Two Green Spaces I Love in Porto

Today I want to share with you my two favourite green spaces in Porto, Portugal.. and a nifty little app I’ve used to add some extra colour and life to the photos in this post.

The app I talk about is the new Ribena Doodle Your World app – it lets you add still or animated doodles (made out of fruits and other Ribena characters) to your photos or videos.

Did you grow up with Ribena? Because I did. Ribena was a big part of my childhood. I loved seeing those cartoon blackcurrants (happy purple round things) talking on TV. Our kitchen always had a big glass bottle of Ribena syrup. Mixed with water and ice, it was the best thing to have on a hot day. Since it is hot every day in Malaysia (where I grew up), it was the best drink to have every day.

I haven’t actually had any Ribena for a while and I’m so happy to see it reappear in my world again, this time in digital form/as an app. It brings back so many memories and I’ve had such a fun time creating these Ribenary photos.. which were, of course, taken in my two preferred green havens in Porto (on hot days, no less):

JARDIM BOTÂNICO / BOTANICAL GARDEN

The Botanical Garden is located just slightly out of the city centre and it is a little bit of paradise. It’s not huge. In fact it’s probably one of the smallest botanical gardens I’ve ever been to. But that’s great because I can see every part of it in a short time.

The way it’s laid out is on par with many other things in Portugal that don’t make sense. There are some random wild and unmanicured areas. Suddenly there is a big red house. Then a mini bamboo forest. Near some fallen tree trunks. Next to a beautiful row of hydrangeas. Somewhere there is what looks like a cactus farm. A giant hedge.

Like my Ribenary creations? Don’t worry – there’s more!

Here are some photos of the Botanical Garden taken last year:

Some of my friends were impressed that I dyed my hair to match the hydrangeas, but the truth is that I did not even know that those flowers were called hydrangeas before the photo was taken and I couldn’t care less about them.

I did, however, care to take advantage of the happy coincidence (by making Ricardo snap multiple of me and the hydrangeas in the same position).

I added the little Ribena rabbit there because its nose matches my hair.

Since Ricardo always looks so boring and me already fruity (inside and out), I decided to award him three Doodles and me none.

“What’s the time?”

RIBENA O’Clock

But alas! For Ribena O’Clock to occur in Portugal two conditions must be met:
– Availability of Ribena in stores
– A good understanding of the concept of time & timekeeping

Only one of these has any probability of happening.

^Top left: Tiles! / Top right: Flowers! / Bottom: Me with eyes closed, probably walking into banister.

There were a lot of bees around the yellow flowers. Ricardo hates bees. He either screams like a girl or shouts profanities at the poor bees. Therefore I really enjoyed us being around those yellow flowers.

Porto isn’t as green as London. You won’t be spoilt for choice when looking for a large grassy area to play or picnic in, that’s for sure. But it does have a few little gems, especially if you venture out a little. Which brings me to my next favourite:

PARQUE DE SÃO ROQUE

This park ROCKS.

There is an abandoned old yellow house decorated with peeling paint and faded tiles, to greet you when you first enter.

Do you like my exploding pineapple, funky pigeon, and grumpy fox (the one playing golf)?

As health & safety is less of an issue here, there are bit of building debris and shards of glass you can step on (and enjoy their crunchy sounds) if you go to the right spots around the house. Tip: one such spot is on the balcony by the stairs.

THIS PARK HAS A HEDGE MAZE.

This park has a hedge maze. That’s awesome!

It’s slightly short but still fun. I’m not so tall anyway. And if I wear my fox mask I’m as blind as not-a-bat-but-almost. That’s fun too!

The other parts of the park include some fairytale-like features and also open spaces for families or groups to have picnics etc.

Another bonus is the existence of stray cats on the grounds. Since I don’t have a cat of my own to touch, I resort to touching whatever cats I can find in the public domain.

PS I really like that I’m pointing at a GIANT FLAMINGO!

^My pink boat shoes are by Quvel

We were taking a series of ten photos of us. Ricardo got bored halfway and decided to pick up a loose tile to show me. I’m rolling my eyes under my sunglasses.

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did creating it!

PARK INFO:

Jardim Botânico do Porto
Rua do Campo Alegre 1191
4150-173 Porto
Portugal
>> Map

Parque de São Roque
R. São Roque da Lameira 2040
4350-307 Porto
Portugal
>> Map

RIBENA APP:

Add colourful, animated characters and objects to your photos and videos using augmented reality!
Click here to download 🙂

This post has been supported by Ribena® but all thoughts and doodles are my own.
Images used in this post are not actual app production.