Belle Époque

We are back in Porto this evening. In fact we were back early afternoon despite taking our time travelling down the Atlantic coast and crossing the Rio Minho back into Portugal rather than taking the Autobia/pista, we gained an hour because of the time difference between the countries,

We had lunch looking down the Placa de Liberdade where there was a large screen showing the football. When we passed later France had just scored. There seemed to be a lot of French flags.

We checked into our hotel which is a recently restored old building quite near the centre in a narrow street. It's very nicely done with exposed stone work and wood but the one next door is derelict. Sadly there are a lot of properties in this state in Porto that must have been very nice at some time in the past. I hope money from increased tourism allows them to be restored to their former glory and put to good use like this one.

There are some lovely old places here though. The famous book shop, Livrario Lello, which we went into last week and a couple of doors down a wonderfully quirky store selling high end and unusual designer items as well as bits of nonsense. (Bought something for Eda - granny's can do that!) It has a great interior - extra - both worth going in just to look.

Across town is another establishment restored in the '80's. The Majestic tea rooms. Built in 1923 to reflect the French Belle Époque era and attract the ladies. There wasn't a queue so we went in for tea, you can have afternoon tea until 7.00pm.

I asked for a Pastel del Nata but they were sold out so I had French toast 'Majestic' style it was delicious. Very naughty.
It's a bit like Betty's, rather overpriced but a nice experience. There is a sister cafe apparently so may seek it out for coffee in the morning.

Meanwhile back at the Placa there was another match taking place so we decided to join the crowd and watch. The atmosphere was great. Most people supporting Brazil so they were disappointed but happy.
There was a stall selling Mateus rose so I had a glass and Chris went to join a huge queue to get a beer. There was an even longer queue for the loos!
All very good natured and a great atmosphere even if I'm not that bothered about the football. Sadly we won't be here for tomorrow's match.
Nice to have another 24 hours in Porto.
PS I had a better shot than this but there was a very grumpy looking woman in the foreground!