Portugal – 191014 Coimbra to Porto

TODAY’S TOURING

En route to Porto, we stopped at the Vista Alegre Ceramic Museum in Ilhavo.

• Because it was a short drive to Porto, we had a late start after a leisurely buffet breakfast in hotel.
• We we loaded the car, it poured and we got drenched. The rain ended about 20 minutes later. Lucky us 🙁
• Vista Alegra ceramic factory
  • We toured the factory ceramic museum
  • We had a very small group tour of the associated chapel
• Apartment in Porto
  • Coordinated our arrival at Porto apartment via text and Whatsapp
  • The apartment was on a very busy boulevard with no parking
  • We met the owner at a bus stop in front of building and they directed us to the nearby underground parking
    • The garage ramp was VERY TIGHT, long, circular ramp. While Marty maneuvered the car down the ramp,  I was looking out the window aid  in making the turns
    •  Note: The ramp is one way at a time. It uses RED/GREEN traffic lights to indicate if it is safe to drive up/down the ramp
    • We didn’t move the car until we left Porto
  • Great apartment in what appears to be good location
• We earned our afternoon rest period
• Dinner was at A Lojinha Do Leitae
  • Sucking pig plate – not fancy but good food
  • After dinner, we walked down boulevard and took photos of the lighted buildings
  • We visited the fancy Imperial McDonald’s with crystal chandeliers

REFERENCES

Vista Alegre (Ílhavo ) (Rough Guide) Vista Alegre

Portugal’s celebrated Vista Alegre porcelain works was established in 1824 at Ílhavo, around 5km southwest of Aveiro. It soon acquired royal patronage and expanded from a simple porcelain and glass factory to an estate with its own workers’ village, along the lines of the model villages built by enlightened British entrepreneurs of the period. Today, there’s a museum , the founder’s palace , and a tiled and frescoed seventeenth-century chapel to visit, as well as a Vista Alegre shop (porcelain, crystal, silverware) and factory shop for seconds.

“Imperial McDonald’s” (Rick Steves)

Directly to the right of King Pedro, hiding behind the trees, is the “Imperial McDonald’s” —one of the fanciest in Europe (formerly the Imperial Café). Check it out, and ponder the battle of cultural elegance against global economic efficiency.