Bobby and I found some good spots to jump around for a couple hours and had more duck rice at a place that was not nearly as good as the last one. There's one monument/modern art installment that's a giant red heart with the bottom split like legs, and the one side probably says that it's dedicated to saint someone-or-another (I don't read Portuguese, so I couldn't tell you), and the other side has a silver man statue walking upside down on it. The opposite side of the heart has the same setup. Bobby ran up it, and I took a cool picture of it in panorama mode standing between the two halves so I could see the two silver statues at the same time. I'm actually very proud of the picture I took. (Scroll to the bottom of this post to see it.)
Then we got back onto the bus and went to Porto. I saw the guy unloading bags huck my backpack with my laptop in it onto the sidewalk, where it crashed into another suitcase, which promptly fell on top of it. I get that they wanted to unload things in a hurry, but really, they should be more careful. No tip for you! We had free time to get settled in our hotel room before supper, so I tried to check in with my friend Becka who's house-sitting for us to see how her and the animals are doing with the supposed foot of snow they're expecting back home. This is when I discovered that the latch that holds my battery in place is busted, and it will now just fall out. I currently have to be using my laptop on a desk where it can be stationary (and no longer function as a laptop), or have it plugged in at all times (and the charger is easily knocked out). I happened to bring scotch tape with me, so I've put some of that on to hold the battery in, but I'm at the hotel room's desk right now typing this because I don't want to test that tape too much when I don't have many options should it fail. When I get back home, I'll probably duct tape it in place if the latch can't be fixed when more tools than coins and pens are readily available. My decade-old beast of a laptop is going to be super-classy.
The hotel we're staying at in Porto is super modern. Everything is new wood and invisible doors and chrome. The bathroom is a little weird, though. The door and part of the wall that typically jut out making a corner next to the bed area are not opaque. The wall itself is rounded, and the wall and door are made of a translucent glass with the strangest doorknob you've ever seen (a chrome cylinder with no real handholds, but just a small groove to grip it and turn it, and to "lock" it, you turn the knob into a slit in the thick glass edge of the adjoining wall, but you can turn the knob from both sides of the door, so there is absolutely nothing keeping others out or you in, plus they can see you.). Let me just let that sink in for a moment. The bathroom, the most private room in any household or establishment, does not have opaque walls. Granted, they're frosted thickly enough that you get only the vaguest of shapes and colors, but since neither wall nor door go all the way to the ceiling, you also don't get much muffling of whatever's going on in there. Even people that have lived together for years tend not to want to know what the other is doing in the bathroom, but there's no avoiding it here unless you are making a conscious effort to look and listen to something else. What gets me about this is that this is a decision that not just one person made. When things are built, there are committees of people who work on the designs. How did nobody catch this? Anyway, moving on...
We ate dinner at this fancy restaurant and the food was the best I've had the whole trip. And there was a ton of it. Two different breads with different spreads. Bloomin' Onion (or whatever they call it here, but made with a smaller onion and less grease and much better seasoning and dipping sauce--black garlic, which I just learned today was a thing). Truffle-encrusted pastry things filled with meat and mushrooms. Salad. French fries. Chips. For this one, we had pre-ordered from a small list of entree options the day before, and I'd chosen the pork sandwich. Bobby chose the steak (which came with an egg on top of it, and he said it's the best steak he's ever had). My sandwich was approximately six inches thick, served in a bowl with a fork and knife, contained at least three different kinds of meat, drenched in a tomato and bean sauce, covered with probably a quarter of a pound of melted cheese (this is on top of the bread, not inside it, mind you), and topped with a fried egg. This thing was a beast. I'm surprised I only wasted half of it. It was really good. I wish I could have taken it home with me, but alas, not feasible. I did, however, ask for a take-away (what they call doggie bags/to-go containers here) for the uneaten truffle things. Truffles are too expensive to waste. I'll put them in the hotel's mini-fridge and find some way to eat the rest of them. Dessert was either chocolate or candied egg yolk mousse. Bobby and I shared one of each, and they were both very good. I don't normally take pictures of my food, but I did take a couple tonight. It was just too impressive not to document and share.
When we got back to the hotel, we had a surprise rehearsal for an hour and a half, and when everyone else went to bed, the small scarf dancing group stayed behind to practice and have Dr. Gemme edit the movements to be how she wanted. So I guess we're doing this thing after all. Sigh.
It was around midnight when I got back to my room, where Bobby was already in bed and contemplating sleep. I didn't want to sleep without getting some thoughts down first, so here I am. Tomorrow is supposed to be torrential downpours and thunder storms all day and Bobby and I, in our desperation, exhaustion, and infinite wisdom, booked an excursion from a travel website for the four fucking hours of "exploring on your own time" we have tomorrow at Porto city center without looking at the weather. Because we booked it so close to the date, we can't get any refund if we cancel it and my bank won't let me stop the pending charge. They said I'll have to wait for it to go through and then dispute it. Disputing charges is such a pain and they usually make you get all new cards and passwords and shit, which I really don't want to deal with. I'm hoping that the company that runs the excursion we wanted to do will cancel and refund all their customers and we won't have to worry about it, but I don't want to use my data to get a call from them tomorrow and we won't be anywhere near wifi for most of the day. Ah, well. Nothing to be done but wait and see.
Anyway, here are some pictures:
1-Heart statue panoramic
2-Heart statue with Bobby running on it
3-Truffle things
4-What passes for a sandwich around here
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