We had just two full days in Porto and unfortunately it rained solidly for one of them. We decided to take a drive along the river that day as we’d read it was a scenic route, and then explore Porto on foot the other day.
On the river day, I didn’t even get out of the car! I just shot these photos out of the car window. You can see the rain in the shot below.
The first stop the following (mostly sunny) day spent exploring on foot was the Majestic Café. The building is from the Art Nouveau period, reminiscent of Parisian cafés at the time so I’ve edited the photo to give it a different look.
The hot chocolate in Portugal is the richest I’ve tasted anywhere in the world.
There is a fabulous covered market in Porto and the fruit and vegetables all seemed to be jumbo sized. I’ve also never seen so many different choices of balsamic vinegar.
Just a door I found interesting.
And of course the rooftops have red tiles.
Back down the coast towards Lisbon is the little town of Costa Nova. It’s famed for its colourful striped houses and has a beautiful beach too.
Originally, fishermen settled in Costa Nova and built wooden huts there. These huts served as shelter and housing. To protect them from the elements, the fishermen coated them with a mixture of fish oil and natural pigments. The huts slowly evolved, transforming them into proper residences and I doubt that any fishermen can now afford to live in them.
The nearby beach has pristine soft sand.
It took a bit of a walk to get in position for the shot below. I’d seen the trees in front of the house from a distance and wanted to line them up so that they weren’t in front of the windows. The diverging pathway was an added bonus.
Finally, the Farol da Barra. The tallest lighthouse in Portugal that dates from 1893.
As, always, thanks for the great photos, Julie!