The Port at Porto

After another breakfast of the same stuff and an early departure we made our way towards Porto. About halfway there we stopped in Coimbra, Portugal, the third largest city. We were planning to see Joanina Library at the University of Coimbra but they were holding commencement that day and so it wasn't open to us. As disappointing as it was the exterior was beautiful and we spent some time sketching and photographing.

Paço das Escolas at the University of Coimbra

After the short excursion in Coimbra we finally made it to Porto. This promised to be a short trip as we were only staying the night. We got lunch when we got into the city at this nice little sandwich shop that made great pork sandwiches. Following lunch, Hans took us to the Casa da Música by Rem Koolhaas with OMA Architects. It is a concert hall that has become an icon in the city. We got a guided tour of the building and it was very insightful. It is such a beautiful building.

Casa da Música

Hans let us go on our own after the concert hall so a small group, 3 of us, decided to head to the Porto Leixões Cruise Terminal by Pedo Silva Architects. It is a cruise terminal built on the ocean in Matosinhos which is just west of Porto that had just opened in July 2015. The problem was that it wasn't open to the public, only customers. The reasoning was that a new, pedestrian only path had to be built from the street and that wasn't the case. So that was a little disappointing. At any rate, we walked the beach a little bit, checking out how the Atlantic was from the other side before heading back to the hotel for dinner.

Porto Leixões Cruise Terminal

Dinner was at a local restaurant and we had carrot soup with a fish au gratin dish as an entree. It went nicely with the white wine that Hans bought. I also had a glass of Port because I had to while in the city that is known for it. This concluded our stay in Portugal as the next morning we were getting up nice and early to make the 5 and a half hour trip to Madrid, Spain. So long Portugal!