16/09/2015
Our small apartment overlooks the Igreja dos Clérigos, a Baroque church with a tall tower that can be seen from most parts of the city. A high glass door, typical from the era, decades ago, in which our building must have been built, opens onto a small balcony. Through the open door, we can hear the noises of the city as it prepares for another day filled with hungry tourists, unable to converse in the native language.
We are loving the fact that we have to fend for ourselves for breakfast, and after a more than successful shopping expedition for the necessary ingredients for a hearty breakfast, we settle down in our tiny kitchen for what now has become brunch.
By the time we were ready to set off exploring the city, the most exquisite smell of pizzas came wafting through the window. Up in the tower of the Igreja, the carillon chimed a hymn that almost sounded like our National Anthem. It’s noon already. And as the last notes of the carillon echoed across the city, I could faintly hear the organ inside the church. So we hurried across to listen to the magnificent organ.
There was really only one thing I specifically wanted to see in Porto. Niel was surprised that I wanted to see a bookshop. He was even more surprised to find out that you required a ticket to see the bookshop. Livraria Lello has been in existance for over a hundred years, and besides the beautiful woodwork and the old worn wooden floors, that add to the smell of dust and books, it has a magnificent bright red staircase that leads to the first floor. A stunning stained glass ceiling tops it all. I spent some time here, and could easily just have sat down in a quiet corner with a good book and allow the world to pass by in a distance for a while.
As any city, there are many notable landmarks. Somehow, for Porto, most were unknown to me, but often no less fascinating or beautiful than the more known tourist attractions in cities like Rome and Paris. I find the streets of Porto confusing though. In a single street, you can find buildings that are beautifully decorated, often with their patterned or painted tiles, yet the very next building looks like there would be no hope to ever restore it to any inhabitable state. We wondered whether some of these buildings are just beyond repair, whether they don’t care to repair them, or whether there is simply not enough funds to do the reparations. We did however see many more hip shops here than we ever did in Lisbon.
We found the Mercado do Bolhão, and again, we wondered whether some effort to fix things up a little, would not help bring many more paying tourists to this magnificent old building.
We eventually made our way down to the river, and walked across the Ponte de Dom Luís, the metal arch bridge that crosses the Douro river. Here you can opt to walk down the steep decline to the river front, or take a cable car, so as to save your strength for some wine tasting at some of the many port wine quintas (cellars) in what is actually the city of Villa Nova de Gaia. We stopped at Quinta Ferreira for a tasting, and to learn a little more about the port industry of Portugal.
We opted to stay in for supper, and stopped at the pizza shop beneath our window, seeing that they had been enticing us earlier in the day with such aromatic odours.
Our holiday is rapidly coming to an end. We are pleased that we allowed ourselves a bit more time in Porto. Perhaps it has something to do with the location of our accommodation, but we are really enjoying being part of what feels like the heart of this vibrant city.
