PORTUGAL: PORTO, PART 1 -- SAO BENTO TRAIN STATION, PALACIO DA BOLSA, IGREJA DE SAO FRANCISCO

 Tuesday, June 28, 2022

We got up early and drove just under two hours to Porto, a city I was very excited about. According to many sites, it is loaded with interesting things to see and one of the best places to visit in Portugal.

However, once we got to the city, it took us almost two hours to get to our hotel because of construction in the area. We called the hotel twice for advice for how to get there because our GPS kept sending us to the construction zone and blocked streets. When we finally found a way around the mess, we had to park our car several blocks from the hotel in a parking garage. 

The street on the left (as seen from our hotel room) is the way GPS really wanted us to access the hotel, but the street on the right is the way we were finally able to come in. It was blocked off to cars, but they let us in to unload and then sent us away to park.

And then Bob forgot to grab his camera, and I left my sweater, and we our nerves were already frayed by the driving, and both of us were unhappy.

The huge delay meant that we got to the first place on our list 2.5 hours behind schedule, and it felt like we were playing catch-up all day, speeding from venue to venue. It was a great disappointment for me. Porto is a city where "meandering" would be fun. We did very little of that.

However, the very first place we took a look at was NOT on the schedule--the São Bento (St. Benedict) Train Station, built in the early 1900s. About 20,000 exquisite azulejos cover the walls and are topped by a border of polychromatic tiles. Together they tell the story of Portugal's past.

The first stop on our planned itinerary was the Palácio da Bolsa, or the Stock Exchange Palace, built in the mid-19th century. This and other buildings in the historic city center have earned Porto a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

Advance reservations are suggested, and we had them, but we still had to wait in line for about 15 minutes to join an English-speaking tour. (Visitors have to be part of an official tour.)

Once we were finally inside, the Palace made a good first impression. Light streaming in through a glass ceiling made the central courtyard glow.

Fine craftsmanship was evident in the mosaic floor and wall panels. Yes, that is a United States eagle in the middle panel below. Each panel represents a country that Portugal had commercial ties to in the 19th century, which is why this courtyard is known as the Nations' Courtyard.

A grand granite staircase worthy of Cinderella in her ball gown leads to the upper levels.

Here is that beautiful mosaic floor as seen from above. It is truly one of the most gorgeous floors I have ever seen.

The Commercial Court Room was used for settling trade disputes.

The perspective used on this painting on the ceiling is wonderful. It is as if the figures are seated there and the visitors are looking at them from below--which, of course, we were!

Not a bad view from the upper level:

Detailed design elements make this a unique building.

The gold door on the right above opens into this sumptuously gilded reception hall decorated in the Moorish Revival style (think of Spain's Alhambra), which was in vogue in the late 19th century.

  

We were a little disappointed by our experience at the Palácio da Bolsa because we were part of a large group that was herded around on a tight schedule because other large groups were being herded around. This is supposed to be the top attraction in Porto, and while it was beautiful, it was not our favorite stop.

Next up was the Igreja de São Francisco, an interesting combination of Gothic (the exterior) and Baroque (the inside). This church was completed in about 1425. Yes, that is 67 years before Columbus. The church's cloisters were destroyed in a fire in 1832, and in their place the government built the above-mentioned Palácio da Bolsa.

My photos show the ornate décor, but they don't do justice to the amount of gold leaf that is everywhere.

One of my favorite chapels in the cathedral is the "Tree of Jesse" chapel that represents the family tree of Jesus. The Virgin Mary stands serenely above a mess of branches and figures. The gold glow is not the lighting--it is actual gold.

In this somewhat fuzzy close-up you can see Mary at the top with Joseph's head between her feet  and Anna and Joachim (her parents) in niches to her right and left.

Back outside, we had a good view of what looks like an apartment building covered in different styles of azulejos. Do you see anything unusual? Look at the second and third floors on the right.

Off in the distance we could see our next destination, the Clerigos bell tower.