Saturday – and we have no commitments. We decided to venture out on our own and take the metro back to Vila do Conde to really look around and see if it still appeals to us.

] We mastered the metro.

Saturday in Porto is much quieter. Every place was less crowded and people seemed unhurried. Unlike the other day when the bus to Trindade was packed, today we were among just a handful of riders. We went back to the same pastry place across the street from the metro station and this time felt a little more confident in the ordering process. Once inside the metro station, we were able to figure out how to top-off our z6 tickets for the ride to/from Vila do Conde.

We had a comfortable and uneventful trip to Vila do Conde. There is a huge outlet mall just a few stops south of town that quite a few folks got off at. We will need to check that place out in January when we need to start pricing things we’ll need for our own place like furniture and appliances. Not sure what all they have at that mall, but it seems extremely popular. We couldn’t see any open spaces in the large parking lot.

We got off in town at the first of three metro stops. That one, Santa Clara, is the closest to the old town. It was an easy walk into town. It was about 1:00 when we got to the center park, and the market vendors were mostly starting to pack up. But, we walked around enough to know the market would be a nice Saturday morning event. There is another huge park in town center that has basketball, soccer, volleyball & cafes that was busy with all ages.

We ambled around town and ended up back at the coast. We decided to try lunch at the place we had drinks at the previous visit with Gail. The board listing fresh fish & seafood available was long. The owner was there grilling fish outside and it smelled amazing. The weather was ideal. This was the first day where we didn’t really sweat at all. We both decided, however, that we need to invest in some good sunglasses. So bright! We grabbed a table with a great view and ordered fresh sea bass. It was a bit of a challenge as the waitress spoke no English and we were way too self-conscious to use much of our bad Portuguese. But, we got it done. Everything was delicious and we felt so healthy.

Afterwards, we walked out towards the breaker and stopped in at the darling chapel. We learned that the chapel, the beach (praia), and the restaurant are all named for Senhora de Guia who is the patron saint “Our Lady of Guia”  – patron saint of fishermen. They have a big festival with a parade to the sea in her honor in late January to the 2nd of February.  We’ll try to get to the next one. 

We were going to walk out on the breaker, but the waves & wind were getting stronger so we chickened out. We encountered two older women fishing who were trying to tell us something and laughing a lot. It was either “don’t go out there or you’ll get swept away.” Or “are you two having great sex?”  Not sure. There was a lot of odd gesturing.

We headed back into town. We stopped for a glass of wine mainly so I could use the bathroom. Two glasses of house red wine were quite good for just 5 euros total ($5.81.)  Yes – we think we could live here. I stopped to post on a Porto ExPats facebook page to ask if anyone in the group lives in Vila de Conde or has opinions about how it would suit ExPats to live there. I got several people to reply. They all agreed it was a great place to live. One UK couple had been there almost a year and were very happy & offered to give us a tour when we return. Another woman of Portuguese decent but living in Seattle was counting down until they could move there next summer. She offered to help us also and recommended a real estate agent that had helped them buy a place there they have waiting for them. We are feeling pretty optimistic about this town as an option. But, of course, will see more. We’ll have time.

We took the metro back to Vila Nova de Gaia and went to the grocery store Helena had pointed out close to (what will be) our apartment. There we grabbed a roasted chicken and wine to take back to our airbnb for dinner. We needed to rest & pack for our check-out the next day. We were scheduled to take the train back to Lisboa and stay there our last three nights. We were a bit concerned by the email I had received from the train company saying there was a strike scheduled that would start the next afternoon that could disrupt travel.

Another day with over 15,000 steps. No wonder my legs ache and my sandals reek!