Porto Day 2

(A little late in publishing the blog. I usually push it out early in the morning the day after but for some reason, the internet went down in our apartment for a couple of days. Finally got it back Tuesday evening.)

Sunday and our first full day in Porto to go exploring. We had a leisurely breakfast in the apartment then stuck out on one of the walking tours recommended in our Lonely Planet guide.

We walked up the street to the historic Sao Bento train station, described as one of the most beautiful in Europe. Its not a huge train station but the main hall features huge tile murals depicting historic battles and the history of transportation.

From here we walked to the main town square, the “Avenida dos Aliados” lined with buildings with stunning facades and flanked by the town hall, the “Camara Municipal”.

From there we walked to a 19th Century market building, Mercado do Bolhao, but unfortunately it was closed on Sunday. Along the way we continued to be amazed by the tile work and facades of many of the buildings.

Just around the corner was an 18th century church, Cappella das Almas with blue and white azulejo friezes across its facade.

After a brief look inside the church, we wandered down the pedestrian-only Cappella das Almas. An upscale shopping street.

We had a quick look in the major shopping mall and quickly scoped out a Pandora store so it was time for Chris to pick out her Portugese bead for her bracelet.

There is some sort of festival going on this weekend and we encountered a few performing groups.

We intended to stop in at the famous Cafe Majestic but unfortunately it was closed on Sunday.

At the bottom of the street is the baroque church Igreja de Santo Ildefonso.

From here we walked west on Rua 31 de Janeiro to the Torre dos Clerigos, a 76 m high tower attached to the church Igreja dos Clerigos. The church’s interior was stunning.

Chris didn’t challenge the narrow 225 step spiral stairway up the inside of the tower but I did the ascent and got some good 360 degree views of the city.

Meanwhile, Chris was relaxing in the adjacent square which featured a nice outdoor bar. 

I joined her for a cold beer and some time to rest my feet after descending.

While I was up the tower, Chris had foundt a really cool bookstore. Imagine this, you had to buy a ticket to shop there and there was a lineup! The Livraria Lelo is a 1906 neo-Gothic design and is reportedly the inspiration for the one in the Harry Potter novels. An absolutely fabulous carved twisting staircase in the middle of the store.

We had another break to watch a group of musicians performing in a square.

I think this is my best rustic balcony photo yet, agree?

Then a walk through a park with some very peculiar trees.

We made a brief stop at the Porto Photography Museum, housed in an old jail.

It late afternoon and a mist started to close in so we made our way back toward our apartment. There is this old market building across the street that had and outdoor patio, the Mercado Ferreira Borges. We stopped for a drink but as we sat there the rain started. Fortunately we were under the covered section so we were able to finish our beverage in the dry. We had no plans for supper yet but discovered that inside the building was a hip sort of restaurant called the Hard Club. We managed to eat and get out of there before the nightclub action started.

We had an early bedtime so we would be rested for our all day tour to the Douro Wine Region tomorrow.

Will be a day or so behind on the blog until we get to Lagos and have some time to catch up. Its been a hectic few days.