Woke up early today…as clocks back an hour.., enjoyed my Nescafé gold at leisure!
A little after 9, I wandered out in the direction of the strip mall I had seen yesterday…in search of a hairdresser mainly… most shops just starting to open…so I kept wandering..
Lo and behold..,a market… that was a good time waster…jewellery, bags and clothes, none of which I fell in love with! So I kept going…
Not sure what this building is…nice green waterfall statue..and obviously a point of interest as there were groups of walking tours…too early in the morning to get mixed up in that!
Now this was more interesting… The casa Escondida and the Igreja dos Carmelitas…
The 3-storey house Casa Escondida (“Hidden House”) was, according to legend, built so that the two churches would not share a common wall and to prevent any relations between the nuns of Igreja dos Carmelitas and the monks of Igreja do Carmo.
The other theory is that it filled a gap between the two churches (more feasible!)
The house served as a residence for chaplains and it also housed the artists who worked on the interior and exterior decoration of the churches as well as doctors serving at the Igreja do Carmo’s hospital.
Various secret meetings took place at the house during the French invasion of Portugal by Napoleon and the Siege of Porto in 1832-1833.
The Igreja do Carmo was built between 1756and 1768 for the Carmelita nuns order. It had an azure tiled exterior wall added in 1912.
Tried to get this picture of the tiles…the coke van wasn’t moving…a bit of old versus new Porto!
I then walked back into the shopping area and the beauty bar I’d spied was now open…haircut first! Had 30 mins to fill in so…what goes a gal do?
Coffee latte (yes they know what that is here) and a Portuguese tart for breakfast! At first I thought he had given me pepper to put on the tart! I told myself – maybe this is what the Portuguese do…had a smell test…aah it was cinnamon…made much more sense and tasted good too!
I then spent the next two hours at the beauty bar…well after 6 weeks of no personal maintenance, it was a big job! First hair, then eyebrows, then feet(as best they could) then manicure! I almost feel like a girl again!!
A quick stop at a pharmacy for a little makeup and recycled boutique..came out with a pair of white jeans…a size smaller than I usually take…they may not fit for long if I keep eating Portuguese tarts!!
The streets sporting house trees!!!
I dropped my purchases back to the flat and had to keep walking…off in the other direction to a monument I had been spying from various points…
Skirting the roadworks at every corner…
This monument in the middle of a circular park with a roundabout on the outside is called Rotunda de Boavista and eight roads run off the roundabout like a giant star!
The monument commemorates the victory of the Portuguese and the British against the French troops that invaded Portugal during the Peninsular war (1807–1814). It was built in the early 1900’s, the Lion on top symbolises joint Portuguese and British victory, bringing down the French imperial eagle. Around the base are sculptures of soldiers and civilians, the latter representing the 4000 people who died trying to escape Napoleon ( while crossing a bridge that collapsed)
Ok enough of the history lesson! (For me too) .. I took one of the right roads that I thought led to the Douro river, which runs through the middle of Porto..got a bit hot and I was thirsty so put my current residence in google and headed that way…
Lots of little parks with monuments..this guys chipping away!
Up hill…and there was a cafe…drink of choice for a hot afternoon!! Nothing like a coke out of a “glass” bottle!
Holed up again this evening…my mind and body having a much needed rest (even though I only walked 7.5kms today!)
All who wander are not Lost girls 