Horreos of Galicia

Horreos, those granaries that can be found all over Galicia - the aim is to keep rats etc getting in, hence the ledges and round stones. Are they still used, I wonder?

Behind the dovecote in "the medieval bridge village"

Quite often there were several in the same place

Some need a bit of TLC

Unusually solid

Beside the town cemetery

Even in the fishing town of Fisterra!

The final photo was found somewhere in Porto - perhaps the hinterland has horreos as well, the espigueiros - these look amazing, I want to sit among them with a sketchbook!

They do have a touch of the necropolis about them, or of the relic casket, but mostly they're humble buildings well suited for their purpose, and that's what intrigues me, the simple shape and its variations - and occasional flourish.

Time spent in Porto

We arrived in the pouring rain and dashed into a convenient bakery/coffee shop to wait out the shower -

 The view from the flat - some "new" buildings but lots of those old houses with tall doors and grilles and tiled walls -

At the church with all the tiles, we discovered that none of us was at all familiar with the practice of taking selfies ...

... so we had a go, with the church in the background. I found it more difficult than could be thought possible -

Portugal has those cute roosters everywhere, well in the souvenir shops at least -

not just in painted wood - even these wonky stuffed (fabric) ones were in a church gift shop -

OK Portugal is known for its fishy cuisine, but the sardine shops are really Something Else - tins embellished with year (hopefully not year of canning!) and curious facts...

Porto also has a signature dish, the Franchesinho. Meats in the middle, egg on top, and a sauce reminiscent of baked beans -

The sausage made it very salty and I didn't want to eat anything for the rest of the day. (There was not much along the lines of green veg, apart from padron peppers.)

Some city scenes - the first from the top of the church tower that we climbed, 240 steps of a rather narrow spiral staircase -

... and lots of "just houses" -

... these along the seafront -

... including some tiny old ones ...

... and others that looked like books, somehow -

The town is somewhat hilly, and the buildings cope with that -

Going "home" to make dinner, groceries in the bag ...