Porto: Day Glorious (4)

I finally made it to the museum! It was only about a quarter mile hike through residential streets away from our hotel, it is called: Museu Serralves, the Museu De Arte Contemporanea. The current exhibition was of well known European, but mostly Portuguese film makers from the 20^th century. Very cool stuff, but Kenn and I did not have a lot of time, and film art is hard to grasp unless you can really devote an entire afternoon or so to it. The films were very striking, such as black and white films from the 1940’s, reminiscent of Nazi propaganda films, as well as one-shot comedia del arte style film, and so forth.

What I enjoyed most about the museum was the grounds outside of it. The museum is named Serralves after the man who donated to the property. I can not emphasize how much I was blown away by the gardens. At least ten acres of terraces, ponds, groves, fountains, towering trees, and hidden niches. I probably took twice as many pictures in the hour I walked on these grounds than the entire time I have been in Porto. We’re talking; I know what I want my future backyard to look like, and it is breathtaking. The pond in the center of the grounds is surrounded by stone foot paths and swooping foliage. There was a small boat house and an island in the center with benches and an old gazebo, only accessibly by boat! The trees just begged to be climbed, and I did climb one of them. It was mossy and spacious, I could have set up camp and napped the day away. The whole experience was something of a mix between the gardens of the Queen of Hearts in Through the Looking Glass and the Secret Garden. Needless to say, I did not want to leave. The only permanent exhibition of the museum was the collection of sculptural pieces placed sporadically around the grounds, which only added to its allure. Before today I had no idea that plants like palm trees, ferns, and fuchsias were native to the Porto climate. I only wish I could see it in the spring.

Tonight I went out with BMD, short for Biomedical Diagnostics, I think, at a riverside restaurant. My mom, Kenn, Jennifer, and I were the only Americans. The company is French, and we also had Portuguese and Australian guests with us. It was quite fun, lots of wine and seafood. Politics came into discussion at one point, where I gave my ‘unique’ perspective on John McCain and the view of ‘my generation’. I ended up talking movies with the Australian woman, and we discovered we both had a love for Ed Harris and Kate Blanchett. By the end of the evening it was close to 1 a.m. and I now have someone to stay with if I am ever down and out in Paris.

To answer your inquiry, Natashia, the men of Porto are quite similar to the men of Rome, only not quite as obnoxious. The locals that are around my age, both men and women, are very fashionable in a bohemian way. They are all friendly and I have not had any negative conflicts thus far.

I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, but it may involve a library. As I get closer and closer to being in London and Leicester, my heart races.