Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report
Chapter Eighteen: Seeing Red & Taking In More Of Porto’s Sights
Day Twenty: Hello Lello, The Broken Nose, Seeing Red, Two Churches Plus A Skinny House, Getting On BASE, Autumn Haze, Short Museum Stay, “That Ambulance Nearly Killed Me,” Where’s Buck Owens?, Pretty Park, Spill The Wine and We’re Number One!
We were up so early but only had time to partake in a quick coffee stop at In Porto Gallery Guesthouse. Why so early? … because we were off to see a bookstore … yes, a bookstore. We passed this sign on the way. I think it summed up my life.
Walking through a different part of Porto, we again were greeted with multihued buildings …
… and vibrant neighborhoods.
Our first stop of the morning was Livraria Lello, a bookstore CNN once dubbed, “The Most Beautiful Bookstore In The World.” It is also allegedly the “most Instagrammed bookstore” and so popular that you need to reserve a time slot and pay €5 just to enter. We picked the earliest entrance (9 a.m.), got there at 8:45 and saw there was already a line forming. By 9 a.m. there was an even longer line stretching behind us as we waited for the doors to open. And we waited … and waited … and waited.
Both the natives and tourists were getting restless, and with no sign the bookstore was opening, Tracy walked around to take a few photos. Nearby spouted the 19th century Fonte dos Leões, which is situated in the center of Praça Gomes Teixeira. Water gushes out of four winged lions. The beautifully tiled church behind it is Igreja do Carmo, which we check out after the bookstore, if we ever got in.
By now, the line for the bookstore was really long, and as you can see, these were not happy faces. One guy asked if we were in the 9:30 line, and we had to gently break it to him that we were all in the 9 o’clock time slot.
Speaking of faces, we happened to be looking at a nearby café, and watched in horror as a man tripped on a step, taking a nasty fall and face-planting into an outside table. When we saw his face, it looked like he had taken a punch from Mike Tyson as blood spurted from his nose and his broken glasses dangled from his ear. Doctor Mary (remember, she only plays one on vacation), was ready to spring into action, but restaurant personnel rushed to help the guy, and he was pointed to what we hoped was a nearby hospital.
Finally, at 9:35, the doors opened. What most people consider the highlight of Lello Bookshop is its red, art-nouveau, double helix staircase. Tracy had spied a young woman decked out in what Tracy called “Instagram Influencer clothes.” Somehow she made her way to the stairs first, and of course in true Instagram style, she sat on the stairs and posed for photos for a rather lengthy amount of time blocking people from entering. This did not make any of the people who had waited for the past 45-minutes happier.
Slowly, but surely, we made our way up the staircase. Meanwhile, I was doing my best Quasimodo impression as I ascended.
The bookshop is lovely, and the staircase lived up to expectations. The store was inaugurated in 1906 and according to one site, “an important social event for both Portuguese and Brazilian societies.”
People were catching the staircase from all angles and perspectives. We were no different.
Looking up at the gorgeous stained glass ceiling one sees the words “Decus in Labore” etched in the glass.
The woodwork is extraordinary, too. Oh wait, that is not wood, it is plaster, just like at the palace the previous day.
It is said that Lello Bookshop was one of the inspirations for the Harry Potter series, but I think every city in Europe now takes credit for something from that series.
Digression: Recently, I happened to see the hours of operation start at 9:30. Could Tracy’s notes be wrong about our 9 o’clock entry time? Knowing our illustrious scribe is rarely incorrect, I looked back at the e-mail voucher from them (I need to clear out my inbox). Once again, Tracy was correct.
Next, we took that short walk over to the azulejo-covered exterior of Igreja do Carmo.
Located next to Igreja do Carmo is Igreja Das Carmelitas. Well, not quite next to it. In between is what most people believe is the “narrowest private residence in the country.” The three-story Casa Escondida (Hidden House) stands in between the two churches. Theories abound on why the residence of chaplains and church artists was built. They range from the archbishops of the churches not liking each other, to a law not permitting two churches to touch each other, to keeping the nuns and monks from perhaps breaking their vows.
We first entered the 17th-century Igreja Das Carmelitas.
It was constructed as part of a convent that is long gone.
There are six side chapels in Igreja Das Carmelitas.
All of them …
… really pop out in this church.
It is here where my memory has gotten very fuzzy.
I have no idea of which church this room belongs to. Judging by the time stamp on the photos it has to be in Igreja das Carmelitas, but I could not find one picture of it on the internet.
It was quite an eye-opener, wherever we were.
It has a beautiful painted wooden (or is it?) ceiling, but what room it is has been lost to me. If anyone who reads this can tell me, shoot me an email, because it’s been driving me crazy.
