Porto's Bento Train Station

Some train stations are the subject of great art (e.g., Monet), some train stations become great art museums (Musee d'Orsay), and some train stations house great art. The Bento station in Porto is in this last category, with its main hall azulejos (and also some polychrome tilework too).

Bento train station

 

And in polychrome too

Kindergarten field trip

Roman forebears

It's also a train station

Street scene from the entrance

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

Porto Scenes, 2

Continuing our fine first day in upper Porto...

Note: 1) much of the old city is under wraps, renovation; 2) the up and down
nature of the place; 3) the azulejos on the churches (and later, public buildings);
the azulejos are the beautiful blue tile painting thingies...of which we will see
much more; typical Portuguese everywhere

Street scene

Artsy juxtaposition of tourist train and Carmelite churches and azulejos

U of Porto Old Main; nice gift shoppe

Wait, are we in Cuzco?!

Dublin?!

Over the top azuleja wall on Carmelite churches; there are two of them, a boys'
and a girls'...more on this below

Detail

Inside, the usual South American gold leaf everywhere

Plus, in both churches, life-sized religious mannequins in
interesting poses

The city had a law, story goes, prohibiting his and her churches
from sharing a wall--go ahead with whatever filthy thoughts you
may have--and thus, between the church of Carmo and that of
the Carmelitas, there is a 1 meter wide 3 story apartment that
was occupied, so we have read, until the 1980s; perhaps by
persons of bi-sexual orientation?

Plus the usual gold

Full frontal of the Carmelite churches

More art deco; by my count, construction cranes outnumber churches in Porto
by 2:1

Interior of yet another interesting building

Tuk-tuk Central; as in Lisbon, Porto has a fleet of tuk-tuk tourist taxis; all-electric,
too, which is good, since tuk-tuks generally are powered by super-polluting 2-cycle
engines...

Inside the Clerigos church (but not tower)

Another beautiful old building; couldn't quite tell whether it was being
renovated or demolished

And more azulejas