vacation: porto and vila nova da gaia, portugal
Breakfast in the hotel was much better this morning, and a needed ease after a tiring night. Alyssa and Tom stayed a bit later than I did at Café Au Lait, a hip bar that was literally right next store to our hotel. They were playing a mix of techno, fado, and American indie music, and became incredibly packed at one in the morning. Alyssa joined a Spanish photography group for a few drinks at a hidden bar that even most Portuguese don’t know about. They kept asking her how in the world she found it. The group wanted us to join them to climb a mountain in Fatima, but we are tired of climbing things.
On check out, I ask a woman about the weather today. She says “It’s April, I don’t know.” It seemed weird at the time, but the day was exactly like that. One minute pouring down freezing rain, the next blue skies and beautiful sunshine. I guess it was 26 degrees Celsius the day before we arrived.
Rain or shine Porto is just stunning, especially from the Vila Nova da Gaia side of the river. The port boats are lined up along the docks, the Dom Luis bridge is large and impressive, and the dark rain clouds mixed with piercing blue sky paint shadows over the Porto mountains and Ribeira cafes.
Sandleman is too busy and too touristy to visit. Love their logo, but it makes me feel like I’m at Robert Mondavi in California, too many people. We try a smaller but unimpressive place before heading to Calem. We learn all about how the port is made and end on a tasting in a room all to ourselves. Just as we leave the room is packed… which is the story of our day.
Lunch, we grab one of the last tables at Ar da Dio, a strange glass box restaurant on the river. Seems far from authentic, but the mirror walls and windows make you feel like you are eating outside, even though you are inside, with real sunshine on your table. We all get Francesinhas, which is a sandwich filled with two types of sausage, pork, and ham… covered in melted cheese and a beer-based tomato sauce… served on a bed of fries. My mouth says yes yes yes, while my calorie counter says no.
We move the car to the Ribeira, where we park on a crosswalk. Nobody seems to care. The Portuguese just park wherever they see fit today. We walk for a bit before heading off to the modern art museum which was a disappointment. Besides a few funny bad exhibits, there wasn’t much worth the dollars spent.
We arrive in Lisbon through the mountains to stay at our sketchiest hotel yet. Uncomfortable beds, questionable neighborhood was mostly worth it as we used the extra money on an extravagant dinner at Bocca Restaurant. They had over 60 wines by the glass, and the place looked even more expensive than it was. Tom had an amazing duck in fig sauce, Alyssa had coffee noodles covered in goat cheese and walnuts, and I had quail roasted on a rosemary sprig.
We tear into our oozing chocolate cake as the only table left in the place has a long conversation with the waiter about politics, wine, and food. “When they are needed, America supports the world” “Whisky is better because whiskey stories are better than wine stories” It’s interesting just to be a fly on the wall sometimes.
wines consumed:
Tomorrow: London!!
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