So, we made our way to Portugal on a very comfortable coach. The scenery along the way was all very nice evidently. I wouldn't know. I like the rest of the passengers slept the whole way.
We checked into our hotel (dependable old Ibis again) and took ourselves for a short jaunt around our surroundings. This took us past the Coliseu do Porto, a large Art Deco entertainment hall where the best concerts in Porto are staged. They can get pretty varied too by the look of the playbill. Operas and orchestras aplenty are mixed with upcoming gigs from Bob Dylan and Procol Harem. Do you even remember Procol Harem?
A little further on is the Majestic Cafe. It was quite a place back in the 1920s and a regular haunt of the intellectual elite of Porto. Writers, philosophers, anarchists, they all shared their thoughts over coffee and cakes at the Majestic. Sadly, it fell into neglect over the years, but was revived again in 1994 after two solid years of renovation work. It is a little on the pricey side, and their scones are not as good as mine, but such a place has to be visited to be enjoyed. It is invariably full and usually with a longish queue of prospective patrons waiting outside to take the place of customers as they depart.
A short distance north towards the river is an iconic church known for its exterior decorations in blue hand painted tiles or azulejo. This is the Ingreja do Santo Ildefonso and seems to have set a precedent which Porto follows to this day. Everywhere you look now is tiled. The buildings, the apartments, even the footpaths are mozaiced and tiled.
This is especially true in the beautiful old railway station of Sao Bento. The entry hall walls have all been decorated in enormous murals composed entirely of hand painted individual azulejo tiles. And the detail is amazing. Whole vast battle scenes, triumphal entries of victorious kings, depictions of serene scenes of rural life all come together in a jaw-dropping display of craftsmanship and colour.
Taking the coach to Porto was a cheap and easy choice.
A couple of hours of freeway driving and someone else did them.
Getting close now.
First drop off was the Porto Airporto. Very modern.
Oporto is all about its iconic tiled architecture.
Even the footpaths are tiled.
The Majestic Cafe is rated in the top 10 of cafes in the world.
The queue to get in is not unusual.
But once inside it is amazing.
The staff are all in a dashing livery.
And brilliant at their job.
The outside terrace was gorgeous too.
Not in use today because of the rainy weather.
Even the leather seats were embossed.
A view of the interior is a throwback to the 1920s Art Nouveau era.
All churched out yet? I hope not. This is the famous Igreja de Santo Ildefonso.
It has an astonishing depiction of the life of the saint on the outside in hand painted tiles.
It gives the whole church a "porcelain" kind of flavour, don't you think?
Some detail of the intricately painted tiles.
This is the outside of the Sao Bento train station.
Nice, but nothing too unusual here.
But the inside entry hall has enormous tiled murals of the glorious history of Portugal.
The tiled murals cover every wall.
Some detail of the tiled murals.
They are hand painted individual tiles and done in minute detail.
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