The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Down By the Riverside
Another day, another lazy morning ... and why not? One of the delightful parts of slow travel is that it's ... well ...
slow! The idea is to slow down to the speed of life -- whatever that may feel like at the moment -- and instead of being
motivated by SEEING Porto, we simply enjoy BEING in Porto.
My day usually starts when my back wakes me, protesting the rock-hard mattress that seem to be the norm in this country.
So I retire to the living room to read, putter around the kitchen for toast, yogurt, granola and such, make a cup of tea
and just slide gently into the day.
Margene makes her initial appearance a few hours later, eventually heading for the shower sometime after 11. We're usually
ready to head out the door at the proverbial crack of one to our daily destination of choice! Today that destination was
staying in town and exploring the scene along the Duoro River. If you want to live in Porto and have a view of water, it
will either be along the Atlantic coast or near the river and we hadn't really checked it out ... yet.
We began at the mouth of the Duoro where it empties into the Atlantic. There always seems to be a cool -- sometimes cold -- breeze blowing off the ocean. But with the temperature hanging in the mid 70s, the breeze just felt delicious. At this end of the river there's what's left of the old fort that once protected the town from attack by sea and a pleasant tree-lined promenade along the water. There was not, however, much in the way of commercial development. This was a welcome omission when it comes to t-shirt shops and similar tourist-related detritus ... not quite as convenient if, like us, you were looking for a quiet spot for lunch.
A quiet spot for lunch along the river was actually a contradiction in terms. We knew exactly
where to get lunch along the river and we also knew it would be anything but quiet ... but it seemed like the right answer.
So we headed back up the hill to where we stayed last December, parked the car in the little lot and took the funicular
down to river level. {Sometimes it feels really nice to know your way around!) Our destination was whatever restaurant
struck us as we walked along the area known as the Ribeira.
We'd had a wonderful lunch in the sun along here the last time we visited and ended up back at Cafe do Cais, the same
restaurant we ate at in December. Most of the restaurant's seats are outside. All were filled but one of the inside tables
worked quite well. Garlic shrimp, skewered chicken, caprese salad, rustic potatoes and cold beer. What's not to like in
our mini buffet? All the better, it served as both today's lunch AND dinner!
I've probably already mentioned it, but these days when we travel we generally put together something breakfast-like in
the apartment and let a late lunch/early dinner serve as the main meal of the day ... with occasionally a light nosh later
in the evening back at the apartment. Doing it this way we eat less, spend less and feel just as fully fueled.
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