Im up had brekkie, its brekkie if I make it and its muesli, banana and yogurt with some coffee. Its breakfast if someone else makes anything! Made a cup of tea for Lee, she doesnt call that brekkie or breakfast as its really only a precursor to starting to wake up. Then its off to another walking tour. different itinerary but same sort of deal. This one concentrated significantly more on the old town and the river quarter which is fine as the details and information content is what I thrive on. Run by Porto Walking Tours this one was conducted by a native ‘tripe eater unlike yesterdays tour which was lead by an Irishman! The tours usually touch on food, language, culture and history but are open to questions which is just as well or Id get a reputation as a pain. Its only when they talk ‘football that I tune out. Including a 15 minute break (that = 10 Porto minutes!) the tour last 2.5 hours and like yesterday finishes in a spot a couple of kilometres from our start. That spot just happened to be
down by the river where Lee and I were yesterday so again I had no concerns about navigating home bit Portuguese guides seem to assume that tourists have the navigation skills equivalent to Vasco de Gama. Id estimate that there were 30 in the group and there were 22 yesterday (I counted them in the picture, today no picture sent to me because I dont have a mobile!) and if each gives the same donation as me that averages €260 per tour. Lets round that to €250 or €1000 per month for 4 half days work. Thats approximately 135% of the minimum wage here in Portugal, more than 100% of the average wage here and well Im concluding Im over tipping and I never thought Id be accused of that heinous crime! Another fact from the tour, Portugal transported more slaves from Africa than the British, American and the The numbers totalled more than 6 million! And dont get me started on the Portuguese Inquisition, their ‘benign colonialism of their African ‘provinces or the treatment of the Jews. Some very scary bits.
are off to walk some of the King Luis Bridge. Ive got the impression its much more attractive to lok at from a distance than it is to walk but Bit like Henri de who ate at the Eiffel Tower restaurant everyday for years because he considered it such an ugly building and it was the only spot in Paris where he couldnt see it!
May go looking for a ‘francesinha tonight. Pretty sure Ive spelt it correctly. The description is quite scary so if youre brave you do a little research. The francesinha district is a bit of a walk away so it may be difficult but a good one is great and a not so good one can be terrible. The spelling is OK but just realized as its Sunday most of those small cheapish places will be closed. Even the cafe that I have my pre tour espresso and pastries was closed today, well €1.80 I saved.
Time for our late afternoon ‘passeggiata (Italian I know but thats the extent of my foreign language vocabulary!).
