Monday 23rd April 2018.....Day 19!!!

We took our time over breakfast I had my strawberry 🍓 and yogurt out on the small patio overlooking the square and it was a lovely sunny day...we had some things we wanted to explore down town and with trusty map in hand off we went.

This is taken from lonely planet website..and was our first stop...

One of the world's most beautiful train stations, beaux arts São Bento wings you back to a more graceful age of rail travel. Completed in 1903, it seems to have been imported from 19th-century Paris with its mansard roof. But the dramatic azulejopanels of historic scenes in the front hall are the real attraction. Designed by Jorge Colaço in 1930, some 20,000 tiles depict historic battles (including Henry the Navigator's conquest of Ceuta), as well as the history of transport.

Really was a sight to see!!

Next on the list was this store...

Lonely Planet considered Lello & Irmão Bookstore as the third most beautiful library in the world. The store has an excellent neo-gothic façade, where you can see two figures painted by José Bielman, representing the Science and the Art. This facade is only surpassed by its stunning interior, designed by Xavier Esteves.

The building was inaugurated on January 13th, 1906, in an important social event for both Portuguese and Brazilian societies, attended by famous people from different spheres – among them Guerra Junqueiro, a renowned Portuguese writer.

As you walk through the doors of this bookstore you’ll notice that there is a marvelous stairway and the wooden walls are also very exquisite. The stained glass ceiling adds an amazing detail with Lello’s motto “vecus in labore”.

 Rumor has it that J.K. Rowling’s inspiration to write Harry Potter has begun in Porto, particularly at this library. The well-known writer lived in Porto for 10 years working as an English teacher in the early 1990s and she used to drink a cup of coffee at the second floor of Lello’s bookstore. There are indeed great similarities between Lello’s bookstore staircase and the one described in Hogwarts.

It is also believed that the Hogwarts’ costume was inspired by the costumes of college students in Portugal, composed of a black suit and a black coat – these students are very likely to be found around this area, as the headquarters of the Porto University are located at Praça Gomes Teixeira (up ahead, where you can find a Lion’s fountain, hence the nickname “Praça dos Leões” – Lions’ Square, as the locals call it).

The policy is very strict concerning photography inside the library, and for a reason: this is a private space which is full of people all the time, but a minority end buying a book. However, you can still enter for free and enjoy the magnificence of the building and there are great postcards that you can buy and take home to complete your photo album. However, I strongly advise to buy a book here, as it becomes an unique experience, connecting

This information is not correct anymore the entrance fee is five 💶 but that is discounted off if you purchase a book...

We did want to go in here..

But I think you can see why we did not!

Gracie is coming back to Porto towards the end of May and she has a booking at a down town hotel which she wanted to check out for location and how she felt about it.....it is just around the corner from the above train station and she liked the feel of the small hotel!!

We then continued our walk with no plan just amble through and observing everything..

My big job of the day was to down load my maps onto my GPS..it was really hard to find a cyber cafe but I did and it took me a while to figure out how to do it but eventually I did and I started to down load

Gracie went window shopping whilst I stayed at the cafe...good news it is done and will make life so much easier 🤗

One other thing that I wanted to do was to walk on the big bridge we saw yesterday....Gracie said she would suffer and sit at an outside cafe by the river with a glass of wine whilst I slogged up the 245 steps....

The views were worth the hike...

We then continued a slow walk back home and I was excited to find this

Many happy memories of my Camino hike four years ago and even managed to get a small part of my foot in the photo!!!

I liked this one I think the mop adds some meaning!!

We came home very late afternoon and had a rest and snacks and then went for about one hour walking around the local neighbourhood....we leave here tomorrow and the plan is to drive the scenic route along the river of the Douro Valley...stay tuned!!!