2011年11月8日 星期二

Treading around Porto

Stopping for a sandwich in Porto might floor you for the rest of the afternoon, at least if you tuck into the local specialty, a Francesinha — generous amounts of steak and cured ham stuffed between slices of toast, swathed in a mass of melted cheese and then doused with a boozy tomato sauce,This is the Wholesale Skirtting Tiles For Floor section of our website. with chips and beer optional but recommended. On the bright side for the health conscious, there’s plenty of chance to walk it off in Porto’s vertiginous streets, which rise up from the banks of the Douro river in a jumble of winding paths, broad avenues and shady squares. And multiple opportunities to stop and stare: at the 20,000 blue-and-white tiles (azulejos) depicting scenes from Portuguese history in the Sao Bento railway station; at the iron facades that adorn countless shops and restaurants, and which will, our guide assures us,Some of the causes and risk factors for Wholesale Porcelain Mosaic Tiles For Floor From China Manufacturers are foods survive the city’s gradual modernization; at the city’s magnificent Romanesque cathedral; at the famous and wonderfully preserved Lello bookshop, in which a diminutive cart distributes stock on a shopfloor railway. If you get lost, navigate by the tall bell tower of the Clerigos church, visible from virtually everywhere in the city; or by the surviving sections of the 14th-century Fernandine defensive walls, hewn out of the granite on and out of which Porto is built.

Chances are, though, that these and other attractions — the vast glass-and-steel Casa da Musica designed by Rem Koolhaas, the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in its beautifully landscaped gardens — are not the first things that spring to mind when you think of Porto. They aren’t for my father — a semi-retired sommelier — or me. Speculating about what to expect, we can muster only one word: port.

It’s a correct but partial view that the city’s tourism officials, hoteliers and restaurateurs are keen to expand by drawing attention to Porto as a breath-of-fresh-air alternative to other European destinations, such as Barcelona, Berlin and Amsterdam.We have our own Wholesale Navona Polished Tiles For Countertops gallery For the first two nights, we stay in the palatial Yeatman hotel, which sits overlooking the Douro from the Vila Nova de Gaia region on the south side of the river.Some of the causes and risk factors for Wholesale Full Body Project Tiles For Wall are foods Barely a year old, the hotel is the brainchild and pet project of Adrian Bridge, the managing director of Taylor’s, and although port and wine are central to its aesthetic — from the decanter-shaped swimming pool to the Caudalie Vinotherapie treatments in the vast spa — he is keen to make sure Porto no longer hides its light under a bushel.Represent manufacturers of Wholesale Linen For Wall From China Manufacturers processing machinery

For the fairly well-heeled traveler, the Yeatman is a luxurious and comfortable base, all hushed corridors you could drive a car down and impeccable service; right next to the byzantine network of narrow roads that connect the city’s long established port-wine cellars and a short hop over one of Porto’s six river bridges to the bustling north side. Those who prefer to stay right in the heart of town might try the Teatro, a more modern (and modestly priced) hotel that takes its design inspiration from the theater that stood on the site in the 19th century. Going upscale again, there’s the five-star, almost implausibly beautiful Infante Sagres, where the likes of Bob Dylan and the Dalai Lama have stayed. We don’t bunk in with them, but the hotel has recently opened a brasserie-style restaurant called Book, and we enjoy a delicious dinner there.

沒有留言:

張貼留言