With a full day planned today, our first stop is inside the Saõ Bento train station to look at the amazing tile designs depicting moments in Portuguese history and everyday life. Truly amazing work.
Mom and I walked up the busy shopping street - Rua de Santa Catarina - and stopped to admire the ever busy Majestic Café, which has been extremely popular since its' completion during the Belle Époque period (as shown in it's beautifully ornate interior and exterior architecture).
A stop at the Bolhão Market also proved a feast for the eyes (not to mention nose) with rows and rows of stalls selling everything from flowers to fish to vegetables to smoked hams & sausages to breads & pastries, etc.
Doors and fixtures throughout the city develop amazing patinas through time. I discover so many on our walk towards the Cais da Ribeira (the riverside quay of Porto) to the Douro river...and then there was the naked mannequin propped on the balcony! Hysterical!
Mom and I cross the 1886 built Dom Luis I bridge over into Vila Nova de Gaia where the famous port lodges are.
The rabelos carry barrels of each estates' wine down from the Douro valley region to begin maturing in their prospective lodges. On the Vila Nova de Gaia side we have a great view of many of these boats with the city of Porto in the background.
Again, boa noite Porto, we've had a great day!
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