2026-05-14 Freeze Frame

In the former building known as the Prison and Court of Appeal of Porto, now sits the CPF - Centro Português de Fotográfia. This building houses an impressive amount of photographic equipment, significant to Portugal as well as internationally, along with several exhibits. The exhibit we saw today was the work of Vivian Maeir. This exhibition provides the opportunity to see 140 images by Vivian Maier (1926-2009), a nanny who dedicated decades to photography, "mainly capturing the energy of the streets of major American cities". After achallenging childhood, as an adult she found steady work asa nanny, gradually turning a simple hoppy into a passion, never working professionally or selling her work. Her vast photographic archive, comprising more than 120,000 negatives, prints, films, and recordings, only became public when the lockers that belonged to her were auctioned off after being considered abandoned due to non-payment. "Today, Maier is recognized as one of the most unique voices in photography, a legacy all the more surprising as it was built on the fringes of any recognition during her lifetime."

To pay homage to the fact these works were found in a storage locker, some of the displays were set in moving boxes.  It was quite clever.  Her photos are mostly from Chicago and New York and I appreciate the Hull House photos she had taken. Hull House has a fondness in my heart and if you want to read more about it and Jane Addams, you can check this out Hull House Museum. She captured everyday life in, at times, poignant images. Her self-portraits were whimsical and unique.

The renovated building retained much of the character of the original structure, with tall arched ceilings, heavy masonry floors and walls, and barred windows. The central atrium and skylight was quite a space. There were three rooms for the exhibit and they were large, with amazing architecture. JR for scale.

This was the central atrium where the three rooms intersect.  Stacey made a video of the clouds rolling buy. The upper floors contained hundreds of cameras of all types and eras, a comprehensive collection that has to rival collections anywhere.

A view from the windows

They have the most interesting exhibit of camaras of all types.

Our visit was followed by a meandering walk through parks and plazas, including a stop at a cervejaria for lunch.

FC Porto won the division the other week, so they were setting up for a BIG party in the Praça.

2026-05-12 Because you're mine, I walk the line

 

These are all images from our walk the other day.  We walked 40 mins North - uphill - and home another route.  I am just smitten with this City.

2026-05-10 Easy, Like Sunday Morning

Now you see him, now you don't....Adventures in picture taking.

Yesterday, JR and I took a walk from our apartment to the Parque do Covelo (in Porto). To be clear, I love language learning as I think it is so interesting. Anyway, back to our story, we were walking in the park discussing aves vs pássaro. It has to do with flying vs non-flying birds.  So all flying birds are birds but not all birds are flying birds. After figuring it out, we went to Reverso to get a grammar check on how to say it in Portuguese based on the definitions. Of course Reverso gave me the english translation as I wrote it out in Portuguese and it made me laugh and realize why we say Portuguese is a nuanced language while English is, well, English.

There's a lot of construction ongoing. This jobsite is ... interesting. We may have mentioned that there are "abandoned" buildings randomly scattered throughout Porto, and there are a lot of tower cranes around town that were not here in November. The reason may be a change in inheritance law, that makes it easier for multiple heirs to sell or redevelop property.

Parque do Covelo is an park set in a residential and commercial district. It has public WC (free), a section set apart for kids to play on various equipment and just run around as well as multiple trails based off a kind of spoke/wheel arrangement.  The primary allee is alive with tree canopies.

These yellow flowers almost look like they are suspended without branches, but on closer inspection, the branches are great camouflage and the young flowers apparently start as fuzzy cocoons pods.

These beautiful trumpet (?) flowers were scattered around and were just stunning.

There's a feature with running water that starts as a fountain at the upper tier of the park and runs through the park and down to the lower promenade and looks like an homage to Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water. It continues past the waterfall, over an infinity edge and through the trough which goes even lower and down to a small collection pool.

The walk to and from had lovely art and stellar views hidden around every corner.

Every walk we take, we are blown away by all the different tile colors, designs and aesthetics

We decided to walk through the Marques Metro Station park, which we have walked through at least 5 times, and noticed a church for the first time - Igreja de Senhora Conceicão - with absolutely beautiful slate and marble 2" tile mosaics that grace the courtyard in front of the church.

Not to be outdone, the weird and the beautiful combine to bring some very interesting things. A Hell's Angels next to an, well, I'm not sure.

This 'ode to Escher' house

This patron saint on a car dealership and repair shop

Cute restaurant space tucked in a courtyard and adorned by a grotto.

Porto history and culture.

And finally, these two items near each other. The Portugueses is translated, "theater and dance campaign, performed together or alternately"