We left Viseu with dismal weather, and although we’d intended to spend some time along the famous Douro River visiting vineyards and admiring the sweeping views, we decided to simply drive along the Douro and head directly to Porto, thus at least having the advantages of a city over being stranded in the remote countryside, with the forecast of pervasive rain.
Driving the backroads we reached the small town of Pinhao, which lies low on the north bank of the Douro. The vineyards are carved into endless stripes of green that hug the very steep mountainsides. We were, however, surprised to find that the various wineries—and there are many, many of them—crassly advertise their names from the mountainsides, an eyesore in what is otherwise lovely countryside. The area is also far more populated/urbanized than we had expected, further detracting from the more bucolic wine country look we’d expected. We spent hours driving along the endlessly curving roads that slice through the hills, offering alternately stunning and marred views, until we unwittingly made a wrong turn somewhere, and took ourselves well away from the river, to yet other rivers, until we finally found a town name that gave us a clue how to get into Porto.
Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, is nothing short of enchanting. Although we stayed a short distance outside the immediate center, we were well-located near the Praca de Mousinho de Albuquerque, a huge rotunda at the side of which is, amongst other sights, perches the super modern cube-like structure, Casa da Musica, Porto’s main music venue. It doubles as a skater park, a rather amusing if disjointed cultural combination.
Our main activity in Porto was walking, a solid 10 hours the first day, and not quite as many the second. Uphill, downhill, through the array of tiny pedestrian streets, alongside the old tram, through parks, along the riverside, while always looking up to miss less of the layers of buildings and their tilework. On our first day we were on a small unassuming square, when I saw something tile-related, and was drawn inside to a fascinating display by an organization that restores, repairs and replaces old tile, stone and stucco and grillwork around Porto. They even replicate the city’s beautiful old street signs. The work is all done elsewhere, but this gallery provides all sorts of examples of the kinds of tiles used. It also had some beautiful photographs of some of Porto’s most striking work. The lonely fellow overseeing the display was thrilled with our interest, and even explained some of the reasons tile is used. (In short, easy cleaning, largely waterproof, and most obviously, decorative!)
So while we did visit the famous waterfront(Ribeira), which is picturesque, particularly from the other side of the river, handfuls of churches, the beautifully decorated old Bolsa(Stock Exchange), and the unexpected tiles in the Sao Bento train station, our greatest time was had—as always—just wandering and people-watching. Andres decided to also begin taking more black and white photos, just to give the city, and particularly his people shots, a little different atmosphere. Below, better than words, are the pictures!
No comments:
Post a Comment