Portugal – Porto

Our first full day in Porto started with a local guide to show us the obvious sights, but also the hidden gems found down the many back alleys.

Before I begin I need to share this little story with you…our hotel was just a block from the river so I thought I’d be able to find my morning coffee if I took a short stroll. Sure enough I had my first espresso while overlooking the river. As I headed back to the hotel , something caught my eye a few stories up…I had not yet put in my contacts so I’ll use that as an excuse 🙂 I saw a woman, balanced on the balcony railing and from what I could see she was naked. I stopped and stared (I’m sure any local that spotted me had a good laugh), hoping she wasn’t going to jump!!! As you can see by this photo, she is a mannequin and subsequently learned that she has been sitting there for over 20 years.

I’ll start with the obvious…the view of Porto from the other side of the river in Gaia. We walked across the Dom Luis bridge and looking back on the city the view was breathtaking!

The sun was playing hide and seek through the somewhat ominous clouds. We walked along the river where the boats are moored, these sailboats were originally used to transport the wine in barrels to other regions and countries. I failed to mention that Porto is famous for their wines and the river walkway in Gaia is lined with wine stores and factories.

The colors and unique things you see as you walk the streets….

As we were walking toward Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar, it became obvious that the weather was changing for the worse and rain was heading our way. We did not react fast enough and got soaked with heavy rain and brutal winds. It lasted about 20 minutes and then it cleared.

The following images were taken in Porto in the many back streets. Perhaps to folks that live in Portugal, or likely most European countries, these scenes are nothing special but to one that lives in the states where colors on homes are boring and houses themselves are boring these scenes are beautiful to me. As I turned each corner I just kept saying “OMG how beautiful!

After a little rest in the afternoon, we met up with our friends from Lisbon to catch up over some wine and cheese and then headed for the Lello bookstore where we had entry tickets for 6:30. Entry tickets to a bookstore you ask??? Well, it’s not just any bookstore. Rumor has it that this bookstore inspired the library in the Harry Potter series. Recently J.K Rowling claims that is not true, but either way what a magnificent store!