We’ve been in Lisbon for a few days, and in fact will be moving on to Spain tomorrow. I made this photograph of a street car along R. de São Pedro de Alcântara near the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara park and viewpoint. Streetcars, trolleys and funiculars are popular with tourists and locals alike, and they attract budding photographers of all skill (and situational awareness!) levels.
Portugal has been wonderful! We’re looking forward to Spain, but have really enjoyed our time here.
I was fortunate that the one morning I chose to wake early and get out and make photographs in Porto was the right one. I got a lot of nice shots, but this is one of my favorites so far. Interestingly, it was one of my last of the morning.
I was out well before the sunrise but in time to watch the color develop over the skyline. As the morning progressed, I noticed a fog bank forming over the river east of town and up river. I walked up to the Ponte Luis Bridge and made this photo just as a Viking river cruise ship passed. It was pretty good timing.
There are six bridges over the Douro connecting Porto with Gaia, so almost any photograph of the river is going to include one of them. The bridge in this photo is the modern Ponte da Arrábida Bridge, and it adds a nice backdrop combined with the ship and the buildings along the river bank.
We wanted to visit Porto first and foremost because it is world renowned as the home of Port wine. The south side of the Douro river, and the town of Gaia, is where all of the Port wineries are located. And of course every restaurant in town serves a nice selection of local wines.
I took this photo of the Luís I Bridge over the Douro on the night of our arrival. The bridge was designed by Teófilo Seyrig, who was a partner of some guy named Eiffel who designed something famous in Paris. 😉 Many sources credit Eiffel for the design, but locally everyone is quick to point out the real story!
Our second stop en route to Porto was Nazare (NAZ a ray). Because we had extra time in Obidos, Nazare was a quick stop to see the views and visit the cathedral. I only took a few photos there, but this view was pretty nice.
Summer time is a very busy time with vacationers visiting the beaches. Later in the winter, Nazare will host some of the largest waves in the world, and surfers will come from all over to try their luck. The town was pretty quiet on this early winter day.
We disembarked our cruise ship in Lisbon, Portugal this past Wednesday and had arranged transportation to Porto with stops in Obidos and Nazare along the way. Obidos (OH bee dose) is a cute little place with a main street full of shops, the requisite churches, a fort and – of course – cobblestones. It even has the remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct.
Obidos is also known for producing ‘Ginja de Obidos,’ a sweet and sour cherry liquor that is served in little chocolate cups about the size of a shot glass. And of course we bought a bottle as a souvenir! 😉