Pottering Around Porto
We started our Thursday with a drive through historic Porto and parked at the National Soares dos Reis Museum, founded in 1833 to expose Portuguese students to the fine arts. With its well curated Portuguese paintings and sculpture and the gorgeous blue-and-white tiled walls, it was a dream come true (particularly given Mama's aesthetic preferences). We passed the hottest hours of the day there taking in Soares dos Reis and his contemporaries, through gallery after breathtaking gallery. We highly recommend their small and thoughtful collection!
When the hottest hours of the day had passed, we popped into Livraria Lello, known for being "the most beautiful bookstore in the world." After a visit, we can confidently confirm that we agree with this assessment. A stained glass ceiling and window coverings suspend over a red staircase that looks like melting lava, like something out of Harry Potter.
After the first tawny port of the day, we ventured out to the stunning teal Fonte dos Leões, Mama's new favorite fountain in the world!
After a visit to Igreja do Carmo, a cathedral smattered with striking tiles on the outside, we were eager to make our way to the river for sunset. We headed into the Ribeira neighborhood and soaked up some views before crossing the striking Ponte Luís I to the south side of the river, Cais de Gaia.
We let the sun's rays sink into us until the very last moments of its setting. Then we zoomed over to Via Catarina in search of new luggage, and came across a set of beautiful, wide streets and a historic local market, Mercado do Bolhão. We found a newly opened restaurant, Herdade 1980, and enjoyed wonderfully prepared sweet potato and spinach dishes, alongside the tawniest of ports. Mama's sleek new suitcase in hand, we slid back to the north side to turn in for the day.
On Friday we started at the Sé Cathedral, one of the city's most important Romanesque monuments. Built in the Gothic style, it has a continuous Azuelo mural interspersed between the walls of stone.
We headed back to the Livraria Lello area and met up with a wild Priya for lunch! As she got back to work, Mama and I then hopped on a bus to complete the route of the bus we'd been on yesterday. We explored Gaia, south of the river, and finished a complete loop before ending back in Ribeira Square.
From here, we were to catch our rabelo boat, used for centuries to transport people and wine down the Douro River. We took a cruise to see the 7 bridges that cross the Douro, including the Maria Pia Bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel!
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