Oh Porto! (2)

“Looking around Porto”

Porto, Portugal. May 2019. (12 photos)

This is Part 8 of my Portugal 2019 photo series, and also Part 13 of my Europe 2019 photo series.

Recently I spent a month visiting France and Portugal, with a short visit to Singapore for good measure.

I stayed for 6 nights in Porto, using it as a base for my time in northern Portugal. Here are some more photos from my random wanders around Porto.

The photo above was taken around 2pm. Despite that, the sun struggles to fill some of the narrow alleyways of Porto. I like the way the windows catch the sun and reflect it to the street. I was hoping that man in the shadows would step into the light, but it wasn’t to be.

“Sunset on Porto”

Miradouro (viewpoints) are much less common in Porto than in Lisbon, but I was able to watch the shadows lengthen over Porto from this private property viewpoint, at least until the owner came to lock the gates, and everyone had to leave. Of note, in this photo from left to right you see the Se do Porto (Cathedral of Porto), the Paco Episcopal do Porto (Episcopal Palace), Igreja de Sao Lourenco (Church of St Lawrence), Ponte Luís I (Luis I Bridge) and Mosteiro da Serra do Pilar (a former monastery).

“Monumento aos Mortos da Grande Guerra”

A monument to those who died in the Great War.

“The Conversation”

Street art by prolific local artist Hazul Luzah.

“Respeitai este lugar. Orai pelos mortos”

The plaque says, Respect this place. Pray for the dead.

“Two baroque churches”

For this photo, I’m standing on the grounds of the University of Porto, looking at the Igreja do Carmo, and to its left is the Igreja dos Carmelitas. You can see a tiny green door in between the two churches. That belongs to a 1 metre wide house (now a museum), built deliberately between the two churches so they would not share a common wall and to prevent any relations between the nuns of Igreja dos Carmelitas and the monks of Igreja do Carmo.

“Igreja do Carmo”

The side wall of Igreja do Carmo, beautifully decorated with azulejos.

“The daily life of Porto”

“Porto architecture”

“Oh Porto!”

That moment when you walk into one of the world’s most beautiful train stations with the late afternoon light streaming in through the western windows and entrances.

“Sao Bento Station”

São Bento Train Station was opened to the public in 1916 on the site of a former Benedictine monastery. Although the train station is striking from outside, the real beauty lies inside. The main hall has over 20,000 tiles that reflect the history of Portugal.

“Dusk on the Ribeira”

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In May and June 2019, I visited France, Portugal and Singapore.

This is Part 13 of this photographic series and Part 8 of the posts about Portugal.