 Porto is the
northern coast of the Rio Douro |
 Typical side
street in old town |
 Extravagant
architecture near train station |
 Main city
square with mosaic tile, statue, baroque buildings |
 Required
statue of Henry the Navigator, Portugal's favorite son |
 Roofs showing
medieval solutions to skylights |
 View from Se
(cathedral) of Vila Nova de Gaia on the south coast the river |
 View of Porto
from Vila Nova de Gaia |
 Porto is built
on interlocking hills of solid rock |
 The solid rock
bulges through the landscape |
 All rooftops
are interlocking tile which keep the rain out |
 View of Porto
from Vila Nova de Gaia; Note cathedral on right hilltop |
 Gondolas with
port wine barrels depicting history of transportation |
 Ponte Don Luis
bridge connecting Porto and Vila Nova |
 Porto Train
Station, alive with Portuguese tile |
Unfortunately, three fourths of the tiles are under scaffolding while they
are being restored. Note the vibrant colors of the one on the
back wall compared to the one on the right wall. |
 Modern
trains depart to foreign destinations |
 The train
station is open air under a steel canopy |
 An operational
medieval hand laundry in the midst of the old town |
Even McDonald's follows the architectural theme...we had to do this but
never wanted to eat there. |
 Welcome, now
choose one bodega to visit! |
 Aging caskets
rest a long while. |
 Some of the
caskets are huge, containing 2,000+ liters of wine |
 The larger
caskets are marked at the bottom; chalk is used to update the
information...Secret code unique to each merchant. |
 The reserved
wine section; i.e. the best of the best to come |
 All the marks
indicate something different; the V's indicate a ten year aging
period. This casket has been aging for 60 years. |
 Brandy is
distilled and added to the wine to fortify it. |
 Our guide
explains how the merchants shipped port abroad. |
 After
bottling, the reserved port is rested on its side until it is uncorked.
The oldest bottle still available for sale was from 1910... for only
$2500.00. We passed. |
 We visit a
second bodega and view more modern ways to age port. |
