Porto 3

This will be the last post on Porto.  I felt in order to do the city justice it was better to split the post into parts because otherwise, it would just turn into one large photo dump, and I don't know about you but after 5 or 6 photos I start to lose interest.   The day in Porto started off lovely.  The sun was shining.  It was not too hot and not too cold.  As baby bear said, "it was just right."  We ate a lovely breakfast at the hotel.  Oh, by the way, we stay at the Sheraton Hotel.  While not directly in the city center, we were able to walk two blocks and catch the subway/train into the heart of the city which wasn't more than 10-15 minutes. Porto like Lisbon is extremely hilly and for sure you will get a workout.  Prior to going to the bookstore, we made our way to Igreja dos Carmelitas Descalos Igreja do Carmo was built in 1628 and 1756-1768 stand side by side, and if you didn't know appear to be one church.  The blue-tiled facade is hard to miss and is very striking.  The scenes depict the founding of the Carmelite Order of nuns and Mount Carmel.  Sadly, I cannot attest to the inside as we did not go inside the chapel.  After leaving the church, we walked just across the street and visited the bookstore which I mentioned in a previous post.  Then it was on to Igreja de Santo Ildefonso another church located near the shopping district.  This lovely tiled chapel was built in 1739, and the tiles were not added until 1932 and depict Saint Ildefonso and scenes from the gospel.  The chapel is covered in over 11,000 tiles.  It was my favorite of the chapels we visited.  We visited many souvenir shops along the way as my friend Buffi was on the hunt for the perfect gifts to bring home her children.  In the end, she purchased a couple of Cork Bags.  These can be found all over Portugal.  They have various patterns and designs and can vary also in price depending on the quality.  A good cork bag should be pliable and soft and should be waterproof.  I purchased a small makeup bag.  Did you know that Portugal is the second-largest producer of cork?  At least this is what all the clerks told us, but I haven't verified this information.  Our last stop before lunch was at the Sao Bento City Train Station.  Just inside the doors, you will be met with tiled walls created by Jorge Colaco.  The wall encompasses over 22,000 tiles and depicts some of the most relevant periods in Portuguese history.  It is one of the prettiest train stations in the world and what I thought to be pretty unique in that the outside walls are open therefore allowing passengers to see the outside walls of the city.   I loved Porto and if you have a chance to visit Portugal, I would highly recommend visiting this city.