Porto, Portugal (Sept 27-Oct 11) Part I

Porto is a beautiful city. From it's many beautiful tiled buildings to the old cobblestone streets and alleys..we loved every bit of it.
This is Ponte Luis I. Porto is known for it's 6 bridges spanning the Douro River.
This photo shows looking from Porto over to Vila Nova de Gaia.
The bridge has the upper span with sidewalks and rails for the metro. The lower span is for walking and taxis. No private cars.It was designed by Théophile Seyrig. He was one of Gustave Eiffel's partners. You can recognize that in the metalworking. For a tourist, it allows easy access to both riverbanks.

The Douro Valley is know for it's lush hillsides that produce the grapes for Port wine. Port wine can only be named "port" if it comes from this region .It's sweet, and high in alcohol..about 20%, due to the fermentation process they use.
Douro Valley. Unfortunately our trip there was cancelled...this is a stock photo. But you can see the vineyards. The wine is then shipped to the cellers on the other side of the river (Gaia)from Porto for aging in barrels. 

This is Calem Celler. There are many along the river on the Gaia side.We did a celler tour, Port wine tasting and a Fado show there. Fado is a music genre from the 1800's that originated in Portugal. It's known for the melancholic sounds and songs being sung. They were very good.
These boats now sit on the Gaia side of the Douro. They show how the wine was transferred down the river in the barrels. They now anchor by the cellers as advertisements and to help demonstrate the past. (Tanker trucks carry the wine to the cellers now, but they're still aged in the same barrels. )
São Bento train station. It was built in the late 1800's. It's beautiful.

Every wall depicts a different part of Portugal's history.
Not only is it absolutely beautiful with over 20,000 azulejo tiles, but it's organized and the trains are prompt!

One of the most beautiful McDonalds in the world. The building was originally Café Imperial, built in the 1930's. It was a famous meeting place. Later the building fell in disrepair and in 1995 McDonalds bought it.

That came with the stipulation that they keep the original art deco stained glass and the 3 beautiful crystal chandeliers.
The giant eagle remains. If you look above the McDonalds sign you will see the word " Imperial" ..an homage to the old Cafe. (Stock photo)
Waterfront houses in Porto
A beautiful small grocery store covered in tiles. Lots of unique goodies inside.
Luis bridge at night from our Airbnb window.
Loved the old tiles
"Seafood of the Poor". This seafood market was in the Port town of Matosinhos. We took the train there to check it out.
Church of Ildefonso

Porto had beautiful tiled homes and churches.

Different tiles and paints..one of my favorite!

Everyday is "leg day" in Porto
Lighthouse where the Douro River Meets the North Atlantic.
How to make a pigeon look pretty? Catch him in a bush eating berries with the sun shining!
"The Chicken Man" is on Las Flores always playing music. He had trained birds and chickens!
Pastel de Nata..sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top and it's heaven!
Ate a few more than I should have. My tight jeans can attest to that!
Steps up from the riverside. Got tiring after awhile.
Then we got lazy and would take the funicular up!

Grilled sardines on our food tour. Hard pass for me...Dave and Kyle devoured them.
Mercado do Bolhão
Center of Porto

The river at night..taken from the bridge.
Next time..Lisbon and Sintra.
Later!



























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