Sunset

OK. As promised, we looked into the gum trees. They were brought here to use for pulp plantations. So, they set off clearing their own native forests, just like we've done for pine forests. The effect has been the same. No natural enemies, so the trees go feral and start to take over and the native animals take a double whammy.

Anyway, back to the trip.

Today, we really needed to do some laundry. Off we went in search of at the self-service laundry we were advised by the hotel. We wandered for nearly an hour before we found the dry cleaners. Not cheap and not self-service. Self service laundromats are apparently very rare in Portugal and Spain.

The night before we had found a place on the Internet. A bit of a trip out, across the river and no real idea where it was. Our hands were tied though, so off we went. One very scary 20 minute bus ride later (and after a long conversation Jo had with one of the locals in Portuguese - hilarious to watch from a distance), we arrived at our stop. The place we found was clean, the washers and driers excellent and the guy who ran it, very friendly. We had a chat to the guy, it seems he's been in business for 2 years and has handed his flyers to all the hotels and yet still doesn't get much business sent his way. In fact the last tourists that came by were also from Brisbane and came in about a year ago. Strange!

Oh, we also found the place with no trouble at all. Thank you Google and Street-View.

The bus trip was also helpful in that we got our bearings a bit better, saw some of the outer parts of Porto, crossed a bridge designed by Eiffel (well one of his students anyway), and most importantly, found the Port cellars!!! First up we tried Sandeman, 5 euros for the tour and two tastes. After that we walked up the side of a hill (mountain / cliff face with cobble stone streets) to Taylors. Much better we thought, as it was free.





Feeing brave after the mornings bus trip, we headed by Metro to Matosinhos, a beach front suburb with lots of restaurants. It only had two minor shortcomings. No beach and no restaurants. Nice find Jo! Undaunted, we made the best of it and decided on the catching the bus back, just to see a bit more of the city. That was the ticket. The bus passed through the edge of Porto along the Atlantic coast. We jumped off the bus, touched the ocean and walked the footpath along the beach. We popped into a nice restaurant overlooking the ocean and ate dinner while the sun set across the sea. This was the best Pizza Hut we had ever been to.








Back to the hotel. We had heard that there was a bar on the top floor of the hotel. We decided to pop up and check it out. The perfect nightcap. Cafe con Leite, (another) port and watching the moon rise across Porto.

Thought for the day, one for all you Apple haters out there. Never underestimate the value of the iPad as a tool for travelers.


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Location:Porto, Portugal