Some of you have been on this blog long enough to remember the halcyon adventure travel days of de-I Sandia Outfitters expansion into the world of international travel planning with our subsidiaries Pathetic Travel (I strongly recommend you go to this link!) and Tortuous Tours. These brought you such memorable journeys as Bataan Death March Tour and Trail of Tears Tour of Paris. While we don't take on outside clients like we used to, Wife and I have in our deteriorating aging sadly managed to become our own clients. This usually occurs from a lack of planning leading to incremental decision making resulting in unintended consequences.
Today was such a day. After the way more intense climbing simply to get to and from a restaurant and then to shop for groceries, we had made a vow that - Today we will take it easy! These kinds of vows by Wife and I are as effective as the annual New Year's Resolution...meaning not effective at all.
With this exhortation of "Take It Easy" we head down the hill from the apartment to the bridge (under construction) that will take us to a funicular up to the main part of town.
Uh Oh. It doesn't seem to be moving.
It is closed for an 'indeterminate' amount of time. You are directed to...
So we can get to...
Sorry. Nope. No way. We will wander our way along the waterfront and think of something else.
Wife mentions she'd like to visit the Boursa, a commercial building you need a tour of. It doesn't look that far uphill into town.
We make a reservation for the next day. You will note on the lower left of the picture an item of the most extreme dread. Right. The tour bus belonging to the cruise ship contingent. Yes, we are in one of those major stops of the cruise ship nation. 😱
Right near the Boursa is one of the 'must see churches, the Ingreja Sao Francisco
We have time on our hands and no plan...NOT a good combination for Wife and my decision making. There's lots of things around we can see in the distance.
It is too bad I didn't translate the heading under this as it says this is "The Modern Representation of the Spirit of Porto Devouring Its Attackers" (read tourists)
Now we are wandering, steadily making our way up and up
The masses of tourists are overwhelming - this truly is your A-List part of town!
I have no idea of what this is...
Finally we come to something meaningful
The Portuguese Museum of Historic Monument Restoration
Portugal has been a leader in the technology of restoration
This is an exhibit of the classic 'site shroud' which you've seen in our travels over the years.
This is a monument to Chief Engineer Joao Cristiano do Flores Silva who at the turn of the 20th century was the prime mover of modern monument restoration
Okay...
...None of that is true...
...I made it all up...
...just a crap load of monuments not visible because of construction and restoration.
BUT this is true!
This the Camera Municipal do Porto
Designed during the days of the dictator Salazar, these large scale municipal cameras were early mass surveillance systems! Even Dr. Who was interested in them!
...Okay that's all made up too...
That's just the name for City Hall.
By now it is late. We've climbed and walked way more than we wanted to. We are in the middle of the worst tourist area. We're hungry and don't want to climb even more to get away from the tourist oriented restaurants. We will even settle for...
But NO...The Travel Gods Mile Upon Us!
The first honest to goodness street food during this trip. And it was really good Doner Kebap!
We took an Uber to the apartment and collapsed.
3 comments:
Oh no! Tourists PLUS hills. This is doubly portending doom for the two of you.
I hope you are feeling recovered, that sounds like an epic day! Irony that you are your own client now.
Isn't it interesting how we travel half way across the world to see the "site Shrouds"?
Post a Comment