Porto part 2 - Walking the streets and visiting Serralves

While my first day in Porto was very wet, my second day (except for the odd 15 minutes) was relatively dry and I was able to walk around and explore. It is a very beautiful city with the old buildings covered in tiles of different colours juxtaposed with modern street art and sculptures. The tiles are practical - they protect the buildings from humidity - and seem to me to emblematic of a city that is beautiful not to be showy but just for itself and there is a quiet satisfaction in being itself. I walked around many streets that I had walked along previously but now I was able to look up and admire the buildings I was passing and also visit an art deco bookstore called Livraria Lello which is now so popular that you have to buy a ticket to enter. At a later day I also visited Serralves, which is a museum with an art deco villa, stunning gardens and a wing designed by Alvaro Siza. My photos don't really capture the spaces or the Porto streetscape but hopefully it will give you some idea of the beauty of this city.

 

 

 

 

 

Porto part 1 - In the rain

I will have to break up a post about Porto into two because there are so many photos. A friend told me that Porto is one of their favourite cities for architecture which surprised me but then when I started selecting which photos to include in the post about Porto I realised that I had so many to choose from so now I have to agree with them. My way of dividing them is going to be by weather because my first day in Porto was so unlike my second day. 

To begin with, let me just say that Portugal has a rainy season and Porto is one of the wettest cities in southern Europe. It is not just the occasional shower but drenching rain with galeforce winds that turn umbrellas into something that resembles a hood or kite depending on the angle of the umbrella. I was not to be deterred and I walked around the city but focused more on indoor architecture and Porto did not disappoint. The Sao Bento railway station with it's yellow ceiling and stunning tilework was wonderful (and dry!) and the Majestic cafe was impressive with the added bonus of having a Portuguese tart in Portugal (called a pastel de nata). I walked around the streets but realised that I needed to change my plans because I was spending more time looking down to avoid slipping. One of the places that I wanted to see was the Casa de Musica and I got there in time for an English speaking tour. The building was designed by a Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and while it was designed to look like a meteorite (complete with the outdoor space looking like waves), there is also an obvious connection with the outside city. I could do an entire post about what I learned from the architecture and I really want to but I will hold myself back. Needless to say, it was well worth the visit and not just because it protected me from the elements for a couple of hours! The last three photos are from the Casa de Musica.

  

  

  

A quick weekend in Zurich

Due to the various travel changes, I returned to Zurich for a weekend on the way from Italy to Portugal. I caught the train from Verona to Zurich and this was such a good decision. The view was spectacular as the train weaved up past Lake Como, the Dolomites and then the alps. The trip was over four hours but I was captivated the entire time.

Arriving in Zurich was a welcome to the colder weather so I was finally able to bring out my winter coat after carrying it in the bottom of my suitcase for the last four months. The autumn colours were stunning and even though it rained fairly heavily on Saturday, I was still able to do some exploring. Pascal and I were able to catch up on the last couple of months since we had last seen each other and it was also fun to be able to cook, relax and have long discussions. On the Sunday we went to an exhibition of Caspar David Friedrich which was really interesting and I also saw more paintings from the Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler. It was also an opportunity to go a bit further out from Zurich to visit the very pretty Winterthur. I wasn't really familiar with Hodler's work until I saw some of his paintings in Berlin and I really like them.

The last stops of the Italy tour - Bologna and Verona

I only had a few more days in Italy and it was hard to decide what to do. I don't know why, maybe because the last time I went to Italy I only passed through, but I wanted to go to Verona. I also wanted to go to the Lakes but it was expensive so I opted for Verona which would allow me to explore a new city and visit Lake Garda very easily. 

I was only going to Bologna for one night because I decided to spend an extra night in Firenze but they are so close that I could go to Bologna early in the day. Bologna is an unusual city. It doesn't have the golden yellows of Firenze but instead many of the buildings are a warm red. I went on a walking tour and realised that I could have spent so much more time exploring the city but a day was all that I had. Thanks to a friend of a friend, I was able to have lunch and then dinner with a local so could eat dinner away from the tourist traps. I could have easily spent time just sampling all the foods - the cheeses, gelato, meats, wines etc. - but it was also fun to walk around and look at the shops. There is one very old shop where you actually can bring your own food (cheeses, dips etc.) or buy some at the restaurant but all you have to do is buy some of their wine. Do we have this in Melbourne?? It seems like such a brilliant idea. 

Verona was my next stop. My visit to the lakes was a little underwhelming. I accidentally chose a national holiday as my day to visit the lakes so the buses were few and far between and also the weather was overcast and drizzling at times. Walking around the lake gave me an idea of how stunning it would look in the summer but it wasn't as beautiful as the internet promised! The rain didn't give up but I was still able to explore the city. The weather gave me an excuse to sit in a beautiful cafe that was cheap, authentic and relaxed - there is always a silver lining. While Verona is beautiful and every corner revealed another idyllic Italian town picture, the highlight was catching up with one of my former students who is also travelling. We had a great time exploring together in the rain and hopefully will catch up later in our respective trips when we are in the UK. 

Bologna

 

Verona

 

The fabulous Firenze

I am terribly behind in blog posts so get ready for a few in a row to catch up. After a few days in Napoli, I caught the train up to Firenze and it was an interesting change from Napoli. Firenze just felt...sunnier. The buildings had a warmer glow, the people seemed a little friendlier and it felt a little safer to walk around. The old city is small and it was quite easy to walk around. The building regulations stipulate that the buildings can't be taller than the Duomo which was great for me because when I got lost I could easily find the Duomo to get my bearings. 

While I was there I visited the Uffizi and the Galleria Academia on the first day. The Uffizi was really crowded but I was still able to walk around. It was strange to see such famous paintings such as Botticelli's works in real life and they were impressive. The Galleria Academia was also crowded but it was worth it to see the statue of David. Fun fact, David was made to be placed up high so the perspective apparently looks a little out but it was still impressive. On the second day I went on a walking tour which filled in the many gaps in my knowledge about the Medici family and Italian history. I also met some really nice people who I spent the rest of the day with.

The food in Italy continues to be amazing and the people are really nice so Italy gets better and better!

  

  

   

   

Italy - Naples and Capri

I arrived in Italy after a month in Turkey and perhaps it was culture shock or perhaps I had created an idea in my mind about what Naples would be like, but I was a little underwhelmed. The weather was cooler, the people seemed a little unhappy or not as laid back and after arriving at the hotel, I went for a walk and accidentally walked around the worst part of the city without realising. This was not a good beginning but things gradually shifted. The next day I went on a free walking tour and despite the rain, enjoyed exploring the old town and having some delicious pizza with some people that I met on the tour. Naples has character and really cool street art. It was fun to walk around the narrow streets, explore further afield and appreciate their obsession with the Napoli football team and in particular, Maradona. You can't go a few steps without seeing the light blue and white stripes and the number three (the number of championships they have won) or the number 10 (Maradona's number). 

In my final day, after much deliberating, I took a day trip to Capri. The weather seriously limited my time on the island because only the larger 'twice a day' ferry was operating. The smaller, hourly ferries weren't operating because of the weather. I don't often get seasick which was good because it was very choppy and I ended up listening to music on the trip so I didn't have to listen to the sounds of various passengers throwing up. I arrived in one piece in Capri and while I wasn't able to see what I really wanted to see (Casa Malaparte) I was able to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere, the gardens and the sculptures. It is a pretty island and I would like to go back when it is warmer. I don't think I could afford to stay there (I bought an espresso without checking the price and it cost me 6 euros which is about $11 dollars!!!) but another day trip would be nice. I did grow to really enjoy Naples but it was time to move on to Florence.

Naples

 

 

  

Capri