A view across the Douro from Porto’s Ribeira district towards Vila Nova de Gaia, linked by the Dom Luís Bridge
Photographs ADRIENNE PITTS
@hellopoe
Evening on Rua das Flores. Lef: Cod fritters and octopus salad at Tascö. Above, from lef: Avenida dos Aliados, outside Café Guarany; port-tonic at The George; A Pérola do Bolhão’s floral tiles
Douro views from Jardim do Morro. Above: Clams at The George. Far lef: Azulejo tiles on the church walls of Capela das Almas. Lef: Almond tart at Café Guarany
Shop where the locals do
Every morning, as the sun begins to strike Porto's stone streets and azulejo tile facades, young and old head out for their daily retail ritual. Eschewing the one-stop shop, they fill their bags with produce from the central market, Mercado do Bolhao, and the tiny grocery stores, mercearias, that populate surrounding streets. Each has its speciality, and the oldest, Mercearia do Bolhao, smells of smoked meat and coffee, with a base note of spices. A few doors up Rua Formosa is century-old A Perola do Bolhao ('the pearl of Bolhao'). Inside, owner Antonio Rodrigues Reis maintains a statesmanlike position at the till while his son Antonio Alves dos Reis serves customers, filling the crammed shop with joyful laughter when a pensioner buying its prized nuts cracks a joke.