Macau - Old Town

Senado Square
When I reached Senate Square I remembered Madrid, where I spent a summer.  It dawned on me that Macau and Madrid look alike in some ways.

The entire square is cobbled with shiny stones in a typically Portuguese style of black and white waves.  You can see this in Lisbon and in Copacabana beach in Brazil as well.

I didn't feel like I was in Asia.

I walked around, weaving through the throngs.  Apparently the other streets I walked were empty because everyone was here.  It was a packed Saturday afternoon and anyone who wasn't gambling was here strolling, shopping, eating, people watching.

I looked out for some Macau culinary specialties and I eventually found them.

A classic Portuguese egg tart.  Think of it as a puff pastry shell filled with egg custard that is slightly burnt on top like a creme brulee.  They're about 80 cents a piece which is dangerously cheap.  I only had one because I was looking to eat something else as well....

The Macau pork chop bun.  It's like the name says: a pork chop in a bun.  Seems pretty dull but it tastes great.  Slightly spicy.

I also popped into one of the many bakeries and sampled the third leg of the Macau trinity, the almond cookie.  Too dry for my liking.  As I ate I made my way towards the ruins of St. Paul's church and eventually it appeared.

Strange story this one, built by the Jesuits in the early 1600's using exiled Japanese Christian craftsmen.  It was one of the largest Catholic churches in Asia and European royalty competed with each other to bestow it with gifts.  Few hundred years later, it was mostly destroyed by a fire caused by a typhoon.  Only the south-facing wall survives.  I climbed the 66 steps to take a close look.