Like Lisbon, Porto is hilly, so any venture out will involve quite a bit of uphill walking. I’m pretty fit at the moment but had to pause several times to catch my breath today as I walked from one corner of the city to another, camera in hand. Luckily the sun was out, so I didn’t need to deal with slippery marble cobblestone footpaths. First stop this morning was the Livraria Lello bookstore which might be the world’s most beautiful bookshop. At least that is how it is marketed. And it is gorgeous, with carved wooden staircases and light streaming in from the stained glass roof above. It is also a very popular spot for tourists so it is jammed with people trying to get the best photo. The bookstore opened in 1906 as a temple to emotion and ideas, and it has inspired many great writers over the years; including JK Rowling who lived in Porto for a while teaching English and apparently carried inspiration from its design into the Harry Potter books. It is well worth a visit, even though the line outside is long. You can wait in it and pay 5 euro to go in, which will be refunded if you buy a book (there are loads in English), or go online and pay 12 euro to skip the line and go straight in. I spent at least an hour in there leafing through travel books 🙂 and it was really nice. The rest of the day I wandered around, following my nose, turning down streets that looked interesting, tracking down street art and following the sun. I found myself down at the river and sat at a sunny table for lunch next to a couple from Belfast who are here for a few days, and we had a chat about our plans in Porto (and the lack of sauce on our lunch). ‘Tom, this girl is from New Zealand, would you believe it. That’s such a long way’. Tom asked me where I was going after Porto and I said I hadn’t decided. ‘Tom! Would you believe it. She doesn’t know.’ Tom smiled at me. ‘Tom, would you believe coming all the way from New Zealand and not knowing where you’re going next.’ I tell them I might head back to the UK soon. ‘Tom, she says she might go to the UK.’ As he was sitting next to me I’m fairly sure he had heard me, but his patient smile said he was used to hearing things twice 🙂 🙂 As they left the restaurant I could hear ‘Tom, would you believe not getting any sauce on your lunch’, and Tom nodded and took his wife’s hand 🙂 🙂
Livraria Lello bookstore 
All the churches are tiled outside 
and full of gold inside 
too big? 🙂 
I want I want 
love the tiles 
🙂