De: Paula Morais - "Simple pleasures"

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Porque o Porto, apesar de tudo, ainda consegue despertar aprazíveis sentimentos, aproveito as palavras de Cristina Santos sobre os artesãos da pedra e da cal visíveis nos alçados da Rua das Flores para partilhar um pequeno excerto de um texto da autoria de Roy Hersh, um turista norte-americano que no último Verão fez uma visita à Baixa portuense:

«I could easily live in Oporto, a city with a warm heart and vibrant soul. Every time I visit, I see, taste or experience something new that just provides such a visceral pleasure. It is usually something quite simple that strikes me, while I notice others walking by unaware or without a care. In this particular instance, I stood and watched a road crew repaving a street adjacent to the Sao Bento train station which was roped off for repair. Although it might sound mundane to most, this crew was not involved in using a steam roller truck to flatten molten tar and asphalt as would take place on your typical American street resurfacing. No, here I observed men who were “repaving” this street by individually hand placing 4’’ square stones onto a leveled sand base, creating an eye pleasing pattern that was more intricate than any jig saw puzzle imaginable. Although they’re probably considered common laborers, these men were actually artisans, painstakingly pounding each stone into place to develop a smooth roadway. Like I said, ‘simple pleasures.’»

Paula Morais
Arquitecta