Jardim do Palácio de Cristal

Good evening everyone!

Today is Friday! And already starting the weekend on the right foot, behold, I found a small set of photographs, from a visit to one of my favorite Portuguese cities. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I have a true passion for the North of my country. Perhaps also due to my roots being more inland North, the value I attach to people's genuineness, the value I attach to friendliness and goodwill is for others much rarer and more valuable than a more cosmopolitan and colder coexistence, despite care...

For some years now, the city of Porto has been transforming itself, and it likes to welcome those who come to visit it. Located with an airport that receives dozens of weekly flights from several European Low Cost companies, and with a cost of living a few holes below what is practiced in Lisbon; Porto brings together all the conditions to receive, during a long weekend, those who venture out and discover the wonders of gastronomy, the most verdant landscapes, and people with a huge heart.

At the foot of the Ponte da Arrábida Viewpoint - one of the six bridges that cross the Douro - we have a privileged view over the riverside area, and the other side of the river bank - Vila Nova de Gaia.

I'm going to tell you about a well-known Garden, as well as an iconic pavilion in the undefeated city.

The Pavilhão Rosa Mota is perfectly integrated into one of the hills topped over the northern city, and which always sleeps accompanied by the gardens of the Palácio de Cristal, and also by the Jardins dos Sentimentos. Anyone who walks through this area cannot remain indifferent to the imposing and almost extraterrestrial architecture of the building's vault. In fact, there is something that leaves us astonished, in how its rehabilitation in 1992 made it completely able to host events due to the exceptional acoustic capabilities of the vault then premiered.

In the Jardim do Palácio de Cristal, it is not uncommon to see couples in love - some for a little longer than a couple of months, others with a passion that covers them for several more decades - strolling calmly through these spacious gardens, with lakes with swans and many peacocks, which are so characteristic of him.

The deciduous trees, which at this time appeared naked, make the whole surroundings even more magical and captivating. Don't you think so? One of the fountains that in the center of the Garden extols in its magnitude has without a doubt a markedly Masonic origin or design! It was only relatively recently, when I revisited these photographs, that I became aware of their shape in a triangular pyramid with a quadrilateral base, which thus evokes their invariable pretense.

I hope you enjoyed my photos from today. They illustrate an area of my country that I always want to visit, not only because of its natural beauty, but also because of the number of friends I have in these parts!

And what's better in this life than sharing joy and good mood with friends, right?

A big hug to everyone!
And have a nice weekend!

Bem Hajam 🍀