June 14, 2009
We started our full day in Porto with a tour of the Casa da Musica. After the Casa da Musica we walked around the city for a little while.
During wandering we stopped into the Sao Bento Train Station which is famous for its tiles that depict the history of Portugal.
From the train station we headed down to the river. Down on the banks we were able to see the bridges. Sadly the one designed by Eiffel was under construction so that you could not see it well. Even though one of the other major bridges, the Dom Luis Bridge was open.
In order to get from below the bridge to the upper deck there was the Funicular dos Guindais.
We went across the bridge and there were some amazing views. One of the most interesting was as you started to go across the bridge and looked down. The buildings were in poor condition including some that were completely destroyed. Porto was a great city that really needed some improvement and this was the most obvious point of that neglect.
As you crossed the bridge there was abilities to see large portions of the city.
Once on the other side we headed back down to river level and on the way there was one of the most interesting stairs I have ever seen.
This far bank is the home of Port Wine and offered some great views of the city.
We ended the day and went to change for the concert at Casa da Musica.
Tags: Gustave Eiffel, Porto