June 8th

Today was special day because Abel took us to see much of Aveiro, Portugal. In the morning we first visited the Vista Allegre Porcelain factory and were able to view an exhibit detailing the history of the brand from its beginnings in the mid 1700’s to present. It was really interesting to see how the work and the brand has evolved over the past 300 years. The exhibit showed how much of the technological advances and artistic styles of the past several centuries were simultaneously integrated into making crockery and décor pieces. It was also quite interesting to see how control of the brand has remained very much a family affair from Vista Allegre himself to now his great-great-great-great-great grandsons. That’s a lot of greats!

After spending much of the morning there, Abel then decided to take us to see some old Portuguese houses constructed in the olden style. These houses date back some 300 years and have a characteristic colored striped appearance. By then we were getting a bit hungry so Abel took us to a nice seaside restaurant. There we decided to sample some of the local favorites such as fried mackerel with olive oil and garlic, a s simple olive oil salad and traditional rice. The food was delicious and we supplemented it with some vinho verde (sparkling wine which goes very well with fish). For dessert I decided to try a traditional Portuguese dessert called “cream of the sky” which was quite good.

After chatting a bit we then decided to get a taste of downtown Aveiro. Abel took us to an area where sea inlet cut through the town and boats routinely make their way. Many of the older Portuguese houses and shops of Aveiro are located there. There were also able to see an interesting circular bridge that was recently constructed. Walking through town we were also able to see Aveiro’s “Se Cathedral”. Finally after walking quite a bit, Abel took us to a shopping forum (open air mall) where we were able to see all the modern shops. Finally we spent the rest of the day walking through Aveiro's waterlined streets. The town is very unique in that it has water streets much like Venice where fishermen can navigate their boats.