Leaving Porto via the Quay, …but Not by Water.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Quayside in Porto is a central area along the river that continues to be important today.

Since this has been and continues to be a working river,  boat transport and reminders of it are everywhere.

We want to make our way back to the car, parked further down by the river’s edge and decide to take the quay route, a narrow alleyway that rises above the river’s edge, houses crammed  into the small paces along with small clubs, bars and various small businesses.

The first section is undergoing renovation in parts, the upper section still sport gigantic steel rings at least a meter across, (3 feet) set into the stone path, where the stone has been conveniently chiseled out to recess the large obstacles since they are often located right in the centre of the narrow path.

I suppose that in days gone by, the fishermen and people who worked the boats would tie up literally on their doorsteps.

 

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Port houses are on the other side of the river… we view them this trip only across the sparkling river, join me as we make our way back to the car.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Once back in the car we head out though the maze of little streets…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

…from buildings where old style tiles abound, we  find the tunnel that takes us back out towards to outskirts of Porto, and once again it’s like going though a portal in time, even the tiles change instantly upon exiting the tunnel.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It’s the magic that is Porto…

Holy Moly, Another Beautiful Sight…

We are still touring Porto and there are two other buildings that grab my attention before we leave…   ironically the phrase that first sprang to mind was ” the devil is in the detail..”  and on these buildings it doesn’t seem at all appropriate.

What is appropriate is to give them the wonder they deserve…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Ok the big figure behind the glass makes sense, but who are the two little figures at her feet?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

They Come in Many Shapes and Sizes… All of Them Head-Turners!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

As we continue our tour of Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, we make one discovery after another. There are museums to see, many buildings to see inside, but too much for the limited time we have here.

Naturally, as a detail fanatic and a lover of architectural detail, it’s not just the balconies I love, or the intricate stonework, but also the buildings themselves.

If you were blindfolded and flown in a plane for twenty-four hours, then placed in the centre of the city,where you saw no signs and had no clues, and one thing is for certain:  as the blindfold came off and you soaked in the first sights around you,  not for an instant would you be saying that you were in London, or Athens, Amsterdam, or Paris, Venice or Sydney,  New York or Rio de Janeiro …

Portugal has a flavour that is all it’s own, a style that once you see it, you will recognise as very Portuguese, and the centre of Porto is a concentrated portion of that flavour.

In the centre of the city the buildings are often narrow, always tall and full of character.

I could walk these streets every day and find something new… don’t give me chrome or steel or reflective glass in towering faceless generic skyscrapers, square boxes or rectangles.

I want to see something that intrigues me, makes me smile, leaves me in awe, takes my breath away or just leaves me wanting to breathe it in…

Stunningly Portuguese…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Beautiful Historic Fact and Fiction Etched in Stone…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are in Porto, Portugal and it’s an artist and  photographer’s dream, especially if you are someone who adores architectural detail as I do.

For every image I photographed there were multitudes more that I missed, we passed them in the car, on the tour bus, they were too high up, or in several cases the increasingly tempermental camera shutter was just refusing to cooperate.

I think that had I been born male and lived several centuries earlier, it might have been me with a chisel, gently easing detailed images out of slabs of stone.

I have no names of these artisans, but one thing is clear, they were all craftsmen of the highest order and their work brings me not only great pleasure but also a magnificent sense of wonder at the amazing talent that is portrayed here.

No computer mock up images available to test their theories of how the final results might look, just a good eye, mallets, chisels, long years of apprenticeship, and a deep gut feeling about the ways of cutting stone to best show off it’s great qualities and to hide it’s flaws.

I can imagine the dusty hands smoothing off the images as they were formed, the long practiced hands gently chipping out the intricate details and smoothing off flowing edges.

Somewhere, somehow there must surely be a stonemason in my family history, I feel a connection to stone that  is deep and uncanny can surely only come from a long line of artistic DNA.

One thing is for certain,  my inner stonemason delights at these…

 

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

 

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Window Shopping for a Sense of Humour?

We are in Portugal’s second largest city, Porto. As we walk around I suddenly notice something about the building on the other side of the street we are walking down and I  start to laugh…

Clearly someone here has a genius wit. Once I point it out, the kids squeal in delight. In my opinion, every city needs at least one of these…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

São Bento… a Building that Rises Above It’s Station…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

If you had time to visit only one building in Porto to admire the amazing art of Portuguese azulejos (tiles) then I think that the  São Bento train Station that dates from 1916 wouldn’t disappoint.

It’s now that I am truly kicking myself for not bringing my brand  new Canon camera with me to Porto, the shutter on the point-and-shoot is suddenly sticking in a half open position and it keeps telling me therefore that the light levels are too low.

I ease the shutter fully open by hand and hope for the best… then the battery flashes that it’s starting to run out of juice and I have to start digging in the bag for the spare.  Darn, I can’t find it right now, so opt for fewer photos and cross my fingers that the results will be semi presentable.

Last time I was here, it was quieter, the light was more forgiving and I managed some better photos. Too bad they were on film and not digital and after the passage of years the colours are not so wonderful any more. This was meant to be a return trip to get some great photos.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m thwarted by the fact the São Bento Station is being renovated at the moment so there are screens and scaffolds and some sort of filmy tape on the tiles… so it’s a matter of making the best of the moment.

The glare on the tiles and the necessity of trying to photograph whilst commuters rush around us to catch their trains add to the distraction of the camera malfunctions…

One day sometime in my lifetime I promise myself a quiet hour here,  a Sunday morning would be perfect…with a tripod for steadier shots and not with two restless kids and an ever  patient Himself who is trying to entertain them but probably deep down secretly wishing I’d just get on with it.

São Bento Station… I will return. Maybe next time will be Third time lucky.

If you need to know what is the magnet that draws me here?… tiles… beautiful, amazing, detailed, vast, stunning, tiles.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

 

 

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Wikipedia tells me that:

“The most notable aspect of São Bento Station are the large, magnificent tile panels in the vestible. The tiles number 20 thousand, date from 1905–1916 and are the work of Jorge Colaço, the most important azulejo painter of the time.

The panels depict landscapes, ethnographic scenes as well as historical events like the meeting of knight Egas Moniz and Alfonso VII of León (12th century), the arrival of King John I and Philippa of Lancaster in Porto (1387) and the Conquest of Ceuta (1415).”

But enough of the statistics…  after all, a picture tells a thousand words…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

São Bento… at least if your train is delayed you can happily pass the time drooling at the inside walls.

Whoa… I Stop in my Tracks and Stare…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

If you are a detail fanatic like me, then Porto  is the kind of city that makes getting around quite a challenge.

I suppose that if I lived here I could walk  the city every fine day, camera in hand, learning about the buildings and architecture bit by bit.

I would take every little side street in the old section of the city and seek out all the best decorative bits and try and learn about the buildings that they adorn.

I literally want to stop and rubberneck at the buildings all day long. This is a city of stonework, wrought iron  and tile and much of it is stunning.

We exit Praça da Liberdada going in the direction of R.de 31 de Janeiro and my steps are halted as I stop and stare at a massive building on my left.

It’s drool-worthy… so I stop and drool. Taking photos in between motorised and pedestrian traffic crossing the intersection became an exercise in quick timing, but I managed to document some the evidence so that you can drool too.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

… and just past this kiosk  behind me is the building that we have really come to see…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Under Foot and Around About in Porto…

Pedestrian streets have the ability sometimes to be… well a bit… pedestrian.They can be just thoroughfares for people to get from A-to -B, or they can be places that are a pleasure on the eye…

Mosaics  in the pavement… (not easy shots to get)… how many photos with strange feet/part foot walking though did I have to delete?    I lost count…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

See what I mean?  at least these ones blended in a bit…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This building definitely didn’t start out it’s life as a McDo….

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A fountain in the square… it’s made to look like the water is eating away at the cube…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A giant tap (over a Plumbers premises… in a tiny side street)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

New postcards made to look old ? No, these are the real thing… old postcards printed up new…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Statue … one of many I saw, but this is the only one where I got a half decent photo…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I want to prance around here more too… so much to see, so little time…

I Don’t Know Who You Are, but You Are Beautiful…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

At the end of our Porto bus tour, in Portgual’s second largest city, in the closing minutes of the tour we pass by some amazing buildings.

I could have stood and looked at these for ages, I wanted to know all about them, their creators, history, past and current uses.

Sadly none of this information was forthcoming on the tour so I’m left guessing. I do know that the buildings are located on the Praça da Libedade close to the intersection of R.de Sampaio Bruno.

I love how the design flows and how much detail has been packed into the space. There are standing and seated figures, scrolls and flowers in stone, decorative ironwork galore and examples of stunning craftsmanship in it all.

I’m a detail fanatic, in these buildings, what’s not to like?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Let’s cut to the chase and get to the detail…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I don’t know who you are, but you are beautiful…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

And then it’s time to head down a small pedestrian street close by where all the next surprise turns out to be literally at our feet…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Taking the Bus …to Where?, exactly?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are walking around Portugal’s second largest city, Porto.

After lunch we spy a lovely old tram, which I first mistake as a working tram that takes tourists on a scenic tram route.

It turns out that it’s just  the ticket office for various tours and they dispense information with a smile too.

We opt for a tour on an open topped bus, there’s a bridges tour bus too that goes to Vila Nova de Gaia, that I was rather keen on, but we have just missed the departure for that one.

There’s a bus standing  a few meters away around the corner that does the city tour of Porto so we do a quick change of plan and grab tickets for it before it pulls out too.

We get some of the last seats aboard and settle ourselves into the top deck for views of Porto.

Conveniently there are headsets provided, all you have to do is to choose your preferred language from the ones available and plug in.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We end up taking the long road out along the river that heads out to the beach and slowly Porto and it’s outer suburbs unfold before us. The route we take today is the one on this map that goes from the centre of the city, and follows the red line heading left…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

There is a wide diversity of architecture and quite a lot of history about the city and how it slowly took shape over the centuries.  Let’s take a look…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This is a net sculpture by the American artist Janet Echelman. It’s offical name is ” She Changes” but the locals have dubbed it  the ” giant anemone”  and it was commissioned to honour and commemorate local fishermen.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It’s 50 metres in height, cost 1.25 million euros  ( really? , so much??? Wow!!!) was inaugurated in 2005 and is illuminated at night. It certainly is  a very distinctive addition to the  Matosinhos waterfront, at the river estuary a short distance from Porto.

Very close to the “She Changes” piece are two other sculptures… neither of which I managed to get the best photos of sadly…the first is a quirky one of a giant bicycle and rider…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The second is a set of figures that depict fishing village womenfolk and their anguish at waiting for their menfolk lost at sea…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

and there is the beach, a fort and an amazing building  there too…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Then it’s back to the buildings…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)