People Pictures – Street Beggars

When it comes to taking pictures I like doors, statues, balconies and washing lines, Kim on the other hand likes people pictures so I thought I might share a few of them with you.

This one was taken whilst on a gondola ride through the back canals of Venice…

Begging is quite normal in Europe, I don’t quite know where I stand on it, I am certain some of it is based on genuine hardship and some is based on a scam.  I quite often hand over some loose change just to massage my conscience.

We had spent 100 euro on a gondola ride and she was asking for just a few cents.

I sensed this woman was genuine, she has the look of being genuine and I would have gladly tipped some coins into her collection cup but we were in the middle of a canal  and how was I to get it to her.  I felt guilty about that.

Some people however I would never give money to, like this pair of scammers in Oviedo in Northern Spain…

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Now(t)

My immediate assessment of Oviedo was that it seemed confident and relaxed and the honey coloured stone of the Plaza Mayor was welcoming and friendly except that is for the ever-present gipsy beggars with their gnarled and twisted faces like characters from a Goya painting who hang around outside cathedral doors and pester people for money as they go come and go.  Personally I find these people to be a downright nuisance and I don’t understand why the authorities don’t simply move them on.

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