The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Discoveries
It appears the cool windy weather of the past few days has moved on and we're looking at daytime temps in the mid to
high 70s for the rest of the week. Clear skies, no rain ... just about perfect! That said, we spent the morning just
hanging out in the apartment. Gasp!
The weather basically shamed into finally taking late showers and we rolled out at the crack of one ready to face the day
... or at least the afternoon. But what to do? Since the idea was to see if the area felt like a potential relocation spot,
we stayed closer to home. The city of Porto lies at the mouth of the Duoro River, meaning the Atlantic itself is just a
stone's throw away. Since Margene needs her water view to be happy, we thought it brilliant to find a nice spot for a late
lunch and check out some of the smaller villages up the coast.
Sometimes what seems like a brilliant idea ... well, isn't! Getting to small villages up the
coast seemed to involve miles and miles of cobblestoned back roads that felt like the car was being shaken apart if I
drove faster than a crawl. We finally arrived in Vila Cha, an area where we once considered renting a house for this
trip. Good thing we didn't. While the views were great, the wind off the ocean was strong and cold. The only commercial
activity around was a funky little bar that seemed to be a way station for coastal hikers. Talk about being isolated! The
discovery here was the potential downside of making decisions based solely on what looks good on an internet write-up.
Our vision of a quiet lunch by the water forgotten, we asked the friendly voice on our GPS for directions back to Porto.
She got us there, but not by any route that would have been selected by a human reading a map. Any time we attempted to
divert from her plan by, say, following a directional sign to Porto rather than blindly going where she directed, she
stubbornly made us double back and comply. We finally gave up and just did what she asked ... even to the point of leaving
the paved road and heading up a dirt track (laughing all the way!) We ended up on the main highway, though!
It was late afternoon by the time we got back to the apartment. Having had nothing to eat since
breakfast, we needed to find a spot for a [very] late lunch or [very] early dinner. We knew the dining options in the
immediate neighborhood were limited but we'd never explored the other side of the park ... and what a surprise! In an
"urban concept" called the Mercado de Bom Successo [roughly translated: the Good Luck Marketplace], we found the most
upscale food court/dining hall I'd ever seen! There must be 40 or so different food vendors offering everything from
wood-fired pizza to tapas, risotto and adult beverages.
Margene had been craving savory crepes. Found 'em! I was in the mood for sliders and a very large, very cold beer. Done!
Ice cream for dessert? No problem. Our tab for all of it was less than US$20 ... and there were more restaurants on the
mezzanine level we never even explored. Aside from the price, quality and selection, the nicest part about this concept
was being able to order in small increments and decide as we went if we wanted something more or not. We will definitely
be back!
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