Porto—September 20th-27th

Sept. 20 &21: Our first couple of days in Porto.

On our way from Coimbra to Porto.

Second class pretty comfortable.

Our place in Porto.

Our place. We share a bathroom on the second
floor ("first floor") with another room on the 
same floor.

Teresa and Miguel have a beautiful home.

The bathroom is spectacular. Huge shower

double sink with big fluffy towels.

There's a nautical theme running throughout Teresa and
Miguel's lovely home. These nicknacks are above the
bathroom mirror. 

Stairwell to the bottom floor. Opah (Oporto
Principal Almada Home) is three floors.
Teresa and Miguel Almada live on the bottom,
what we'd call the basement, floor.

As usual, we spent our first afternoon, this time in 
Porto, taking an orientation walk. We grabbed our 
map and navigated our way to the "Big i" in the 
Historic District. By the end of our second day, we 
had internalized the map and managed the maze of 
narrow streets, wending our way home after 
walking and gawking at many of the major sites, 
including a stroll along the Douro River.

Shipwreck art on Vila Nova de Gaia (south side 

of Douro River).

Ponte Luis I.

See plaque below for explanation of this monument.

It's not all about antiquity.

This street art rabbit was created
with repurposed materials. Awesome
found art.

Two large tour groups averaging 75+ years old.
Some looked as if they waited too long.

And this one and his tour guide brought up the rear.

We decided to pass on the Six Bridges Tour.

The following pictures are from the Livaria Lello
& Irma bookstore. The above plaque explains its
history, but since J.K. Rowling outlined the Harry
Potter series here from 1991-1993 while she was
teaching English in Porto, you can't just wander in
and purchase a book. Now you have to purchase an
entry ticket (4 euros) to see the amazing interior 
that inspired the moving staircases in her series.

We couldn't believe the line up and were about to walk away when Manuel, a tour guide, offered us two tickets and a place in line, because a couple of folks from his group didn't want to go. We were inside within five minutes instead of waiting an hour to buy tickets and another to get inside.

Notice the line in the background; this is the
one we jumped to the head of, thanks
to Manuel.

The Majestic Cafe is famed for its
1920's Art Deco architecture and as
the meeting place for who's who in
the zoo—you know, intellectuals
and such.

The cafe takes full advantage of its fame, charging 
a little over four times what a normal
coffee costs.

Carrying his leash in search of an owner.

The following pictures were taken at Mercado do
Bolhao. This market is Porto's version of the
Pike Place Market.

Like most old town centers, the doors
to shops, homes, pensions, and
churches are worth noting.