[Jan. 2022] Our stay in Oporto, Portugal will continue.
In the morning of the next day, we decided to visit the cathedral in the neighbourhood of Airbnb where we were staying.
The cathedral was the meeting place for the tuk-tuk tour, but we did not see inside yet.
It cost € 3 per person to enter.
The cathedral is said to be the oldest building in Oporto and has a history dating from the 12th century.
According to the guidebook, it was largely rebuilt in the 13th century and then extensively refurbished in the 18th century.
The beautiful stained glass rose window is supposed from the 12th century.
What we wanted to see was the azulejos in the cloister.
These azulejos are said to be from the 18th century.
The cloister itself is older and has a 14th century Gothic style.
Not only the cloister, but the azulejos were also here and there, which is typical of Portuguese church.
Each one seems to have a story, but I like the fact that the old blue and white tiles are softening the atmosphere as part of the interior.
Our other purpose was to climb the tower and look down on the town of Oporto.
The cathedral is built on a hill, so it has a great view.
I was surprised when the bell rang while we were climbing the tower.
Unfortunately, it was a cloudy sky on that day, but I could see a landscape with the mellow mood.
After enjoying the scenery and coming down to the main shrine, we could hear that someone was practicing the organ.
In this majestic church, a cute ‘Last Supper’ wood carving inside caught my eye.
I did a quick search, but I can’t find the description anywhere, so it’s probably not very important.
Like the statue of Our Lady of Milk in Braga, in Portugal, we sometimes come across historical works of art that look like some contemporary art.
After visiting the cathedral, we strolled around the city.
We decided to go to the Lello bookshop we had heard about during the tuk-tuk tour.
When we visited this town 12 years ago, it was a normal bookshop, but now it costs money to enter.
Sure, it’s one of the five most beautiful bookshops in the world, but the reason why they started taking money is that this place was the inspiration for JK Rowling, the author of the children’s book Harry Potter, and this fact has spread worldwide.
And it is said that so many fans started to rush to this bookshop, even though they didn’t buy books and the bookshop could not keep their main business.
It costs € 5 to enter after queuing and € 16 to enter without queuing up.
As we approached the area, I saw a long queue of people.
I thought it was for a Covid test, but in fact it was a queue to enter the Lello bookshop.
Of course, we didn’t join the queue.
We saw the inside 12 years ago.
As I’ve thought several times before, the impact of hit dramas on the tourism industry seems to be tremendous.
