We’re slowly expanding our familiarity with Ponta Delgada. I work from ~3pm to midnight each day during the days I work (pretty much normal hours in CA where most of my peers are) so our exploring is limited to morning through lunch and a dinner break. This limits our ability to do bigger things like boat trips, hikes, etc so we aren’t getting a car until this weekend and are staying in the city. As a result we’re walking everywhere for now, and learning the area and culture through that lense.

Some hotel art we missed..

Breakfast options were similar to yesterday- plentiful and delicious. That wrapped Queijada de Vila Franca do Campo is magical. It’s a soft, sweet, moist, buttery.. golden.. freshly crusted.. oh I don’t know, you have to try it! I want to learn how to make these! I didn’t take a picture of it because I ate it too fast. tomorrow perhaps..

Of course Savitri gets the latte and I get the hot chocolate.

After breakfast we walked to a botanical garden called Jardim Antonio Borges. The weather continues to be warm but more importantly HUMID. Despite a lovely cool breeze coming up off the waterfront, we are sweating constantly outside.

This botanical garden isn’t a big flashy thing, it’s a free, local, community space. It has a nice playground for children and looks like it would be a lot of fun for kids to explore and imagine. There are ducks, chickens, and pigeons all over, as well as some other visitors.

I tried striking up a conversation with this.. duck? and it wasn’t impressed. Its colorful nose crest was brighter than mine so I backed down..

We don’t know what if any of the caves, rocks, hills, and water features are natural, but certainly the designers added tons of character to it all to make it seem more exotic and tropical.

Aloes Gone Wild

Sarlac seeks pit..

When we left the garden we walked to Jardim Antero de Quental, dodging whizzing cars and checking out different architectural details.

Jardim Antero de Quenta was pretty empty except for a fruit juice/smoothie vendor who attracted all of us hot sticky people.

Now wouldn’t you know it.. one of the top-rated gelatarias, La Gelataria, was right across the street from this garden and opened as we approached!

Their flavors were unique and the quality excellent. Yogurt, honey, walnut was phenomenal.

Walking…

Work work work.. FOOD!

For dinner we went to Louvre Michaelense Bar Bistro Mercearia. The food was FANTASTIC! We sat next to a nice couple also from Massachusetts, Spencer and Francesca, and joked around and talked travel as we all enjoyed the food. We talked to the couple on our other side, also from the US, all learning about the best dishes together. Highly recommended!

What a great evening and end of a fun day! Architecture and sights are key to any travel location, but human interaction is often the most memorable.