Saturday, September 13, 2014

Porto, Portugal - Part II (August 24-26, 2014)

Part II highlights:

1. Mass at Igreja das Carmelitas
2. Livraria Lello and Rua Galeria de Paris
3. Clerigos Tower (Torre dos Clerigos)
4. A local cobbler shop
5. My move from Porto Lounge Hostel to Tattva Design Hostel (to mix up my accommodation in Porto)
6. The Se Cathedral
7. The Photography Museum (Centro Portugues de Fotografia)

Above right: Azulejos on the side wall of Igreja das Carmelitas

Above: Inside Igreja das Carmelitas

Above: Lunch of vegetable soup and rice and beans, accompanied by bread, water, and lemon tea (5 euros)

Above: Making shrimp croquettes in Porto Lounge Hostel

Above right: Livraria Lello, one of the oldest bookstores in Portugal and rumored to have inspired JK Rowling's Harry Potter

Above right: A long line to enter Livraria Lello (free entrance since this was a functioning bookstore after all ~ although I couldn't imagine how one could peacefully browse through books in such a condition)

Above: No photography was allowed during the time I visited but I managed to steal a few shots (grin)

Above left: The second floor of Livraria Lello; Above right: A retail store on Rua Galeria de Paris

Above: Chic and creative merchandise for sale from soap bars to little gadgets to food items ~ all under a beautifully restored historic building

Above right: Clerigos Church (closed for renovation)

Above: Clerigos Tower (Torre dos Clerigos) ~ 2 euros entrance fee to climb the tower; magnificent aerial views of Porto from a height of 76 meters

Above: A cobbler shop! I had to stop inside to mend my worn sandals ~ one of its straps came apart in Sintra. The lady took it, looked at it, and proceeded to mend it without saying a word. She also fixed the heel of the right sandal while she was at it. "Okay," I thought to myself. "I hope it's not going to cost me a bomb." After a short wait, she said to me, "2 euros". W-O-W! 

Above: Lunch at Galeria de Paris (4.50 euros), a quaint and rather low-key restaurant/bar whose street of Rua Galeria de Paris was named after

Above right: A budget eatery near the City Hall

Above left: Check out the prices ~ the most reasonably-priced place I've been to; Above right: Tattva Design Hostel, where I stayed 6 nights (@ 17 euros a night) 

Above: My bed and room in Tattva Design Hostel - dark and small; oh how I missed the bed and bright and airy room in Porto Lounge Hostel!

Above: The Se Cathedral in Porto

Above right: Regular admission 4 euros; students 2 euros to the Se's cloister, chapter room, and treasure house

Above: The Photography Museum (Centro Portugues de Fotografia) ~ this fascinating building was formerly a prison (free entrance)

Above: Inside the Photography Museum



Next post: Braga, Portugal (August 27, 2014)
Previous post: Porto, Portugal - Part I (August 22 & 23, 2014)

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