A 700m uphill stretch to Sao Bento railway station to again do battle with the Porto travel pass. In fact, there are two stored value travel cards, the Andante (metro) and the Sida (urban) - and just to confuse things, their zones overlap. Yesterday we were able to tap on, on the outward journey, but not the return. Today all good going out, but on return, one card worked, the other did not!!! Every train has ticket inspectors, so the possibilty of conflict always exists - the solution is to take the receipt option on the ticket machine and keep it, eventually it brings a lot of head shaking to an end. Notwithstanding my difficulties with the ticketing system, I did graduate to "adviser level" in assisting a Canadian couple this morning.
Off on the train to Esphino, a beachside town on the Atlantic about 25km south of Porto. Beautiful clear day but a brisk breeze off the water. The beach is 17km long, much of it joined by a boardwalk, and around 80m of sand to the water. Lots of people, including many school holiday program kids from as young as about three. Water was quite cold but plenty in, and many surfers. Beach is covered with canvas beach shelters of multiple colours (operated by different concessions). Time to relax and wander.
Back in town (31C versus 22C at Esphino) to a stunning laundromat just 100m from our apartment (need to be spic and span for our cruise boat tomorrow). Easy laundromat to use and pleasant company - very different to my experience in the great laundromat war of 2015 (detailed in my blog of that trip).
Dinner back at WeePorto Wine & Tapas Bar which we enjoyed so much a couple of night's back. Complimentary white port to finish off tonight. The owner has invested very heavily in this business and the food is outstanding, but it is just on the wrong side of the tourist trap venues - a hidden gem for those who dig a little deeper.
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