Friday, November 29, 2013

Lisbon day 3 and Porto

Fresh mint and pineapple juice at Nova Pombaline at Rua Madalene and Rua do Comércio

Jardim da Estrela - an extremely beautiful park with many kinds of giant cacti.


A walk down a posh street with a stop for terrific pastry at a pastelaria


The wonderful E28 that took me there and back



The Cemitério dos Prazeres. Deserted and a bit scary

              

                           

Feral cats at the cemetery entrance


A tuk tuk taxi in the Alfama district - taking the #28 in the other direction

And the view


The fashion of Felipe Oliviera Baptista in the design Museum. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to photograph anything from the history of 20th C design in the first floor exhibit. I really liked that one.

The archway at the foot of Rua Augusta opening out onto the expanse of the Praça do Comércio

Waiting for the train to Porto in Lisbon station



a meal in a Porto caf after a day of travel
 The next pictures were taken on the Sunday after the conference as I wandered around a quiet city of closed shops. Porto is more quite rundown and a bit dreary after Lisbon's polish. Portugal's precarious financial state is more evident here.
a transplanted Ukrainian trumpetist busking in the centre of Porto.


 

A strange fountain with a black cube and vast outdoor seating for a cafe beside the river
   
The same fountain from a different viewpoint to show the buildings behind it.
   

Buildings piled up the hills like lego.

I bought most of my souvenirs in the stalls along the water's edge.


The car of the funicular to climb one of the city's steep hills


Looking up the hill from inside the funicular

Inside the tram. Unlike Lisbon, Porto's trams are not part of the city's transit system.

The trams are moving museum pieces with short circuits for 2.50 Euros.


Lovely fresh coconut sweet after a lunch of fried fish sandwich and fresh orange juice. 


Porto is on the River Douro. 

A riverside walk




The day is winding down and my legs are tired. Heading back to the hotel.






1 comment:

  1. Portugal had frozen rents (old rents) during one century, from 1910 until 2012. That's why you see rundown buildings in many places. Not a crisis related thing, in fact most investors runaway from the city historical center. Many landlors are also broke because of those renting laws.

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