First stop, the Mercado Público (Public Market), a grand yellow building chock full of merchants selling meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, materials for chimarrão, tea towels and religious items (Catholic saints and Orixás):
Second stop, the Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana. I thought this would be the perfect place to relax and enjoy a drink on the rooftop cafe. And it was as pretty as I remembered.
Later, well hydrated (in my case) and full of caffeine (in Samosa's), we started to explore this lovely building to see what other beautiful spots it might contain.
We peered out a window and saw a funky looking garden a few floors below. I couldn't believe I'd missed this awesome spot during my last visit.
Turns out it was Jardim Lutzenberger, named after a gaúcho environmentalist from Porto Alegre, José Antonio Lutzenberger. The website says (in translation) that Lutzenberger was, "a lover and great defender of natural landscapes, he saw in gardening a singular tool for stimulation of the individual sensibility for environmental preservation."
This garden was created as an homage to Lutzenberger with the intent of "integrating the environment, art, culture, giving tribute to Lutzenberg and contributing to the formation of a culture more conscious and responsible for the great diversity that life gives to our land." It includes a wide variety of plants native to Porto Alegre and southern Brazil. And it's fun and creative!
Plants in bathtubs! How could you not fall in love with a garden such as this one?
And of course, because after all this was a visit to the Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana, I'll close with a line from one of his poems that was cited on the Jardim website:
"O segredo é não correr atrás das borboletas... é cuidar do Jardim para que elas venham até você."
"The secret is not to run after butterflies...it is to care for the Garden so that they come to you."
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