Sunday, June 4, 2017

Porto's Lello Bookstore

The Lello Livraria is near the top of everyone's list of the world's most beautiful bookstores. It is certainly the only one I know of that charges 5 euros just to enter and gawk and be pushed and shoved by people trying get selfies or photos of loved ones on the staircase. We spent an half hour there, and Vicki was the only person I saw a) reading or b) buying a book. (You get your ticket's worth back, applied to said book purchase). No comparison with Buenos Aires' El Atenio Grand Splendid (http://roadeveron.blogspot.pt/2017/01/el-atenio-grand-splendid.html). But Vicki liked it better than I did.
The Lello

Official historical marker; and in English too

Pessoa again; on a different storefront















Strangely, it's 5 euros if you book online, 4 if
you just want to walk in; maybe this is a "print
fights back" sort of thing?

Interior from front; it's nice Gothic carved wood; not gilded





































The stained glass ceiling

Non-stained glass ceiling

Unidentified authors here and there

Looking down from 2nd floor

2nd floor mob

Vicki reading about the Carmen San Diego

Note stained light on lower bit

Staircase

Light fixture

You've heard of book trolleys perhaps? This is
a book trolley track

Back downstairs

I had to create a scene and knock several people unconscious to get this shot

Parthian shot

1 comment:

Rebecca said...

Spectacular! Did you buy a book?