Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Please, Sir, Can I have some dining water - tap water

Problem
Where can you ask for drinking water?

Answer
Have a glass of tap water and a cold drink. Yes, in England, you can ask for a glass of water.

FRANCE

MADEIRA
In the Pestana Casino Hotel in Funchal, capital of Madeira, we has wonderful buffet meals with urns of free water at breakfast time but were not served drinking water at evening dinner. The restaurant wanted us to order bottled water.

One of the Brits started a discussion about bottled water and tap water meaning less pollution and damage to creatures in the sea from plastic. The discussion then went onto drinking tap water.

Other restaurants in Madeira happily served us tap water.

UK
In the UK, by law, if restaurants or bars or pubs serve alcohol they must serve tap water, no charge. (I did read somewhere they can charge for the glass - that's the cover charge you get in some bring your own bottle restaurants. But I have never heard of anybody doing that because the British would be outraged.) The reason is that somebody, a couple of people, in the UK, died after dehydrating after taking drugs and alcohol.

The World Travel Market, a trade show in London, England, in November, has sent me an article on responsible tourism and hotel which eliminate plastic and give out free carrier bags (tote bag), on loan, and refillable stainless steel water containers, with free water on every floor.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

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