Local Treasures - Porto Alegre, Brazil
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 3:34PM It pleases me to note that some of my favorite “discoveries” during my first trip to Porto Alegre have now been incorporated into my daily life.
I find that I can invent many reasons to visit to Mercado Público several times a week.
Some days I buy unrecognizable fruit at Banca 11, while other days I decide I need a toasted sandwich at the dine-in counter of the bakery. And being a caffeine junkie, it’s difficult to pass up a double espresso at Café do Mercado when I’m walking by.
The market offers 108 stalls where you can find a full array of edibles covering the 4-basic food groups. Then there are the indispensable odds’n’ends; a cachaça dealer (to make lethal cocktails in residence), a candy store, a wine shop, assorted house wares and religious artifacts—even aquarium supplies. At the used book stall, I impulsively spent 50 cents on a well-worn 1978 paperback salaciously entitled Serviços Muito Especiais (“Very Special Services” – wink wink), which I’m certain will bring a great deal of entertainment when I get around to reading it.
The excuse I’ve come up with for this week’s visit is replacing the cuia and bomba (think of them as a cowboy’s tea service) I left in the States at Casa da Erva Mate. Then I can partake in the Sunday afternoon ritual of drinking chimarrão in the park.
Porto Alegre has some lovely parks, but the biggest and best is Parque Farroupilha (commonly called Redenção). Aside from the mini-zoo where my monkey friends live, the park contains concert stages, restaurants, paddleboats, some 38 monuments and fountains, a mini-amusement park with children’s rides, and even a florist! Being that Sunday is family day in Brazil and most businesses are closed, when the sky is blue and the sun is shining, Redenção gets mental–absolutely alive! Sipping my chimarrão, I will walk among street performers, churro vendors, capoeira troops, artesian stalls, romantic couples, young families, supporters of various political initiatives, kite-flyers, soccer players, skateboarders… on and on. Whiling away a few hours relaxing and people-watching in the park is another treasure that influenced my city selection, and the novelty of it doesn’t seem to fade.
One of the places I adored on my first visit I now count among my neighbors: Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana is just 2 blocks away. Named for a famous local poet, the rose-colored building (a work of art itself) used to operate as Hotel Majestic. It was renovated nearly 20 years ago and now houses a literary archive, two cafes, cultural expositions, and classroom space where the public may be enriched through various lessons in art and dance.
I love to challenge my language barriers with foreign films in one of the three screening rooms, and I recently caught and amateur production of Opera do Malandro in the 6th floor theatre. It’s an enchanting institution for well-roundedness that completely indulges my curious nature.
A treasure of a more practical sort is the lotação. Porto Alegre has loads of city bus routes and even a modest metro line. But on rainy or lazy days, I rely on these super-speedy and comfortable mini-buses to zip around town. The Rio Branco line conveniently stops just in front of my apartment every 5 minutes or so throughout the day. You hop on, take a seat, and signal the driver when you wish to hop off, paying R$3.10 ($2) for the pleasure. Let me tell you friends, after coping with the mess that is the Chicago CTA for so long, I am in the height of public transport bliss.
Of course, nearly every day I see another bakery, café, charming pub, interesting building, or hidden nook that I overlooked the first dozen times I passed it. I smile knowing that a wealth of treasures remain, awaiting my discovery.
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Jenny Miller developed a passion for travel backpacking around England in 1999. Subsequently she studied, worked, and traveled around Europe. However, it was a trip to Brazil in 2005 that changed her life path. Since then, she devoted her energy toward planning her escape from corporate life in Chicago. In March 2008, she moved to Porto Alegre, Brazil, where she is learning Portuguese and seeking an experience yet to be defined.
She writes about the journey at My life in Havaianas.
Jenny Miller tagged culture, galavanting, shopping, theater, transport, travel, women's travel in brazil, local community
Reader Comments (7)
Lovely pictures! Makes me want to visit.
Congrats to Galavanting-- it looks great so far!
This blog will not help my campaign to avoid getting bitten by the travel bug for a while, I can tell. The site looks great. Good job, ladies!
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Our mission is the relief of poverty and advancement of education for Brazil's homeless children.
Chris Haney
Let’s Help Brazil!
I love the fact that you take in every detail around you; while others walk fastly by. It really does sound nice there, I should think about traveling.
mmm i loved the picture of the market! sunday in porto alegre sounds woooonderful!
Thanks Nickie! I do take in lots of little details, sometimes to the chagrin of people walking behind me...
Heather, yes - all these fruit and veg stands are great, though I confess I've had some juicer-recipe disasters by trying to be overly creative with the alien produce. I'm learning. :)
Jen
Excellent writing. I feel I know the person and the place. I'll have to get to Brazil this winter.