Portugal Photo Journal - Part 5: Fall Delights

Autumn is by far my favorite season, whether I'm in California, Washingon, Wisconsin, or, as I've recently verified, Portugal.  Here are a few ways I've been enjoying the change...

A Thanksgiving-style heap of food!  Pot pie, garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, brussel sprouts, and salad with dried cranberries and pomegranate, with a homebrewed dark IPA to wash it all down!  Yum. 

Chestnuts, roasted to sweet perfection by street vendors!  So good. 

Ah, the filtered light of autumn...

While strolling around Cascais, we happened upon some of the most entertaining lawnmowers that you could hope to find. 

'Tis a great time for the smell and taste of roasted barley!  Here is my first taste of homebrew in Portugal. 

I added smoked french oak chips to my first batch. 

A fun new toy!  My first grain grinder. 

Street Art in Portugal

As you walk around Cascais and Lisbon, it becomes apparent very quickly that graffiti is something that is part of the culture.  Although some of it comes across as uninspiring tags, there is actually quite a good amount that draws the eye or makes you think.  Here's a collection of some of my favorites so far:

To understand this one, notice that the blocks below spell "troika," the consortium of European entities that are managing bailout money that comes to Portugal.  As a condition of these bailouts, many cuts have needed to be made in the country and additional taxes levied. 

Portugal Photo Journal - Part 4: The Capuchos Monastery in the Sintra Mountains

The smell of fall snaked its way into our noses and we crunched on fallen sycamore leaves as we wandered through this delightful shire-like former religious retreat: the Capuchos Monastery. 

The monastery was surrounded by ancient trees, huge granite boulders, moss, and ferns. The vegetation sets the tone with its damp and quiet air.  

Some of the larges boulders had been built right into the monastery. 

The monks rooms were each tiny... short doors, and just enough space for a small person to lie down. 

Although a bit small and cold, the light coming in was filtered and peaceful.  I could see how this place could be a place of quiet contemplation. 

A lot of the surfaces were covered in cork from the cork oaks that dominate Portugal's economy. 

This gives you an idea of how small the rooms were!

Hobbit kitchen

A cork oak. 

Portugal Photo Journal - Part 3: Exploring the Belem area of Lisbon

Belem is an area of Lisbon that is a great place to tour around for the day; full of a variety of museums, monuments, a planetarium, and (allegedly) some of the best pastries in Portugal.  We spent a Saturday checking it all out.

This huge statue is a monument to the many navigators that literally put Portugal on the map (as awful as many of them were... they are still part of Portugal's proud history).  We walked up the 267 steps to the top to get a better view of the Lisbon area. 

No, that isn't the golden gate in SF... it's the golden gate in Lisbon!

Cascais is thataway, on the horizon, to the West. 

Lisbon is thataway, to the East and North.

beautiful day for it. 

This giant chess piece helped defend Lisbon starting in the 16th century. 

This giant stone cathedral is the resting place of Camoes (one of Portugal's best known poets) and Vasco da Gama (Which FYI, is pronounced "vash-coe")

A giant modern art complex had a great exhibit of some of the early graphic art advertisements from the US.   This was, of course, my favorite. 

War propaganda.  Still good advice. 

The best pastries in Portugal? 

Pretty good stuff! 

Pedro Limao: The Restaurant that isn't a Restaurant

When is a restaurant not a restaurant?  We found out several weeks ago on our weekend trip to Porto, the saucy city that is the soul of Northern Portugal.  We found Pedro Limao quite by accident, and quite nearly missed our chance for the amazing meal that would come because of our shyness over speaking (bad) Portuguese. 

We were seeking out a different restaurant in the University area of Porto, but happened to wander past a store front with warm lighting, alluring music, and delicious smells already wafting out.  It clearly had room for only 2 or 3 small tables, with little separation between the kitchen and service area (When is a restaurant not a restaurant?  When the kitchen and tables are in the same room).  How could they have room for us at such a small place?  What if they don't speak English?  It's so intimate and after a full day of wandering the town, do we really want to be the awkward foreigners?  Jyl convinced us that it was worth a shot.  The chef and waitress were casual and friendly and said (in perfect English) that we should definitely join them... we would love the multi-course meal they were preparing for an hour later.  We were in!   We walked away to burn the time until our reservation, then stepped back in for a fairly straight-forward question... "by the way, about how much will it cost?"
"You decide."  What?  When is a restaurant not a restaurant?  When you decide what you will pay for the meal. 

















We came back at 8 and sat down to (the first of many) generous pours of typically tasty Duoro River valley wine.  Bread was served with olive oil artfully mixed with vinegar and a host of colorful herb infusions.   A great way to start.  As we warmed up and felt our hunger pangs fade, we talked with the waitress and chef of life in Porto, of politics, and of the non-restaurant.  They were progressive and genuine and sarcastic in a way that reminded me of friends in California. 

The restaurant itself had been around for a couple of years, and was started by the head chef of the same name as the Restaurant, although Pedro was cooking for a dinner party on this particular evening.  Although Pedro seemed to be the driving force of his replacement and co-conspirator was fully up to the task of preparing us a lovely meal experience. 

He let us know that it didn't need to just be him that made the meal... When is a restaurant not a restaurant? When the chef invites you to join him in the kitchen to take part in the cooking.  We declined, but enjoyed the prospect.

Next on the docket was a beet soup with bacon.  I have always wanted to like beets, but find that I can never quite find the right way to prepare it.  I certainly have never enjoyed it as much as I did in this soup.  The perfect balance of sweet and salt, smoke and cream.  Delicious.    

A simple yet tasty side was next.  To be honest, after a few weeks have passed, I don't remember exactly what it was... only that I enjoyed it just as much as anything else that we tried.  Simple yet a great balance of textures and tastes. 

What Portuguese meal is complete without Bacalau (cod)?  This was the best I've had, by far.  Although the meat was firm, the layers of meat slid apart in an every so pleasing fashion.  The bed of grains (couscous, perhaps?) with infused herb juice around it was probably the highlight here.

A tender meat with perfectly cooked mushrooms followed as the main course.  After several hours of drinking and dining, we started to slow and fill... but it was much too good not to savor. 

Desert was an custardy cream with a shot of Irish whiskey.  Despite my normal aversion to many sweet dishes, I had no problem enjoying to the last drop. nor did I have trouble turning down an offer for one more helping of whiskey.  Coffee followed and helped to counteract the generous servings of alcohol. 

When is a restaurant not a restaurant?  When they offer you more whiskey just to help them finish the bottle.  It felt like we were visiting and being thoroughly pampered by old friends, rather than served by restauranteurs.  I hope that the last picture in this series communicates the feelings that I was feeling after this amazing experience: contentedness... lightness... that I had been fed someone's passion, and not just food.  Although Pedro Limao may do some of the things that other restaurants do, eating there seemed to feel more like winning the lottery than enjoying a meal.  Although we didn't know exactly how much to leave in the "payment pot" as the chef and waitress stepped outside for a break, we left a lot more than we had paid for any meal in recent history, and still felt like we may have been getting the better side of the deal.  If anyone happens to find themselves in Porto, and are looking for an eating experience that transcends the norm, this "non-restaurant" should be on the top of your list.