On the other side of the Douro river, is Gaia. Home to the wineries and the good food, the salesmen and the old boats – and great street art. Let’s pay the area a visit.
My first impression was of a rather run down area, nothing fashionable at all. The best thing was the lovely views of Porto on the other side of the river.
Walking along the Gaia waterfront, you can see the slender old port boats and even a vintage tram rattling along the Porto streets.
At Taylor’s Port, we were showed around among the impressive barrels, and the wine tasting was excellent. A couple of bottles in the bag could not be resisted.
Bacalhau! A national dish in Portugal. We got a first taste of it here, with a glass of port of course…The neighbour was a spectacular sardine shop. You could even buy a box of sardines with your year of birth on it – luckily the fish was not the same age… I bought a box for my father, who turned 89 two weeks later.
There was excellent street art all over the city, for almost every new block we walked a surprise was waiting around the corner.
A marvelous work was this rabbit, or hare, made of debris and I guess whatever found… We met him at a corner and could not stop looking at all the details. I told him how amazing he was, and he nodded gracefully – I am sure!
Thank you for walking along with me in Gaia, and now, a glass of port – cheers!
Amy is our host this week, and she hopes we will share our joy and pleasure of visiting/climbing mountains. I know many of us are mountain lovers, so we are looking forward to seeing your responses! Be sure to link to Amy’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
– T. S. Eliot
Let’s start close to home, in Scandinavia, with green summer mountains…
…blue glaciers and
mocca coloured, volcanic Iceland. They are calling to me with their special light and fresh air.
The Canary Islands offer more than beaches, we usually hike the mountain areas. Pico de las Nieves in the faraway clouds, and the pinnacle in the middle is called Roque del Fraile (monk)
On top of the world is the Himalayas, an impressive mountain range. Here seen from northern Bhutan.
More from the Himalayas, now seen from the Tibetan Plateau, where we went by train to Lhasa.
A holy lake in Tibet. The landscape is vast and it took some time for my son to walk down to the water. Lower mountains here, but still impressive. The clouds seemed to hang right above us, almost touchable, and the contrasts were bright in the thin air. This is about 3000-4000 meters above sea level.
The mountain meadows of Switzerland are a haven of summer flowers in July. I think this image shows the essense of this week’s challenge – “The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir
Hiking mountains is so much more than the spectacular views – it is meeting other hikers, photographing flowers, animals, and different landscapes.
Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains.
― Jeffrey Rasley
Many of us seek the mountains to be alone. To shut out the world and just BE. Silence is rare in this world.
Go where you feel most alive.
– Unknown
So, mountains are calling me because of their beauty, for peace of mind and soul…for moving my body at a pace that suits me, for spending time in the glory of nature. And for photography.
I will finish with other ways of loving mountains… bungyjumping, kiteflying, skiing, rafting, aso…today there are endless activities to try in the mountains if hiking is not your thing. In New Zealand you can get it all.
I cannot thank you enough for last week’s explosion in flowers! You sent us just what I had hoped for – an abundance of glorious flowers! For once, you could indulge in lovely flower images without regret (!), and many of you pointed out the impossibility in chosing favourites – because we love them all! ♥
Next week, John will host LAPC #223. Be sure to visit his site for loads of inspiration. Until then, stay safe and be kind.
From Porto, a boat trip along the Douro river into the beautiful wine district was a must. The Douro valleys have a microclimate allowing for cultivation of olives, almonds, and especially grapes, which are important for making port. According to our guide, the region around Pinhão and São João da Pesqueira is considered to be the centre of port, with its quintas (or farms/estates) along the steep slopes of the river valleys. Today, many of these are owned by multinational, reputed wine companies.
The grapes had been harvested two weeks before we arrived, so the fields were empty – but still eye-catching.
We went by bus to the vineyard where we were going to eat and try their wines. With those lovely views everywhere, you could not fall asleep…
…neither on the river nor on the bus.
The rolling green hills and the blue sky – all softness and harmony.
The vines were almost always combined with olive trees – giving a soft silvery touch to the landscape.
Finally, as our trip was coming to an end, we inhaled the magnificent view from Quinta S Luiz before entering the bus again.
Of course we had delicious Portuguise food and nice wine along with it. Strolling through the wine cellar of Quinta S Luiz, I found ”my” vintage wine – but I did not buy it… maybe I should have…
I must have flowers, always, and always. ― Claude Monet
This week I hope will bring some colourful joy to us all – we will have more Favourite Flowers than ever! And, should it not be flower season where you are, you are welcome to share other beautiful or interesting plants that you love. If there is a story to go with them, we’d love you to share it with us.
My first choice, in the header, must be a Cattleya Iwanagaara Appleblossom – this was my favourite for many years, but sadly it died last year. Then…tough choices for me as I love many flowers! I will not complain if you too find it difficult…
I love the white Magnolia in my garden. Maybe the reason for loving these flowers has to do with its extreme fragility in our climate. The first Spring flowers, the anemonies, can take several days of frost and bad weather, but most years we lose the magnolias after a day or two – because of the cold.
Our greatest favourites in Sweden must be the shy blue anemonies. We even poke around last year’s leaves in order to find the first blue buds… And, it’s a yearly competition to show the first photo on facebook or instagram…
Sweden and the other nordic countries are rather cold places, so when Spring arrives with the light and warmer temperatures – our first flowers are always the most loved ones.
While the blue anemonies grow rather scarcely and are more of solitaires – the white wood anemonies fill the whole forest with their little faces turned towards the sun – just like we do. They bring out people of all ages to walk in the forest and admire the magic.
As you probably know, wild flowers and grasses have a special place in my heart. In my garden I have many wild summer flowers, and not only for the insects – they are for me too. I love their delicateness, often in contrast to the bigger and sturdier cultivated flowers.
Among cultivated flowers, Miss Willmott’s Ghost is a favourite of late, I just love the silvery whiteness and its sharp needles – and the story of course. How Miss Willmott loved this plant so much that she secretely spread it everywhere in people’s gardens…
The colour of plumbago is heavenly. Ever since I saw the first one, in my teens, in a little village somewhere in the Mediterranian, I was caught. Finally I can have this beauty at home, as my glasshouse makes it possible for it to survive winter temperatures.
And then, one of the strangest flowers…
Callistemon – or bottlebrush. It was love at first sight, 1986 in Nepal. I brought home a twig and made it live, but coming back from one of our travels I found it had died. I have bought several ones over the years, just to see them die during winter, but now they survive happily in the glass house.
Asters are the last ones to flower before winter, and that is a good reason to love them, because they have to endure cold and rain, frost and sometimes snow. Sorry to say, they don’t look this brilliant in 2022. We have had too much rain and too little sun this autumn.
I guess this is what is left before winter, a much appreciated plant firing away its last flames of autumn. It’s even clinging to my washing line – so, no clean wash there right now…
If you love a flower which happens to be on a star, it is sweet at night to gaze at the sky. All the stars are a riot of flowers. ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
For winter then? Well the only flower growing here then is…the frost rose. I don’t know what you call them – if you have them where you live – but my grandmother always said they were frost roses. I wonder if there will be a renaissance for them in our homes this winter…?
Now we are looking forward to seeing your favourite flowers and plants – and don’t forget the stories (if there are any) – I know it will be a colourful and interesting parade! Please link to my original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Sincere thanks to Patti for a marvelous challenge that really got us testing and thinking over our photography. I think we all learned something from each other!
Next week Amy will be our host, so be sure to visit her amazing site for inspiration and details! Until then, stay safe and be kind.
As much as I love the alleyways and narrow, cobbled streets, Porto has a beautiful waterfront too. We walked and we took a boat trip to see the colourful houses from a distance. And we were not disappointed.
Walking down to the river…
…or walking up from it – was always a treat. I even met some dogs enjoying the shadow.
Colourful and happy houses makes the wanderer happy too!
The bridge across the river made for beautiful views all over. The city looks delightful any time of the day.
A boat trip along the river is always to be recommended. I am not a boat person, but you will see all the bridges and the waterfront up close.
As we were lucky with the weather, there was no wind either.
So far we had only walked the Porto side of the river. Another day we would walk the Gaia, where there are many good restaurants and all the wineries.
Gaia photographed from another bridge. We couldn’t get enough of the river – or the many bridges. We’d had a delightful day, so thank you for coming along!
This weeks challenge is hosted by Patti, who once again wants us to think photographically – One subject three ways.
I am just back from Porto, and I have to post from the amazing Livraria Lello – ”The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World”… and a bit more than three images it had to be. How do you portray a staircase like this? Hope you don’t mind, Patti! I stayed for an hour and a half to work this shot…
There were so many people in queue to come inside, that we had to try three times to find a queue that didn’t stretch all over Old Town Porto.
And I really don’t know how many books were sold or borrowed or… most people were there for the same reason as we were there – for the love of the architecture and for photographing.
My photos are all crowded, but there was no chance of shooting without people getting in the way…
…taking turns posing or just standing in awe. But for a second or two, suddenly there were only two people in the staircase!
I loved it almost more from behind …but every minute here, I was thinking ”Harry Potter”…
This is my favourite perspective and the lady looking upwards shows there is more to see up there – a beautifully painted glass ceiling for example. But that will be for another post, this one was all about the spectacular staircase!
Patti says: ”This week, we invite you to “work the shot.” Post 3 photos of the same subject–from your archives or from a recent outing. Vary your distance from the subject, try different perspectives, zoom out for the big picture, or zoom in on the details. It’s up to you. You can even experiment with processing the photos differently–in black and white or color, cropping, or trying different filters or effects.”
As usual, be sure to include a link to the original post and use the Lens-Artists tag so we can find you in the Reader.
I, Ann-Christine, will host next challenge, LAPC #221, so be sure to visit Leya, next Saturday at noon to get all the details. We hope you will join us!
Leya 
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