Tuesday, September 5 -- Today, Dorota is sending us on the tour less traveled. We started late today as the hidden coffee shops do not open until 10 am. We had two on our list to visit. The first is the O Pretinho do Japão which was founded in 1947. We walked into the shop and saw the original coffee mills and scales. But Dorota told us we should look at the old coffee equipment and then walk on to the back of the store where there are doors to exit. The guy in the shop unlocked the door for us to go through and we found ourselves in an outdoor seating area of a small restaurant called the Jardim do Japão. We were the only guest at this time and and it was quiet and peaceful. We order breakfast of Tortilla Portugal, cheese, prosciutto, bread and coffee. We had are breakfast and found that there was also a narrow passage way back out to the street without going through the store.
The coffee grinder and coffee bean store
We found the next hidden coffee shop by walking through the BFG / Bernardino Francisco Guimaraes hardware store (ironmongery) which has been located in Porto since 1900. The store offers a variety of products including vintage and rustic items as well as custom made items. They carry a large select of drawer or cabinet knobs. The BFG Cafe is in the back of the store. We did not stay there as we were not hungry or thirsty.
Next we walked to the good viewpoint. Unfortunately, there were so many tour groups there it was hard to see the views. One tour guide actually stood in from of the viewpoint and talked for 10 to 15 minutes blocking others from seeing the view. The views of the Douro River are beautiful, but not more beautiful than other place we have been. Next we walked to the Crystal Palace Gardens. On the way, we walked through the park with weird sycamore trees called Jardim de Joao Chagas or Jardim da Cordoaria (cord makers garden). The sycamore trees (London Plane trees) were attacked by a disease in the past and they have unusual trunks. The laughing man sculptures entitled "Thirteen laughing at each other " (2001), by Juan Muñoz also a feature of this park.
The Crystal Palace gardens was a project by the architect Émile David, in the 19th century. The name “Crystal Palace” refers to a Palace that was built in the area where nowadays you can see the Rosa Mota pavilion, an oddly shaped building built in 1956, where events and concerts take place all year. The original building had a top made of class which was dismantled, but the name lived on.
As you enter you will see a central fountain and on the sides four statues that symbolize the four seasons with beautiful flower gardens and paths. There are peacocks and chickens walking through garden. We walked into the next section and find a variety of book vendors selling books and we found a book called "Ola Coala" for Aurelia. There are trails going down the sides of the overlook to the river and we got some of the best views of the day.
After the park, we went to the tile bank (Bancos de Materiais). Many of the houses an buildings in Porto have Azujelo tiles on the exteriors. These tiles are under threat from decay, developers, and thieves. The tile bank is a public works project to collect the cities lost tiles to both preserve the historic tiles and to provide the free of charge to property owners to encourage restoration of the tile facades on many of the buildings. Inside, visitors view the display of hand-painted tiles that once covered buildings across Portugal. Azujelos tiles have been used for centuries and gained widespread use in Porto during the 19th-century building boom. The bank provides matching tiles to building owners in order to restore the buildings facade. If the do not have the correct in the bank they will help the owner to find a suitable replacement.
Lunch was our next stop and Dorota has provided two suitable choices in an artsy section of Porto. We chose the Rota Do Cha Restaurant that had an eating area in the back that had a zen feel to it. You have to walk through a tea shop to get to this place. While we were eating, we met a couple from Holland visiting Porto on vacation. We had a light lunch of guacamole, sweet potato chips, lentil soup, and eggs with vegetables. After lunch, we had time to walk to another area of the city where the music hall is located.
A stairway off of the hallway and the tea shop
At 4:15 pm we had reserved seating at a Fado event at Taberno Alecrim. On the walk there, it rained hard for a bit, but fortunately just for a short time. Fado is a type of music that can be traced to the early 1800s in Lisbon, Portugal. According to Wikipedia, today Fado is "commonly regarded as simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain traditional structure. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fate and melancholy. This is loosely captured by the Portuguese word saudade, or longing, symbolizing a feeling of loss (a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent lifelong damage)." For this event, many of the people here know each other. The fado singers are seated in the audience and there are two guys playing guitar to accompany the singers. The Fado singers came up one at a time and sang two song each. I think the Wikipedia entry describes the music well and although I don't understand the words, the music follows a pattern. They all sang well, several singers had remarkable voices. It was a fun event. Dorota, Aurelia, and Jorge met us at the bar and during the break we left to go to the other fisherman's village and a restaurant there.
Thom enjoyed the fish and seafood. There was jumbo shrimp, fish, sardines, clams, squid and shrimp skewers along with bread, salad, potatoes, olives, and tomato rice. The fish is grilled next to the outdoor eating area. And Aurelia made friends with the other guest and staff. We had a wonderful and late evening.
Tomorrow, we will make the last leg of our train journey with a train to Lisbon and then a flight on Thursday back to the USA.
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