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Post by bjd on Aug 3, 2013 12:37:18 GMT
I really like those old grandiose railway stations.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2013 19:58:50 GMT
I still have memories of the Lisbon train station which I liked very much, both for the style and the idea that I had arrived at the end of the continent.
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Post by rikita on Aug 9, 2013 18:15:23 GMT
yeah, train stations are fascinating places - both in their architecture, and in the whole concept...
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Post by rikita on Aug 9, 2013 18:30:19 GMT
Walking around Porto we saw various interesting places of buildings that I can't really group into a category, so here they are. The Imperial McDonalds at Praca de Liberdade - I first only noticed the eagle, not the writing, and thought it kind of funny (and revealing) for McDonalds to look like that. As it turns out, the building is very old (I think I was told it used to be a café or something like that) and McDonalds was required to keep the architecture when it took over. We didn't go inside (I don't like McDonalds) but later learned that the inside is quite impressive too. I love these walls of buildings with their oldfashioned decorations - and even more I love their contrast with modern posters. A church gate from underneath - looks almost a bit scary: And the facade of another church from underneath - the Igreja de Sao Francisco used to belong to a franciscan monastery. It was first built in the 14th to 15th century - and while it later on was changed a lot during a baroque reconstruction, the round window stems from the original design of the church. A dark street with some laundry: An old cinema, unfortunately not open anymore. I was told it used to be an important cinema. The writing says "Night on Earth. Next: Gone with the river" (Like "gone with the wind", but "Rio", the word for "river", is apparently also the name of a mayor of Porto that stood out for his lack of cultural politics) farm3.staticflickr.com/2172/2101480746_50c896e70d.jpg [/img]
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Post by nycgirl on Aug 13, 2013 22:54:15 GMT
The red-tiled roofs of Porto are a pretty sight. They remind me of Dubrovnik in Croatia. That is the most stately-looking McDonald's I've ever seen. I would have loved to have gotten a glimpse of the interior. It's too bad you don't have a taste for unhealthy American fast food.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2013 5:18:00 GMT
The Imperial McDonald's is definitely a sight. I've seen quite a few other McDonald's in majestic old buildings, but the sign at least is fantastic.
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Post by rikita on Aug 26, 2013 18:02:20 GMT
The Dom Luis Bridge spans over the Douro river and connects Porto with Vila Nova da Gaia. Opened in 1886, the arch is 172 metres long and was once the longest bridge of this type in the world. Altogether, the bridge is 385 metres long and 44.6 metres high and weighs over 3000 tons. Vila Nova da Gaia is part of the Porto Metropolitan area. From the bridge, there is a nice view of a tower belonging to the Jardim do Morro park, and of various buildings near the river. The top is now a pedestrian walk way and the train tracks for a Porto tram line. The mysterious crosses in this picture are actually the tables of a café right on the riverside. Here you can see them again, as well as some of the boats that travel the Douro river.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2013 1:31:14 GMT
It looks like a nice place to walk... but nobody walking.
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Post by rikita on Aug 31, 2013 12:22:37 GMT
well, we were walking, and a few other people, but not too many - it was during the week during the day though, and after the main holiday season, so i suppose most people were working.
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Post by rikita on Aug 31, 2013 13:44:40 GMT
From the bridge, there is a nice view over Porto, especially at sunset. Vila Nova da Gaia, on the left, is known for its Port Wine cellars. The traditional Rabelo boats along the river were used to transport the Port. The view a bit further away: Here a close up of Porto's riverside. From what I read, the historic old town is actually called "Ribeira" - riverside. It is part of the Unesco's cultural world heritage: Also the parts of the Old Town that aren't right by the river are visible from the bridge, along with the outline of old houses and churches: A flower, and in the background the sunset over Porto: And a statue of Vimara Peres in the sunset - he was a galician duke, fighting in the reconquista. He died in 873 in what was to become Porto.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2013 15:41:47 GMT
Nothing could be nicer than a sunset at the westernmost edge of a continent. It makes one dream of unseen lands far away.
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Post by rikita on Oct 17, 2013 20:09:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2013 15:12:25 GMT
Reworking the photos gives them the delightful quality of post cards in the 1960's.
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