Goths get pregnant

Met my friends for late-night tea and had to pull off my gothic finest while 7 months pregnant. 

None of the clothes I'm wearing are maternity clothes. The dress from American Apparel is just really loose, and the vintage blouse underneath....actually isn't buttened at all. Let's see how much longer I can get away with this #pregnancyhacks

Dress: American Apparel

Blouse: vintage

Belt: vintage

Glasses: Salt

Clutch: Coach

Shoes: Target

What I bought in Portugal

I didn’t go to Portugal for the shopping, but I managed to find a few unique things that could fit into the small backpack I brought. 

From left to right:

Tote from Livraria Lello

Coasters from Nescafe (they look like Portuguese tile)

Clothes from Zara - all maternity friendly

Books from Livraria Lello

Sardines – a popular Portuguese treat

Cafes of Porto

Porto had many more amazing cafes than even Lisbon did. Somehow the coffee and café culture has taken off here more than the bustling capital in the south. I had a small list when I first arrived, but after spending six days in the city I discovered many more than I anticipated. It's always good to have a few cafes make the list that were unplanned. In order of favorites:

Fabrica Roasters

Fabrica opened on the day I arrived in Porto, so I was one of the first customers. Like it's original branch in Lisbon, the coffee was excellent, but the atmosphere of the cafe surpassed all others. It was enormous and open air, with plenty of natural light to enjoy on both sunny and rainy days. I must have visited here at least three times. 

Combi

Combi is on the second floor of a high-end clothing store in downtown. It's a small cafe but I loved that we got the window seat and could look out on Porto's streets below. With the right seating, I could spend all day here easily.

Manifesto

Manifesto is located about a half-hour from downtown Porto, in the Matosinhos neighborhood by the ocean. It serves only black coffee, no cream of sugar, and some simple cookies. What is great about this place is the vibe, and the ability to read expensive magazines from all over the world. 

Vogue Café

Vogue cafe has it's own post due to it being a magazine-themed cafe like a few other I have visited in the world. This is not a laptop place, but rather a place to come and read magazine, and enjoy some exquisite European cuisine. 

Majestic Café

Majestic cafe is a landmark in Porto. Practically every tourist has to pass by here to photograph the front, and half as many wait in line for tables. Inside, it is a beautiful cafe with excellent food and drinks. 

Moustache Café

Moustache Cafe has an array of unique sweet drinks and cakes. Very popular for breakfast but there is tons of seating indoors and outdoors. 

Armazom Do Café

We stopped in this tiny cafe after seeing their special advertised on a sign, about $2 USD for a tea and cake. This is definitely the type of place to go hard on the laptop. Good beverages and snacks.

Honolulu cafe

Honolulu cafe serves some excellent food and drinks, perfect for breakfast. The Hawaiian theme is a bit unexpected in Porto, as are the crowds of men who come here for beers in the morning, but it was a unique experience. 

Café Progresso

Cafe Progresso is a popular breakfast joint serving coffee and pancakes. 

Terreria

We stopped at Terreria after we found that the cafe we were looking for was closed. We needed a drink and to use the bathroom, and were pleasantly surprised with this cafe in a fake-flower shop. 

Vogue Cafe in Porto

The last time I visited a magazine-themed cafe was at the Nylon Cafe in Tokyo in 2012. I almost thought that such cafe concepts were only a thing of Japan. You can imagine my surprise and wonder when I discovered the Vogue Cafe while wondering the streets of Porto. I have since learned that there are Vogue Cafes all over the world, but this first one in Porto was still special. 

In the entry way is a small but stylishly designs shop selling books, wine, and other luxury items. Up a short staircase leads one to the cafe. 

From where we sat we had a view of the big screen, which played runway shows and other fashion documentary footage. 

After reviewing the menu and seeing the gorgeous bar counter, it was very tempting to order some cocktails, but I was already 3 months pregnant, so had to settle for some mock-tails. They were both exquisitely crafted and delicious. 

Breaking from my usual cafe tradition in which I only order espresso beverages, I ordered food at this one as well. The menu really tempted me and I wanted to try some of their offerings. My partner and I shared a pesto tagliatelle and rhubarb dessert. 

Unlike the Nylon Cafe in Japan, which was basically just a cool place to read tons of Nylon magazines from all over the world, Vogue cafe was much more about propagating the Vogue brand into all thing luxury. They didn't really have a lot of magazines lying around, and certainly not ones from all over the world. Still, this was a very worthwhile visit and I enjoyed the novelty of this cafe in Porto. 

Rainy Days in Fall

I love this Gap striped dress that I bought from Goodwill years ago so much, but wore it very little due to it being stretchy and me feeling like it accentuated my belly. Now that I'm 7 months pregnant, it's the perfect dress to show off the baby bump. 

I brought it with me on a trip to Taiwan, but the climate was too hot and humid for skin-tight clothes, so I was excited to have a chance to wear it back in Portland with my new Hunter Rain boots (a replacement for the black ones that wore out last year). 

Denim Shirt: Zara from Portugal

Dress: Gap via Goodwill

Tights: Motherhood Maternity

Boots: Hunter

Bag: Taipei MOCA

Porto Diaries

Decided how many days to spend in Lisbon compared to Porto was a challenge when I initially planned this trip. Porto had come highly recommended to me by someone who owns a shoe manufacturing business there, and travels there often from New York City. But Lisbon as the capital seemed to offer more to do. In the end I decided to divide time equally between the two cities, but in reality, plans took a very different course.

After 3 days in Lisbon we boarded a train to make the easy 3 hours ride north to Porto for another 3 days. We were supposed to leave from there to the Portuguese Algarve, to stay in Lagos and enjoy the beach. Unfortunately my morning sickness from pregnancy was in full force, and I could barely cope of even the short 3-hour train from Lisbon. I threw up constantly on board and by the time we arrived in Porto, my partner suggested we skip the Algarve – which would have meant another 7 hour train ride in three days – and stay longer in Porto to allow me to recover. I welcomed the idea, and it seemed the stars aligned because we were able to extend our airbnb reservation in Porto with ease, change our train tickets for no fee, and cancel our hotel in Lagos without penalty. So we ended up with 6 days in Porto.

Here in this city, having longer to relax and recover, I started taking a few risks. I would go on longer walks, further walks, and hope I didn’t get sick along the way. I was normally sleeping form 8:00pm-8:00am, but a few nights  I stayed up until 10:00pm to have dinner and even check out a local bar. I ate sushi and tasted (just tasted) port wine. I watched a World Cup game from the park amidst thousands of fans. I put on a swimsuit and got in the icy waters of the Atlantic – still unbearably cold in June. I still felt sick every day, but I also felt like I was beginning to heal. The six days allowed me to see Porto, over and over again, so that I knew it’s streets without a map, and the landmarks became familiar to me.