So I got to south Brussels station and looked for the bus. For 20 minutes I was going around in circles looking for my bus to the airport. Nothing. I asked a cleaner, she had no idea (probably something to do with cleaners revenge) and then I asked the info desk and he pointed to the opposite end. So I found a chemist and they pointed me in the same direction as the info guy. So cleaners hate me. Cheer up, it's your job to clean the sheets, don't see why I needed to take them off because you have a shit system of not knowing who is in what bed. Anyways I went to the bus and it's €13 (on top of the £70, so about $125). I got there and there was a guy with a sign saying €13 shuttle to airport. I thought yes...I know that. He said to go in the shuttle, I said I am. But we had different idea. He meant his taxi was €13, I knew that it wasn't possible because he'd charge me more or find a whole lot of people to go. So I just left it and got onto the bus without a worry. Made it in time to the airport too. Actually I went to grab food as I hadn't gotten any all day and one place was just rolls and at 9am that's not what you want. Then there was a cafe with one girl working and about 30 customers in line. No joke. The line moved so slow and I just didn't bother. I went and grabbed some baked goods at the almost 7/11 thing there.
I went through the gates and I thought my flight was boarding so I lined up and yeah...it wasn't. I almost got onto a flight to Pisa. Please, I'm not going there again! It was pretty fun to sit in the waiting area because the seats there are more roomy than the Ryanair seats. I didn't know until the other week after I booked my flight, but there are no allocated seats, that's extra. So everyone pushes to get seats and there was an Italian family next to me with a fucking devil child trying to push to get in front of me. Hell no bitches. I just pushed my way back (because I'm also Italian in a sense, and Italians are good at pushing in). I got to the gate and the Italian family was then left so far behind because of their pram. Suck it bitches. They were actually on the same metro as me later on. So...did all that pushing help? No.
The flight was interesting. Take off seemed super fast and very steep. When we landed I gripped the seat so hard like never before. No joke. It was great once we landed because the onboard manager hit a button and on came trumpets saying we landed. Dear god. Like when we got onboard there was classical music playing. That's no lie. So it's a little weird. I got a cheeseburger onboard the flight and out came a weird looking open hamburger in a box that was microwaved. Mmmm. €5 well spent.
So once we landed I just got my bag and walked out of the airport. The choice was to declare something or not...so I didn't. Wasn't sure if the food I had was a danger or anything because of how tight Australian regulations are. I'm so used to having everything declared. But I just walked out. No passport check or anything. Not sure what to do in those situated except run like fuck.
I got the metro and it was really easy and new. Very new. The actual trains were all new and the stations were simple but modern. So I didn't know what to expect, I thought this place was poor. And it is. Don't get me wrong but this is just a great way to suck you into the beauty of the country. It's an old county and very poor, especially now as well. But it's got a lot of charm. I'll get to the charm thing later on. But it's a city and the only city I've seen in Europe with old charm in a new era. On the metro insane no high rise buildings and pretty much farms and old homes. Like nothing I've seen.
I went to walk up from the metro to the hostel and first thing I saw as I got out was a wall which looked like an old ruin and a street which has been newly fixed. It's odd but I walked up too far and the map seemed to fool me. The city of Porto is a lot smaller than it is on a map and it's very walkable because you can't really get around due to the narrow streets and hills.
I went to my room and it was actually nice. The hostel here is nice. But the people again are mainly from other places that don't speak English so that's fantastic. I got advice on where to go and what to see and the grit desk was so helpful. And I set off and walked around. Got heaps of photos of the place and then came back in time to go onto a free walking tour.
I saw the inside of the cathedral and can safely say it was one of the most impressive I've seen. Blue tiles and gold and just amazing. So having all this written down for me by the hostel was great because I came to Porto with no information about it and hoped it'd give me something and it really has.
The tour was great, Pancho tours, and we had Grace as our guide. We gave us the run down of what Portuguese men are like, romantic, dramatic and tragic. I guess that's every wog though but she gave us a good understanding. The great thing is these tours aren't about going to a monument you could see in your own time. It's about them stating where they are and giving you tips to go. But they're all about local tips and what goes in locally, what to try and buy and see and watch. It's great because you get a locals expertise and it's fantastic. So at the end of the tour when Grace wrapped up, she again said what the Portuguese are like, romantic, tragic and dramatic and just as she said that a feather fluttered down. It gave a great feeling to it.
During the tour I met a girl from Uruguay and she kept saying she couldn't understand my English. Oh god. No one has ever said that to me during this whole trip. I felt like the biggest Aussie bogan alive. Then I felt like the only Aussie as I was the only one in the hostel and tour. Actually during check in they thought I was from the UK. Wrongo.
We found out how Port wine started, in Porto and that it was created by accident and by a priest, of course. But there are three different types and I never knew that. You'd think that after having an alcoholic mother I would have been told all this. Nope. There's white, which is good with light meals. There's the brown, better with dark chocolate and cheese. Then there is the ruby and that's a desert Port. And as you can tell I forgot all the names because that Port tasting was during the first trip of my pub crawl.
So the pub crawl started at 11.30, I had dinner with three others from the tour right after it. We paid €6 and got a massive meal and beer. It was insane and good quality, even though the pork chops I got tasted like KFC. But by the time I got back to the hostel I only had enough time to change and shit and not shower. Eh. Might explain why I never picked up?
So we went to the tasting and only a few of us were there. Then after a whole group came but they missed the tasting but I missed out on sleep. So after that we went to an outdoor bar and I was with these two guys from Amsterdam. Then we went to a shitty bar. Then we went a club where I saw a male or female who looked like a guy and probably was but he had boobs, a bald head and massive pearl earrings. So I freaked out naturally. Then we went to an indie place and guess what!!! They played Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap. An Aussie group! I was so excited about it and decided it was time to go and leave the night on a high. I was drunk though. I only paid €12 and got about 6 drinks and then paid no entry fees. The guys from Amsterdam got me several beers and I was like its time to go now. So I stumbled home and at 6am I was txting Stef random shit and that means I was awake for over 25 hours because I got up at 5.30, went to bed at 6, but there is a one hour time difference. So is like I was awake from 4.30am to 6am. Fantastic!
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