We love Porto. It was easy to. True to its reputation as a living museum, azulejo (little tiles in Arabic) were prominent in many buildings. The prettiest Metro station I have ever seen is Sao Bento with 20,000 blue tiles depicting Portugal’s history. It took the city several decades to transform a monastery into a Metro station as an azulejo museum. It showcased a medium introduced by the Moors, and transformed as an art form by the 14th c. Iberian royalty.

A few blocks south, we discovered along with the main tourist drag Rua Santa Caterina, the Capela das Albas de Santa Caterina or the “Blue Chapel”. Blue tiles that depict biblical scenes clad the entire chapel. On one wall, we saw the letters San Francisco. It moved us to take a selfie.

Livraria de Lello is another delightful discovery. The entrance was 5 euro, but it took a long time to get inside. I saw many familiar titles that were translated into Portuguese. The livraria, built in 1881, was perhaps the epitome of Porto’s very literate residents, something we would also observe on the Camino. The labyrinthine staircase became an inspiration to the Harry Potter creator, J.K. Rawlings. She was said to frequent the library during her stay in Porto.

We promised to take a vacation in the city. We intended to go to the Camino. We can only anticipate the trek ahead as we view its skyline.