Roaming in Ribeira

After a good night’s sleep and breakfast, we’re off to see more of Porto. Using our complimentary tourist map from the airport and sync’d up with our list of sites to see, we set out for a good 4-hour stroll. One thing in common with Porto and Lisbon is that they are both built on hills, lots of hills. Seems no matter which direction you walk, you’re going uphill. Some are pretty steep so it can be slow going for us “mature” travelers.

First on our list is the Ribeira (River) district. This historic area is located on the riverfront of the Douro River and was home to fishermen and merchant ships as early as the Roman period, around 4^th century AD. Today it is a thriving tourist area with numerous bars, restaurants and sight-seeing boats that cater to the hundreds of tourists dropped off here by their cruise ships. Even today, when there are no cruise ships docked in Porto, there are crowds of tourists meandering (I hate meanderers) up and down the riverfront.

Going down to the riverfront was easy, there are stairs right behind our apartment that take us almost to the bottom of the hill. Bad news is that at some point, we’ll have to climb back up. We pass the Palacio da Bolsa, the Stock Exchange Palace, built in 1842 constructed in numerous architectural styles, neoclassical, Tuscan, and English neo-Paladian. I guess the indecision on style is what makes this one of the most visited buildings in Porto with over 250,000 tourists flocking here annually. Onward to the river!

Weaving our way through the meanderers, and sometimes sashsayers, we make our way to the “cube” that saved Porto. Located in the Praca de Ribeira, this bronze “cube” by artist Jose Rodrigues, also features several pigeons affixed to the sculpture. Yeah, I know, so what. Well, it’s a good landmark for a meeting place.

Behind this work of art is a cathedral, name unknown, with a somewhat unique depiction of Christ. I think it likens to a cross (no pun intended) between a 1960’s hippie, a beatnik (the goatee) and Fred Flintstone. Still, worth a picture.

Of course, the most featured site here is the Ponte de Luis I bridge. Work began on this bridge in 1881 with a Belgian company winning the design competition.  Five years later the bridge opened to foot and auto traffic and life was good. Today, for a nominal fee, you can walk across the bridge on the highest level and get a spectacular view of the waterfront and Douro delta. (I’ll convince Collette to do that tomorrow) Or, if you’re not a fan of heights, you can cross for free using the lower level.

But that’s for tomorrow. Today we have other sites to see on this side of the river. Sites like the 17^th century fountain, Chafariz da Rua Escura; or the Cathedral do Porto; or the Harley Davidson store. Yep, need to get our brother-in-law a tee shirt. Mainly we are just strolling up and down hills to see the sites.

A “must see” in all the tourist books is the train station. The extensive use of azulejo tile makes this a popular attraction for all the tourists. Pity the people actually there to get to a train! The station has one large entry room with azulejo tile on all four walls, from floor to ceiling. The 22,000 tiles depict some of the most significant points in Portuguese history. This masterpiece was created by artist Jorge Colaco in 1903 and is considered one of the most beautiful train stations in the world.

Continuing on, it’s time for lunch. Somehow Collette and I got our tastes confused. The restaurant we chose offered fish & chips, which I selected; and Collette ordered the “dobrado”, tripe & bean stew. Not that I’m a fan of tripe, but that should have been my order. I’m the meat & potatoes guy. The fish & chips were fine. I’ve just never had them with onions, peppers and olives on top. Collette’s tripe was more like a strip of fat so easy to push aside and get to the ham & beans that were under it. Now that’s a hearty meal!

Two glasses of wine later, and we’re off. Back on the road to our next site, Clerigos Tower. Built 1754 -1763 for the Brotherhood of Clerigos (Clergy), the Baroque style tower stretches to a height of 75.6 meters, 248 feet. From the top there’s a great 360⁰ view of the city. Now all you need to do is climb the 248 steps to the top. A word of caution, entry to the tower is by time slot so try to go either after 4pm or before 3pm. Why? At 4pm the bells of the tower start ringing to announce the end of the day and continue for about 10 minutes. It gets pretty loud in the tower during that time. How do I know? Guess.

One last adventure for today. Time to take a break and enjoy a marvelous treat special to Porto, Pasteis de Bacalhau or deep-fried codfish, potatoes, onions and parsley with cheese. Now doesn’t that sound delicious? When we first stopped here, I thought it was deep-fried potatoes and made a charge for the counter, that is until Collette asked what these were. Why, just why, would you mix codfish with something as good as potatoes? Oh well, we’re here so gotta try it.

Actually, not that bad. It’s more potatoes than codfish so not bad, and the melted cheese inside just adds one more bit of texture to an already funky snack. Thank goodness we had a glass of port to help wash it down. Did I forget to mention that? Each serving comes with a glass of the best sugar water in Porto. Just what you need on a warm afternoon.

Enough for today. Heading back to the apartment for a little TV then off to bed. Big day tomorrow, laundry day. Amanha!