving through the valley just above the river, softening the view across to Vila de Gaia.

The jardim is alive with all kinds of sounds - children squealing with laughter or crying their sad tale of woe, adults oooh and ahhh over various vegetation, and the air is constantly split with either roosters crowing or peacocks communicating. Here are some fun specimens we saw.

And of course, no day would be complete without some vinho verde and a cerveja.