From our corner of the world.: Exploring Vila do Conde

Last night, Hodge and I came back to our apartment... still without heat or hot water or the ability to cook, but we needed some time to ourselves after a busy week (at least, I did). So, we slept in this morning and then explored our town a little (get ready for a lot of pictures). Wanting to cover more distance than on foot, we drove the company car which we share with some of our teammates. Of course, Hodge has already nicknamed it... The Biscuit.

We drove around our little city and up to the next city north of us, Povoa de Varzim, which is more of a resort town. We don't know much about Vila do Conde yet, but I did read that it was a ship-building center during Portugal's Age of Discovery, as well as a fishing port. It is located on the coast, at the mouth of the River Ave (ave meaning bird).

The River Ave with the old St. Clare Monastery in the background/

No, not the Matrix Church... the Matriz Church.
I am sure we will be posting plenty more
pictures of old catholic churches. They are
practically on every corner.

A statue in front of the church.

The Saturday Market.... just a ten minute walk from our house!

Futebol in the Park.

Most of the streets in our city are cobblestone.
Cute, but a little rough on The Biscuit.

Look at that stud driving a manual!

This one is just across the street from our apartment
It is an old fort that was built to protect
the port and the town's entrance from pirates! Arrg!

After exploring, we ate a very late lunch at a place just around the corner from our apartment. We have eaten there three times thus far. One of the guys who works there speaks a little English and is super friendly. It has been fun trying to communicate with him.

Our apartment complex. The restaurant is on the bottom right corner.

A closer look.

Mine. Lasanha.

Hodge's. Francisnha, a very popular dish local to Porto.
It has about four different meats in it with fries
and normally an egg on top. Can you guess why Hodge loves it?