Day 2 at the Travel Bloggers Unite conference in Porto, north Portugal has been all about bridges. Literal as well as figurative. Elegant Porto is built on the banks of the Douro river and has seven large bridges that span the Douro and link the two cities of Gaia (where the Port wine is made!) and Porto. This evening we were given a wonderful opportunity to see a couple of the famous bridges including the modern and the old arch of the Dom Luis bridge which was designed by a pupil of Eiffel.
It was gorgeous cruising down the Douro as the sun dimmed down into the horizon.
But there were other distances spanned today too.
I sat in on the video blogging workshop this morning and then went with other members of our group to the Mercado do Balhao the main marketplace in Porto, to interview the stall holders and make a quick video.
Quick?
Paint drying. Grass growing. Skin tanning…..all quicker than putting together 3 minutes of usable video!
But I did learn in the end despite possibly having the most extensive B roll of extra video! I think the best thing was making friends with other bloggers and realising that I’m not so different. We’re all suffering from the imposter syndrome, yet we needn’t. Our strongest hand in this game (as with any other) is the one we hold.
The best chance we have of being unique and standing out in a sea of carbon copies, is by being ourselves.
The market was fun and so were the stall holders, especially a young Portugeuse guy called Bruno who was keen to chat with my glam young video partner Nadine who blogs at The Nadwork. I wonder why that was? Let’s just say that flirting is a universal language.
Later in the evening, as we watched the sun set, sipping Sangria and chatting with bloggers from around the world at the reception for us put on by O! Porto! (the Porto Tourism Board) at the gorgeous Pousada de Porto, I think we all built another figurative bridge. We all found that understanding that often happens when you talk to other travellers. It’s a recognition that the world is the same all over. No matter the accent, the nationality, the colour of the skin or the religion of the heart, we all bleed, we all cry and we all laugh. Telling those stories is such an incredible part of travelling.
We are all human and all in it together, and some nights that is such a wonderful comforting fact. Tonight was one of those nights.
