Portugal - Porto III

Garden of Virtues

Day three started with us having breakfast at a nearby coffee shop - Cafe El Reys, just across from Jardim das Virtudes  (Garden of virtues). 
Situated just behind the Court House, this vertical garden is apparently not a very well known garden with the locals, and even I didn't get to go down the park as I had no idea where the entry was. Next time! 
At the top there were some statues and an old fountain built in 1618, at the end of the street. The supporting wall was around the garden was built in the 18th century. The views over the river were spectacular.

The horses statue is called - The 4 cavaliers of the Apocalipse,1956/ Old fountain/ View over Porto

Carmo & Carmelitas Churches

After breakfast we walked about 600mt to find two churches, which are just across from Porto's university building in Rua do Carmo, and located close to the Clérigos Tower, Cordoaria Gardens and Lello Bookshop.

The two churches are separated by a 1 metre wide house which was inhabited until the 1980's. It was built due to a State rule that two churches couldn't share a wall, and also to ensure chastity between the nuns and the monks of either church.

I wonder if they didn't see each other outside church?

Carmo and Carmelitas churches

On the left Igreja dos Carmelitas (Carmelite church) - was built in the mid 17th century, completed in 1628.

With a granite facade, the 3 arched entrances topped with statues, the bell tower is covered with blue and white tiles.The church was used as barracks during the French Invasion of Porto (1808-1814).

On the right, Igreja do Carmo (Carmo Church) - was built between 1756 and 1768 in a rococo or baroque style, and has one of it's exterior walls covered in blue and white tiles (azulejos) which were added in 1912, depicting scenes of the founding of the Carmelite order in Israel. They were designed by Silvestro Silvestri and made across the river in Gaia.

Lello & Irmão Bookstore 

Just down the road, is Lello bookshop, which is considered one of most beautiful bookshops in the world. 
Founded in 1881 the bookshop moved into the current building in 1906. 

The building has a Neo-gothic facade with figures representing Art and Science. 

The interior is stunning and was designed by Xavier Esteves, with a marvelous red staircase in the center, wooden walls, stained glass ceiling with Lello's motto - "decus in labore" (There is honour in work).

The Lello building, the doorman in a fancy suit, our tickets, Centenary of Lello bookshop in 1981

It's rumoured that J.K.Rowling's inspiration to write Harry Potter began in this library. The well known writer lived in Porto for 10 years in the 1990's working as an English teacher.
I haven't read the books or seen the movies, (sorry to all the fans, but not a fan of fantasy) but apparently there are similarities between Lello's library and the one in Hogwarts. Also the Hogwart's black capes could have been inspired by the University capes students use in Portugal, and Porto's university is located near this library.

With all the fame, the only way to visit this bookshop is if you a ticket (€4) which can then be redeemed if you purchase a book - English and French books also available.

When we saw the huge queue to go in, my husband and son in law gave up straight away and scurried across the road to the coffee shop. 

My daughter and I bought the tickets, which are sold at the adjoining shop, where you are able to take photos of some "staged props" and you can buy postcards, books, crafts, etc.
Then we went back outside to join the long queue that went around the building. It only took us about 20 minutes before we were able to go in, so it wasn't that bad.

The bookshop is indeed very pretty, although there were so many people it was difficult to get a good photo without dozens of people in them!

Me on the staircase, intricate wooden rails, stained glass ceiling 

I bought a health book and story book for grandparents to read to grandkids, and both of us were able to get our entry ticket rebated in the price.

If you peep outside the windows you are able to get a good view of the Jardim das Oliveiras (Olive grove garden) with 50 olive trees and the Clerigos Tower across the park.  (It was actually very foggy, so couldn't see too much beyond).   

The Olive Grove Garden built over a parking garage at Praça de Lisboa (Lisbon Square), was a successful project that brought people and commerce to this area of Porto. 
At one end of the park is the statue of D. Antonio Ferreira Gomes, a Catholic bishop 

that fought against the fascist regime in Portugal. 

View from Lello bookshop over the Olive Garden, where Jose and Thomas were having a coffee, and Clerigos Tower 

Clerigos Tower and statues in the park (Antonio Ferreira Gomes) and other

                                                                                                                                       

After the visit to the bookshop we walked 5 min. until Rua da Flores to find a place to have lunch.

Rua das Flores (Flowers street)

Near São Bento station, this street in the heart of Porto is a hive of activity from morning to night.
The buildings have been renovated, the electricity boxes are decorated with drawings (murals), there are plenty of coffee shops, boutiques, delicatessen...
Once more I found beautiful doors and windows and loads of different tiled buildings.
You can sit down at one of the Cafe's, have a coffee and a Pastel de Nata (custard tart) and watch the world go by.

Doors, windows, tiles, decorated buildings and murals

But we were all getting quite hungry and decided that we would like to visit the 

Bom Sucesso Market for our lunch. We started by walking, but the mobile GPS indicated it was a 2km walk, so we took a taxi instead. Taxis are reasonably cheap in Portugal and the trip cost us €4!

Bom Sucesso Market

This market from the 1940's was revamped recently and is now an airy and light 3,200m2 building, with a fresh produce market, food court with 44 shops and a 4 star hotel - Hotel da Musica (Music hotel).

The produce market sells fish, meat, fruit and vegetables from 9am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday.

The food court is open Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 11pm, and has a great variety of stands selling Portuguese, Italian, Japanese and other variety of dishes, to fresh juices, wines, bread, coffee and pastries. If you're looking for a foodie gift, there are a couple of gourmet shops that sell edible goodies like cheese, olive oils, preserves and honey.

Bom sucesso market - food and gourmet shops

Lunch of Alheira Risotto, Codfish and Suckling Pig from Bom Sucesso market

My husband, daughter and son in law chose Portuguese traditional dishes and I bought a risotto with alheira (chicken and bread sausage).

Alheira is something we don't get in Perth (or at least the ones I found here weren't very good, and is one of my favourite sausages - fried and served with chips and egg.

You might be interested in reading about this special sausage that saved Jewish lives in the 15th century.


Casa da Musica (The House of Music)

After lunch we walked to the nearby Casa da Musica (Music House) and crossed the huge roundabout - Rotunda da Boavista. 

It honours Mouzinho de Albuquerque, a Portuguese soldier who fought in Africa during the 19th century.

In the middle of the roundabout stands a 45 mt high column topped by a lion over an eagle, commemorating the victory of the Portuguese against the French troops that invaded Portugal during the Peninsular war (1807-1814).
As for the Music House - a concert hall, there were tours of the building, but we would have to wait for a while, so we decided against it.

                                                     Casa da Musica (House of Music)

                                                      Monument to the Peninsular war 

Holy Trinity Church & City Hall

Walking downtown again we came across Igreja da Trindade or Holy Trinity Church just behind Porto's Town Hall. It was opened to the public in 1841, and the architect, Carlos Amarante is buried in the church.

Just before we got to the Town Hall, my husband and son in law decided they had enough of walking and sight-seeing and returned home to rest.
My daughter and I continued, as there were still a few things to see on the list.
I contacted a friend of ours who lives in Porto and works just across from the Town Hall, and both her and her husband met us for a coffee nearby.

Holy Trinity Church

Porto's  City Hall

The  City Hall built in 1920, at the top of the Aliados Avenue (Allied Avenue) downtown, is another of Porto's famous landmarks. It's an imposing building with a 70mt high tower with a carillon clock.
After coffee with our friends, my daughter and I walked a few blocks to the next landmark.

Chapel of Souls

The Capela das Almas (Chapel of Souls) on the popular shopping street Rua Santa Catarina (close to Santa Catarina shopping centre) is a church that is covered in the traditional blue and white azulejos, depicting the lives of various Saints. The tiles are painted in a classic 18th century style, but they were painted in the 20th century.
It's also close to the Bolhão Market a fresh produce market.

The tiled Chapel of Souls

It was time to start making our way home via a few more of Porto's landmarks.

Majestic Cafe

There was no time to stop for tea and cake at Porto's most beautiful Cafe, so it was just a quick peek in. It dates back to 1921,  also located on Santa Catarina Street, it has a gorgeous Art-Deco facade and the most beautiful interior!
On the other corners are others buildings with beautiful architecture and the most beautiful door just across from the coffee shop.

Majestic Cafe - facade and inside

Beautiful buildings  and an amazing shop door.

Just around the corner we came across the Statue of King Pedro V, the National Theatre and another beautiful church - Santa Clara church, with the facade covered in azulejos (tiles). Apparently the interior is magnificent, but it was closed for restoration.

Pedro V statue, National Theatre, Santa Clara Church, Tram and old city walls behind it, Statue of Vimara Peres, Count of Portucale during 868 to 873.

Porto Cathedral (Sé)

Nearby was Porto Cathedral (Sé do Porto), a Roman Catholic church located in Porto's historical centre, constructed around 1110, making it one the city's oldest monuments!

The cathedral is flanked by two square towers crowned with a cupola. It benefited from renovations in the 18th century. Entry is free, but there's a fee to visit the Cloisters and Museum. 

The views over Porto from here are also fabulous.

Porto's Cathedral

And we are on the final stretch of our day, going down the narrow streets towards home, we go past Igreja de Sao Lourenco or Igreja dos Grilos (Church St Lawrence or Church of Crickets) a church and convent built in 1577 by the Jesuits. Today the premises belong to Porto's seminary.

There's a lookout next to it, where we had previously been the night before when we had dinner at the lovely Portugues de Gema Restaurant. (Rua de Sant' Ana 33)

St Lawrence Church and lookout, and Porto's cathedral

Home & Dinner

And we finally arrived home at almost 8,30! The sun was setting and I sat down in the terrace, enjoying the amazing views.

Just after 9pm we left home for dinner at "Casa Virtude" restaurant just across from the Garden of Virtues, from where we had left this morning.

A great restaurant with great food, and after dinner we were ready to crash into bed.

Sunset views from the terrace

Dinner at Casa Virtude restaurant

And so ends another very busy day in Porto.  Next time we visit the Port wine region of Pinhao.

Monday Mural - Electrical boxes I

Walking through one of Porto's main streets - Rua das Flores (Flowers street) near Sao Bento station, I came across lots of electrical boxes which have been painted by various artists.
Some boxes have phrases which are typically "Porto speak", and not really correctly written either. 
Here are two of those boxes painted by Godmess and Sem.

For other murals from around the world please follow this link:

This first one correctly written would be: "Esta na hora de vergar a mola" meaning "It's time to work hard".

 "Este e fino como o alho" means "this person is smart, clever and crafty".

Hope you enjoyed these colourful boxes, lots more to follow in the next weeks.

Portugal - Porto - II

When we left the Porto apartment we had for the first day, we drove to our next Airbnb apartment just to familiarise ourselves with where it was - it was only about 700mt away, how great!

It was 11AM and we could only check-in at 2PM, but our car was full of visible luggage, so we parked it in a parking garage next to the Court House with the boot facing the wall so it was safe, and we were then free to start walking around.

Court House and statue called Justice , done in 1961 

Cordoaria Park:

Right across the Court house was the Jardim de Joao Chagas formerly known as Jardim da Cordoaria (Cordoaria Park) at Campo dos Martires da Patria.
I enjoyed the variety of statues, the bandstand that was decorated with colourful string and the tram that crossed the park.

Cordoaria Park

On the other side of the park was a restaurant, we liked what was on the menu which was displayed outside, so we went in for lunch. We were shown to the first floor of "Dona Porto" to a pretty room with a granite stone wall, plenty of art on the walls, a bookshelf with books in various languages, mirrors...
Service was great and the food didn't disappoint either and we had a view of the park as we were the first to arrive so had a choice of seating.

Dona Porto Restaurant

Clerigos Tower & Church:

After lunch we started walking down to the Ribeira again, going past Torre dos Clérigos Church (Church of the Clergymen). 

This Baroque style church with a marble altar, was built by Italian architect (Nicolau Nasoni) for the Clerigos Brotherhood, was started in 1732 and finished in 1750. 

The 75,6 mt high tower that can be seen from various points of the city is located at the back of the church and was built later between 1754 and 1763. It has 240 steps leading up to the 6th floor with 360 degree views over the city. 

The architect later joined the Clerigos Brotherhood and was buried in the crypt of the Church. Entry to the church is free, but if you wish to visit the tower and Museum to see a collection of sculptures, paintings, furniture and gold-smithery from the 13th to the 20th century, the entry fee is 4€.  There are night time visits too, from from 7 to 11pm, when you can see the city all lit up.

Clerigos Tower and Church facade

Inside the  Clerigos Church

   Colourful houses near the Church and shop selling tins of Portuguese sardines with wrappers with info about every year

The 6 Bridges Douro Tour:

After peeking into various shops, we reached the Ribeira and bought our tickets for "The 6 bridges tour". There are long cruises along the Douro river, but we just wanted a little taste, so a 50 minute tour was enough. 

Sadly the weather was getting worse and it had started to drizzle, but the only way to take photos was to be on the bow of the boat as from inside you couldn't really see. Luckily it didn't rain for long...

Starting with the main bridge servicing Porto - Luis I bridge - designed by German engineer Theophile Seyrig (a disciple of Gustav Eiffel). It took 5 years to build, was finished in 1886 and is 395mt long.
The top deck was later converted to be used by the Metro line and there is a pedestrian crossing too.

The second bridge is the Infante Dom Henrique bridge (or just Infante Bridge), the most recent bridge, opened in 2003 and built to replace the upper deck of Luis I bridge which was converted to be used by Yellow line of the Metro train.  

Named after Prince Henry, the Navigator who was born in Porto. It is 371mt long and 20 mt wide.

The third bridge, Dona Maria Bridge (or Maria Pia Bridge) - designed by Gustave Eiffel and his disciple Theophile Seyrig  on the northern side of Porto and Gaia.

It was the first railway bridge that linked Lisbon to Porto, inaugurated in 1877 by King Luis and Queen Maria Pia, who gave the bridge its name. 

It is 354mt long, and back when it was built it had the longest single-arch span in the world. 

Although it was a complex bridge to build it only took just short of 2 years to be built. 

D. Maria Pia and Sao Joao bridge just after

The Maria Pia's Bridge is no longer in use and was superseded by another railroad bridge in 1991 - the Sao Joao bridge, built just a few metres away, used by the North line of the Portuguese railway system. Also built by Edgar Cardoso who built the Arrabida bridge.

After the Dona Maria bridge is the furthest bridge - Freixo bridge, inaugurated in 1995. 

It's actually 2 bridges built side by side, separated by 10cm, allowing for 8 traffic lanes, 4 each way. On average about 100,000 cars cross this bridge daily.

The top deck is used for rail travel. 

Freixo Bridge

On the return trip via Porto towards the sea, we go past the last bridge - the Arrabida Bridge.

Arrabida Bridge

With the high volume of traffic across Luis I bridge, another bridge had to be constructed - the Arrabida Bridge - where about 140,000 cars cross daily.

It's the bridge closest to the Atlantic Ocean and was concluded in 1963, projected and built by the Portuguese engineer and university professor, Edgar Cardoso.

It has an arch of 270mt, a lenght of 500mt and is 26,5 mt wide. It also has 4 lifts for people to climb the 70mt from the river bed to the top to facilitate pedestrians crossing the bridge.

And it was time to return to port, back to Ribeira. 

And an interesting piece if information - Porto is the only European city with 6 bridges crossing its river !

Luis I Bridge and the Ribeira area

Remains of the suspended bridge Maria II with a cafe

Next to the pillars of the Luis I bridge, are the vestiges of D. Maria II bridge (suspended bridge) which was inaugurated in 1842 and demolished in 1887, to give way to the building of the Luis I bridge. I loved the fact they had a cafe on a platform suspended between the entry and a pillar.

We walked across the Luis I bridge into the Gaia municipality on the other side of the river so we could visit one of the Port wine cellars. 

As we crossed the bridge we noticed a couple of kids on the rails poised to jump into the water. On the Gaia side another kid collected coins from the watching public. My husband gave him 5€ and the kid obviously having reached what they wanted gave the other 2 kids the go ahead to jump.
It's apparently an old tradition, that was portrayed in a 1942 Portuguese movie - Aniki Bobo, and in a more recent movie - Meninos do Rio (children of the river) in 2014.  I found it rather dangerous...

Just days later, back in Lisbon, as I was showing my parents the photos, I was told that just days before we were in Porto, an American tourist had jumped the bridge to impress his girlfriend and had disappeared in the water....not sure if there's ever been accidents with the kids.

At this stage the owner of the apartment where we would be staying the next 3 days called to say he could meet us there shortly, but we were busy on the other side of the river ... so he said he would drop the keys at a cafe near the house and we could pick them up anytime. 

That suited us better, but we never got to meet the owner.

Jose, Karina and I on the 6 Bridge boat tour

Port Wine Tasting:

On the Gaia side we enjoyed a walk along the riverfront perusing the craft markets. 
Time for Port tasting, and from dozens of cellars to choose from we settled on a visit to Porto Cruz cellars.  Apart from just tastings they have exhibitions, a multimedia centre and workshops. The viewing terrace with a bar at the top has 360 degree views over Porto and Gaia. After taking some  photos we returned to the ground floor to buy a "Port wine and cheese tasting". You can choose either just Port or Port/chocolate tastings or Port/cheese tastings.

Porto Cruz building, terrace and views

We were served 3 glasses of Port each, with 3 different cheeses to go with each of the different Ports, and were given 1 more glass to share among the four. The tasting is accompanied by a presentation about each wine variety and age. Two of the cheeses were delicious but the young girl presenting it didn't know what cheeses were served.
As you can see there are Ports in various colours depending on their maturity, and it was the first time I tasted ruby Port, I only knew the white and dark variety.

I'm not a big drinker, or I should say I hardly ever drink, but if I do I prefer sweet drinks, but after drinking 3 Ports, even though they were accompanied by cheese I was already feeling a bit tipsy, which just leads me to giggle a lot 😀😀.

"Women in Black" exhibition, our Port wine tasting glasses and chese 

Then it was time to make our way back across the bridge to Porto, to go and settle into our new place, and these are some of the interesting things we saw on our walk there...

University students with their outfits, a chemist, colourful characters in a shop window, decorated front of house, old fountain

We collected the keys from the designated Cafe and parked the car right in front of the apartment in a narrow street of the suburb of Miragaia.

When I booked the apartment via Airbnb the outdoor terrace with views over the Douro river was what attracted me to it, and the house certainly didn't disappoint! 

It was the ideal spot to watch the sun set or to sit at night with a drink and watch the night lights, just beautiful!

It was aptly named "Oporto best view-garden". Located at Rua Francisco da Rocha Soares, it was also within walking distance to the city centre.

Bedrooms, lounge and the fantastic terrace with river views

Sunsets on the terrace

Old English Club of Porto has a fancy restaurant (Rua das Virtudes) views from near the apartment, narrow cobbled streets of Porto 

After settling in, it was time to go and have a bite to eat. Jose and Karina (hubby and daughter) had their hearts (or tummies) set on eating snails. Ugh, I never tasted them... but we couldn't find a place that had them. 

Eventually a young guy from a fancy restaurant  - the Old English Club, (old house w/green balconies on photo above) walked us to a lovely out of the way eatery just 500 mt away. No snails again, but certainly a variety of traditional dishes served in a different way. 

Português de Gema - at 33 Rua de Santana, is a delicatessen that sells products produced by people with past social exclusion - biscuits, jams, cheeses and pastries. 

Vocational training is seen as the key to integration, and here these people sell their products, cook in the kitchen or serve at the tables. 

We loved the food, the presentation, the little backstreet balcony full of flowers, the chatty gentleman serving at the table, the cozy atmosphere - it was a pity we didn't get another chance to go back, but if I ever visit Porto again I will, specially after I read about this reintegration project, they deserve our support!

Just at the end of the street was a Church - Sao Lourenco (or Igreja dos Grilos) (Saint Lawrence or Church of Crickets) built in 1577, now a seminary, and there was a lookout over part of Porto that was all lit up by now, and we stood there for a while admiring the view.

Views of Porto at the Sao Lourenco lookout

Time to go home and rest our weary feet, can't believe we managed to do so much, and we walked just over 20,000 steps!

And so ends a photo heavy post, see you back next week for more sights of Porto.

Youtube 3 min video about the 6 bridges in Porto