Moments 03 24 :: Week 05

I had to pick up some mail for our neighbors. This guy wouldn't let me leave. I was more than happy to hang out with him for a bit. Old man Lemmy.

It snowed. Awful, but these two loved it. 

Amy, Graham and the girls were in town to visit Leif & Mel. We crashed the party and had the best time. Even grabbed cocktails at the tiki bar across the street. So fun.

Went to use a gift card they got, and found this awesome little vending machine. The ladies each got on. Mine was the lighthouse. 

Came out of the bathroom to this guy waiting for me. It rained a lot this week, and Van was going a little stir crazy.

Pretty flowers.

Always there. Thankfully he's also very, very cute. 

Quail eggs I picked up at the grocery store. 

Hudson is home! He flew in on Thursday. Later I picked up Cole. He's around too. Just a little more elusive. 

Big day for Hud. He's been wanting to chop his long locks for awhile. Today was the day. It looks so great!

Porto, Portugal :: Signage

I wish I would have thought to take more photos of it beforehand, but the signage in Porto is absolutely amazing. So many Art Nouveau buildings and design. I wasn't expecting it, and absolutely adored it. 

Porto, Portugal :: Surprise Last Day

Well, things did not go as planned our last day. I came home from our last night and ended up getting so sick. Total food poisoning. I was miserable, but didn't want to be left in Porto alone -- plus I was a bit delirious. I packed garbage bags in my pocket and a change of clothing in my carry-on. We were about to catch our Uber to the airport when Hudson cried out "Dad, I'm not feeling good" and started throwing up himself. Within minutes, Brian joined in. Cole took a couple hours to catch up to us, but he wasn't left out of the party. We thought of sending him home without us, but thank goodness we didn't. We are so lucky this didn't happen while we were on the airplane. We were also lucky our 3 bathroom apartment, which is normally fully booked, happened to be free so we could stay and extra day. What a lifesaver. I'm not sure any of us could have handled finding a hotel and moving. We were down for the count the entire day and violently ill. We were also able to switch our flight to the next morning for a million dollars. We'll see what we can do about that, but there is no way we could have gotten on that flight without them turning it around because of us. It was miserable. Since I was a few hours ahead of everyone in my food poisoning journey I ventured out for water and a pharmacy for pills early afternoon. Honestly, pharmacies abroad are so amazing. Very helpful, and always ask if you want medicine or a natural option. (We took the medicine - we had to get in an Uber at 2:30am the next day for our 5am flight -- but I appreciate the choice). Later, Brian snuck out for electrolytes, and Cole and I got acai bowls. I went out again with Hudson. As hard as it was to walk, especially on all the hills, it felt great to move a bit. The good news is, we did make our flight the next day, as well as survived the journey home. Since we ended up flying over Brian's birthday (aka, the lamest birthday ever), KLM wrote him a birthday card, offered him champagne (which he denied), and gave him cute chocolates that I'm sure are usually saved for 1st class, not someone sitting in the last row of the airplane. It was a miserable experience, but see? It's already making for a great story. 

[NOTE: I know we are adventurous eaters, but no, I don't think it was the barnacles. I think we got unlucky at the fish restaurant in the market. I would not have changed it, but my takeaway is that I will be careful with what I eat the day before I'm supposed to travel.]

[ALSO: photo is of our apartment building. You can see how steep everything is since the photo is crooked. Our apartment was the top floor above the pink balconies.]

Porto, Portugal :: Day 06

On our "last" day in Porto, we decided to see the ocean. The trolley goes to the Fox area, where you can see where the river meets the ocean. We along along the coast before catching an Uber to go to Mercado Municipal de Matosinhos. Lots of flowers, fruits and vegetables, but also live chickens and rabbits, and most importantly, a huge fish market. You pick out your fresh fish and have a nearby restaurant (in the market) prepare it. We chose Mercado, and had a really great meal and bottle of wine for lunch. It was a very fun experience. Afterwards, we picked up ice cream and walked along the beach to watch the surfers before heading back to Porto. Since it was the last day, we walked all around to soak it all in. We stopped back home to pack, the went out again for espressos and eclairs (I tried the lemon per our servers recommendation, which was crazy good), then had cocktails at a rooftop park before going to Oficina dos Rissois. Rissois are deep-fried patties (although, this restaurant bakes theirs) filled with meat, seafood or vegetables. They were really delicious. Although, by then, I was feeling so gross and full from the past couple of days. We walked along more, taking in the beautiful evening, then stopped at our local corner bar, Aduela, for a nightcap. It is such a fun place. Unfortunately, I started feeling funky and had to leave. Plus, we had a 4am Uber coming for our flight the next day.

Porto, Portugal :: Day 05

Today was a bit rainy, but that didn't stop the P4. We had a full day, and decided to sample many of the traditional Porto delicacies. But first, haircuts for Brian and Cole. While they did that, Hudson and I stopped by Mercado do Bolhao, then did a little grocery shopping. We met back at the market, and sampled some seafood, barnacles, and venison carpaccio and steak tartar. The barnacles are the scariest looking thing I've ever tried. They aren't bad, but I certainly couldn't eat an entire serving of these alone. Next we wandered to the Baixa neighborhood. First stop - Cachorrinhos Gazela for traditional Portugese hot dogs. Next off - Francesinha Cafe for a francesinha, of course. Don't worry, we split one between the four of us. What is a francesinha you ask? Toasted bread and sausages (mortadella & ham), steak, layered with sliced cheese and a tomato-beer sauce and egg. Hudson said he could have eaten an entire one by himself. After all of that good eating, we needed to walk a bit. We passed by Capela das Almas (Chapel of Souls). The tilework on the churches is absolutely stunning. Early that evening, we met up with one of Brian's former coworkers who now lives part-time in Porto at a wine bar along the river. She was awesome. It was so fun meeting her. To cap off our evening, we had one of our favorite meals. Dinner at Adega Sao Nicolau. Everything was delicious, but the octopus was perfect. We had two different versions and both were fantastic.