Portugal Trip - Porto
We made our way from Sintra to Porto in a day with a few great stops.
Our Porto apartment building was quite nice and a fun place to stay but we had to wait for awhile until Chris walked up and down the street looking for the owner of a car parked right in front of our entry to parking behind our apartment. We made circles around the block, while Chris searched and eventually found the owner in one of three art galleries on the street. We took our stuff up to the apartment, and then headed into the city to explore Porto at night. We had dinner at a Rick Steves approved restaurant and I handpicked my food to get exactly what I wanted and it was so good! I’ll take the rice that’s clearly on this menu item and the chicken and sauce from this menu item and have it together… please? Finding a waiter who can understand today’s picky requests was a blessing.
It was a beautiful night with a clear stary sky. We wandered around the main square, ate Amerino gelato on a table by the street, checked out a soccer store (and bought a Portugal soccer ball for the kids) and then watched a very ‘interesting’ concert in the plaza. It made us laugh a lot. It was a fun night! Love being with Scott and Elisha. So many great conversations and memories.
Our Porto apartment. A cute little studio apartment with couch, table and mini kitchen. Scott and Elisha were right next door. It was a fun place to stay!
We found an LDS Church building and went to Sacrament Meeting. A ward member was nice enough to take a picture for us. One of the few pics we have of the four of us!
We headed back to the apartment and got dressed for the rainy day ahead. A few pictures out on the balcony before heading into the city.
Exploring Porto
Porto - the capital of the north and Portugal’s second city — is fiercely proud of what distinguishes it from its rival, Lisbon. In many ways, a visit to Portugal isn’t complete without experiencing Porto. Spared by the 1755 earthquake that toppled Lisbon, Porto is appealingly well-preserved. Houses with red-tiled roofs tumble down the hills to the riverbank, prickly church towers dot the skyline, mosaic-patterned stones line streets, and flat-bottomed boats ply the lazy river. It’s a solid city with equally solid people. Locals claim they’re working too hard to worry about being pretty. As an often repeated saying goes, “Coimbr studies, Braga prays, Lisbon parties… and Porto works.” Rick Steves - Portugal Book
Clérigos Church and Tower
This oval-shaped church with a disproportionately tall tower is one of the best known masterworks of Baroque architect Nicolau Nasoni — and definitely a must do in Porto. I just love a great tower to climb.
We arrived just as the 30 minute organ concert started… you can see the organ inside the small chapel high on the right. Second picture was taken from behind the statue in the very front of the chapel. Definitely an interesting view back into the oval-shaped room and to the balcony where we just were minutes before.
We paid our 5Euro and headed up the small circular stone staircase to the top. This was one of the craziest tower climbs ever because crowds of people were using the same ‘space for one’ staircase to go up and down. It was a little bit ridiculous and so funny! Definitely took some teamwork to coordinate who was going up and down.
From one flight up I took the opportunity to take a picture of Chris on the stairs. Love this guy. Always willing to go to the highest tower in the city.
Love all the different colored tiled buildings and red roofs.
Love this view of the city with it’s jumble of tightly packed red roofs.
And of course I love all the different patterns and colors of tile around the city.
The San Ildefonso wins my award for best tiled church in Porto. Loved the bright blue scene.
Filling what was once the Imperial Café, this is the fanciest McDonalds in Europe. It was fun to head in and check it out. Portugal is the only country where McDonald’s serves soup! Pea soup, in fact. It’s a very soupy culture - even McDonald’s had to include it to gain locals’ acceptance.
São Bento Train Station
This station has a main entry hall that features some of Portugal’s finest azulejos — vivid, decorative hand-painted tiles that show historical and folk scenes from the Douro region. Originally a Benedictine convent, the land and building were nationalized and used to provide an ideal welcome for trains when they arrived in the 1870's. The distinctive tiles tell the story of Porto in a romanticized way, typical of that age. Rick Steves - Portugal Book
Stock Exchange Palace
Our next stop was the Stock Exchange Palace which is neither a stock exchange nor a palace, but the headquarters of the Commercial Association of Porto. Built over the course of 70 years, it has some of the most lavishly decorated rooms in Portugal. It was the perfect tour to do since it was out of the rain! I just loved all the many textures, colors and tile work throughout.
Below is a picture of the Arabian hall — inspired by Granada’s Alhambra and 18 years in the making — was painstakingly decorated in the Moorish style with wood, plaster, and golf leaf. It was pretty amazing! And fun since we’ve been to the Alhambra too!
This picture of Scott and Elisha with their umbrella is one of my favorites of the day. We were so wet! You can’t really tell in any of these pictures but it was POURING!!
It was still fun to wander around the city. The waterfront was just beautiful. Had it been a blue sky day, it would have been fantastic to photograph but a rainy day is just what we got. Part of the adventure and the memory.
On the Ponte Dom Luís I Bridge over the busy Douro River.
The riverfront Ribeira (meaning ‘Riverbank’) district is the city’s most scenic and touristy quarter. Narrow huddled piggledy homes face the busy Douro River. I would have loved to explore the ‘streets full of colorful houses draped with drawing laundry’ but no laundry was drying and we were hungry, tired and wet. We found a great pizza place, left our soaking wet umbrella’s at the door and took off wet jackets to sit and eat. It was a good day!
