I'm all but over blogging and tweeting, but I did just want to post this information in case anyone is looking for it as I was before visiting the lovely city of Porto in Portugal where I was last week on Burnt Sugar business - one gig and 4 days off!

Whenever I go out of town, one of the missions I like to accomplish anywhere I visit is to find a thrift store, charity shop, op shop, second hand clothing spot -- whatever you like to call it. It's not always easy to find, and I was unable to find anything online for Porto, but one of my strengths in life is having a nose for bargain shopping, so with a mixture of luck and determination I was able to find Rosa Chock up one flight of stairs at Rua do Almada, 225, Porto. When I was there they had a 2 pieces for 5 Euros deal. The store is packed with rackfuls and piles of stuff, you really have to pick through it, I was there for over an hour, but I found my Porto dress for 10 Euros and left satisfied. The store is run by a Grey Gardensesque pair, the older of whom was trying things on the whole time I was there. There are lots of piles on the floor over which you have to climb in order to get to some of the racks, but that didn't bother me in the least.

While I'm here blogging about Porto, I may as well mention a couple of other favorite spots I discovered. The city is on the north bank of the Douro river but someone who had lived in Porto urged me to visit Villa Nova De Gaya on the south bank. There are restaurants all along both sides of the river and a small flea market on the Villa Nova side. We ate dinner at a place down a laneway which was run by a family and had very colorfully painted walls. The food was good and cheap and the servings gargantuan.

After dinner we were walking and turned down one of the long skinny alleyways with which both cities are criss-crossed. There was not a soul around but we saw a door slightly ajar with a light on which had an inconspicuous sign which read LA MARMITA. It turned out to be beautiful, high ceilinged theater carved into the stone which had just wrapped up its show for the evening, but some of the cast and crew were still hanging out and invited us up to their lounge which was in a loft for some port. The people of La Marmita were super nice and have created a cool space in Villa Nova De Gaya for dance theater and musical theater productions and workshops.

The next day we returned and witnessed a special performance just for us and then gave one in return.

We then walked back into Porto over the beautiful bridge which was designed by Gustavo Eiffel and ate the best meal ever at a restaurant called Avo Maria.

Finally we happened upon a hookah lounge called Sahara, also on the waterfront on the Porto side in the historic and beautiful neighborhood of Ribeira.

By the time we performed at the Serralves Festival on Sunday night we were in love with Porto and hopefully gave some back.