The spectacular sunny weather continued throughout last week so we walked across the bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia to sample some more port wines and enjoy the sunshine. We did a self-guided tour at Taylor's, which is one of the larger exporters of port. The oak vats here were the biggest we've seen - you could practically live inside one!
Taylor's tasting room has a very nice outdoor garden where you can take in the scenery while enjoying the port.
We also had a plate of specialty sheep and goat cheeses from Portugal, which went well with the wine.
The next day we took the bus to the Serralves modern art museum. Modern art normally does not appeal to me, and some of the exhibits were a bit underwhelming (piles of everyday objects, like a stack of bricks or cardboard boxes -- it just doesn't seem very "arty" to me). But the museum had an entire building dedicated to works by Joan Miró, so that part was interesting.
The main reason we came to the museum was to see the park. The gardens are beautifully laid out and look particularly colorful with the autumn leaves.
But even outside in the garden you still can't really escape the modern art. Artist Louise Bourgeois designed this creepy larger-than-life spider to haunt your nightmares!
Later in the week we took a guided tour of the Casa da Música. Construction of this modern building was completed in 2005 and it looks sort of like an oversized concrete air conditioning unit from the outside.
The architect wanted a very modern aesthetic to celebrate the city of Porto being the European Capital of Culture in 2001. The building is known for its fabulous acoustics and is a great place to see a concert because both the front and rear walls of the main Sala de Suggia chamber are made of glass, letting in natural light. We were there for a rehearsal -- normally the glass panel behind the orchestra is uncovered but during the rehearsal they had a dark shade lowered, unfortunately covering the enormous window.
A short walk from the Casa da Música is the Cemitério de Agramonte. This grand cemetery has been in existence since 1855 and many graves and chapels are adorned with mournful and moving sculptures.
After a day full of walking we stopped at one of Porto's well-know food halls -- the Mercado Bom Sucesso. Originally built in the 1950's as a traditional market hall, the building was repurposed more recently to hold many restaurants and food stalls featuring Portuguese cuisine. We like it because they have a nice outdoor seating area so you can bring your meal outside. Bom apetite!
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