Discovering The Art And Heart Of Porto: The Best City To Visit In 2011
Back in March, through 4 weeks of voting, you picked Porto, Portugal as the best city to visit in 2011. Last month I made good on a promise to explore the city before the end of the year. What I found as a guest of Visit Portugal was a city that captivated me with its artistic nature. From the gigantic battle of design and ego that was waged over Porto’s two most famous bridges to Harry Potter’s birthplace, what’s uniform in Porto is an attention to unique.
The best way to show you Porto is to look at what the city has inspired, slowly working your way back to Portugal’s second largest city.
A Tale Of Two Cities
Somewhere around 300 BC, the Romans conquered the settlement of Cale – named after Greek for “beautiful” or Latin for “warm”; either way renaming it Portus Cale. Say that 5 times fast and you can see how the name Portugal likely came about. Porto is now known as a city of bridges, one of two in Europe to have 6; all of which cross the Douro River. The other city in Europe with 6 bridges is Vila Nova de Gaia (Gaia for short) – and it happens to sit across the Douro. Yes, Porto is right next to Gaia, taking up the limelight and making up two of the 12 cities in the Porto Metropolitan Area.
For travelers, the differences aren’t obvious and if you didn’t know better, would be convinced you haven’t left town, even after walking across Luis I Bridge.
Sound And Sight In A Little Big Fight
One of the most obvious displays of deliberate creativity in Porto is the Casa da Musica (House Of Music). The Casa da Musica is at its core a music hall; but it’s surrounded by individual rooms focused on different aspects of sound, art exhibitions, band practices, reading rooms, and things that vaguely have something to do with the giant concert hall in its core.
The Casa da Musica is free to enter, deliberately to signify that money isn’t a part of the creative process. (Although it helps to have wealthy investors.) The building itself was designed by the Dutchman Rem Koolhaas who wanted it to look like meteor crashing into the pavement. Cost and physics prevented him from making the exterior more elaborate and he almost had a fit when told his bar overlooking the concert hall required support beams. That, and the fact that the porous floor needed to be covered by glass because women in heels found it nearly impossible to walk across – and men below were enjoying more than a view of the concert hall.
Smaller battles were waged however in the VIP room, which is decorated with thousands of hand painted tiles, representing scenes from other museums across Portugal. Not one to be told what to do, the artist slipped in his signature hidden in grass, quickly noticed by museum’s staff. It would take another 7 years and an 8-year old to find the other mark of the artist – a tile that’s 90 degrees in the wrong direction in surprisingly plain sight.
- I picked up these and many other stories on a tour of the building. 3 Euro and interesting enough that I didn’t notice it was an hour long; I would highly recommend it.
You’ll get a preview of those tiles, known as “azulejo” and all over the city or if you arrive by train to the Sao Bento station. There are over 20,000 hand painted tiles throughout the station painted by Jorge Colaco in the early 1900s.
Where Harry Potter Was Born
The Livraria Lello is over a hundred years old and consistently voted as one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores. What makes it enchanting these days for thousands of tourists is it might be where Harry Potter was conceived. Not literally (you’ll have to ask his parents for that information) but it’s widely rumored to be where J.K. Rowling first came up with the series’s overall concept.
Rowling has never actually discussed details about her inspiration but was teaching English in Porto when her marriage to a Portuguese man failed in 1993. Prior, in 1990 the idea of a boy attending wizard-school came to her and the depression that followed her divorce fueled many of the darker tones of the Potter series (including the dementors). Rowling completed the first Harry Potter manuscript in 1995; spending two years of her free time in Livraria Lello.
Controversial – especially for Potter fanatics who know about Edinburgh’s The Elephant House – so you let your imagination decide (*cough* Hogwarts).
- By the way, the Livraria Lello is still a private shop and photos (you can see mine here) haven’t been allowed for the past 6 months since the owner found it difficult to maintain business with the influx of curious tourists. I was given special access thanks to ATTTurismo so don’t think I broke any rules. This time.
The Blood Of The Heart Is Made Of Port Wine
Although I’m very familiar with wine in a bottle (and glass), it was kind of Porto Calem to teach me where their ideas for every blend come from and the work that goes into turning grapes into goodness. A 20 minute tour of their cellars ends with tastes of their selections. 4 or 5 glasses and I’m out the door, my thirst quenched; followed by a francesinha to kill any lingering hunger.
Though despite this taste, there’s more much more of Porto to be found. Some of it you can see, others you taste, but I think the reason so many of you voted it the best city to visit is for everything that’s much less tangible.
Enter To Win A Nook Tablet With Every $10 Donation To Passports With A Purpose
For the past 2 years I’ve participated in the Passports With A Purpose (PwP) program; an annual travel blogger coordinated fundraiser whose objective is to raise $80,000 this year to build two libraries in Zambia. The PwP raises money $10 at a time – for each $10 donation you make, you can enter yourself for one of these wonderfully donated prizes.
Working With Room To Read
This year PwP is working with Room To Read, an organization that has built over 12,500 libraries and worked with over 6 million children since its founding in 1998. Neuroscientists regularly refer to reading as the most complex task our brains ever learn, getting parts of the brain to work in ways no other method can. [*] Putting more libraries where they’re needed and providing access to them unlocks the potential of the universe’s most powerful computer.
Every $10 donation is US-tax deductible and if you enter before December 16th, you can pick the prize of your choosing. You can donate here.
This year I’m offering up a Nook Tablet, one of my favorite new gadgets on the market. And yes, they don’t ship outside of the US so I’ll mail you one wherever you are in the world.
Why The Nook Tablet?
Aside from the ironic fact that it’s an eReader, it’s also the most versatile 7-inch tablet designed for ebooks. The Nook Tablet is a personal favorite of mine; and an eReader can lighten your backpack by letting you carry around a 400 gram library on your shoulder. Plus it’s wife-capable, letting you browse the Internet, and plays games as well. (Angry Birds on a long layover anyone?)
Details, Deadlines, And Donate!
Remember, for every $10 donation you get one chance to win any of these prizes of your choosing. They include 9-day tours to Costa Rica, a 1-year Boingo Global Account, and even a Kindle Fire if that’s more your fancy.
- Donations can be made anytime but if you to enter for a prize your deadline is December 16, 2011.
- Prize winners will be notified on Friday, December 23rd and prize delivered within 7 business days if you’re in the US. Those of you in other countries will receive your prize within 17 business days (the added time since I’ll need someone to forward it to your address).
- Prize is void if we don’t communicate by January 31, 2012.
In 2009 PwP raised $30,000 to build a school in Cambodia and last year $64,000 to help build a village in India. To be a part of this year’s effort and enter to win a Nook Tablet, or one of the other prizes, donate here.
Discovering The Hidden Europe With Author Francis Tapon
Francis Tapon is the first person to do a round-trip hike on the Continental Divide Trail and has backpacked over 20,000 kilometers since he made a life-altering decision after earning his MBA from Harvard Business School. Recently Francis spent 3 years visiting Eastern Europe’s 25 nations and has released the ebook version of his upcoming hardcover, The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europe Can Teach Us. Francis was kind enough to send me a copy and I’m glad he did.
Eastern Europe has something of a travel-image problem and often is seen as bland or a gray spot on the map. You may be wondering if a travel book about Eastern Europe could be interesting beyond a superficial level – and I was skeptical too – as it turns out, The Hidden Europe is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a long time. Beyond interesting, the book is ultimately about a journey, one with a very specific purpose, to learn why engineers are the Lady Gaga of Hungary and what we can learn from the least serious Muslims in Europe. (And no, he’s not talking about Turkey.)
Francis is able to weave humor, history, and himself in such a way throughout the pages that you don’t realize just how much information you’re absorbing. Over each of the 25 chapters you feel as though you’re getting to know individual Eastern European countries (with some you might not expect, like Finland) as personal friends.
The Hidden Europe is extremely detailed, incredibly well-researched, and in no way a “things to see in Bulgaria” type book. Francis works from various angles, through the nerdiest country – take a guess – and details the lessons we can all learn from their tax structure, for instance. The facts inside The Hidden Europe aren’t of the “oh, that’s interesting” type but more of the “wow, I had completely no idea” variety, over and over again. And the experience doesn’t stop there, Eastern Europe’s influence goes well beyond its borders. The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europe Can Teach Us can help you learn some of its finest lessons.
The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europe Can Teach Us ebook is $7.99 and available now. The hardcover will be released on December 12, 2011 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. (Francis Tapon will also be donating 15% of the royalties to 3 non-profit organizations outlined in the book, including Wikimedia Foundation and Kiva.org.) I can’t recommend this travel book enough, it’s a wonderful read.
History For The Pages At Bibliotheca Alexandrina In Egypt
August 11, 2011 by Anil P.
Filed under Books, Pictures and Video
I’m not sure why Alexandria, Egypt has such a generally understated reputation among Egyptians and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library of Alexandria) is often the center of that blase attitude. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is much more than a mere book storage facility, it is a large cultural center that holds more than 1 million books, a planetarium, and 4 museums – just to name a few of its features. Of those, one not to miss is the Manuscripts Museum located on the lower floor. (I was incredibly fortunate to get a grand tour of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina from several of my readers who met up with me in Alexandria, one of whom happens to work there.) The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is the most popular site for tourists to visit in the city and a modern monument to the Ancient Library of Alexandria; the largest in the world until 30BC.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is actually built partially on the site of the Ancient Library of Alexandria, remnants of which were found in 2004. The center of some Roman drama near the height of that empire’s expansion, it has been suggested that much of the ancient library was destroyed by a fire Julius Caesar set during the Alexandrian War – devastating Cleopatra. Mark Antony, being the romantic he was, presented Cleopatra with thousands of books to replace those lost in the fire. When she asked him where they came from, I wonder if he mentioned it was from stealing the collection of the world’s second biggest library at the time (Pergamon) in modern day Turkey, or if its just the thought that counts.
The entire Bibliotheca Alexandrina complex is distinctly Scandinavian in design, with rounded walls and plentiful open spaces revealing its Norwegian creators. It can be easy to get dissuaded from visiting Alexandria when you hear the common line that the library is the only thing worth seeing in town. The term “library” deceptively hides the extent of how much incredible cultural wealth there is in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and how visually engaging its design is. Aside from its impressive 11 levels of physical space, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina also acts as the only backup of the Internet Archive – which contains collection of all the websites ever created.
You can see more of pictures from Alexandria and reasons to visit in my photo album here.
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