Porto Day 1

My Porto trip begins with my time at Kennedy Airport. I always try to get there early so my husband dropped me off about 3 hrs before the flight. I had checked in and was through security in about 10 minutes. You know that doesn't happen when you need it to happen. lol So I had time to sketch at the airport. I found a spot in one of the restaurant/bars to sit with a view toward the bar.

Then I moved on to Gate 46 where my American Airlines plane would be departing. It was crowded but I found a spot with a pretty good view out the window for my obligatory airplane sketch.

Later on the plane I sketched the flight attendants as they were serving beverages on the way to Madrid.

Just in case you want to see the size of these here is the whole page. I took along a Strathmore Mixed Media Sketchbook that is just about 8 x 10. The Madrid ticket was added later.

My next flight was on Iberia. Compared to American their seats feel like you are sitting on plastic...no cushiony feeling to the seat at all. Luckily the flight from Madrid to Porto was short. I took a cab from the airport to my apartment where I was met by the rental agent. I should have sketched or taken photos of the apartment which was great but the best that I have are photos of my view. My studio apartment was located on Largo S Domingos, a square which was filled with restaurants and people. It was a great location! I had views out in two directions. It was a studio apartment but had an area for the bed, a table with 3 upholstered chairs, a small couch with a TV, a tiny kitchen area behind doors with a two burner stove, a sink, a fridge and barely any room to prep anything. I wasn't planning to cook anything besides breakfast so it worked out well. And there was a nice sized bathroom with a big shower where I could hang laundry to dry.

I contacted my friends and met them for lunch at Majestic Cafe, an old time Porto cafe that was beautifully decorated. These ladies at a table near us were enjoying their lunch.

From there we walked to the Se' Cathedral which was sitting on a hill and had great views over the city. It was a spot that I returned to many times. Porto is a city of very steep streets, wonderful old buildings (right up my alley), great food and wonderful people.

Here's my friend, Shawne sketching from the wall by the cathedral as the sun was starting to go down. It didn't get dark in Porto until around 9:30.

My friends were going out to dinner at 9:00 but I was so tired. I had been up for almost 24 hours without sleep. I told them I had to skip dinner and headed back to my apartment. There was a saxophonist playing in the square when I got back and from inside the apartment what I heard was soft sax music as I fell asleep.