|
Guimaraes looks beautiful! An elegant city. Love the shots of the streets. You’ve aced the weather!
|
OK, I had to google it and this is what I found:
Among Portugal's thousand recipes for codfish, the Pastéis de Bacalhau (literally codfish pastries, but known in English as codfish fritters) are a typical Portuguese dish made of potato puree, onion, parsley and steamed codfish amassed together in a ball and linked with eggs and milk, and then deep-fried. Port and chocolate sounds soooo much better! |
A little bit of port sampling, a lot of walking, a lot of sunshine, a lot of people...one last bottle of sparkling Rose at our new favorite hangout, some gelato...a big banana...it's been busy...it's been fascinating...it's been crazy chaotic...it's been damn fattening...
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2a8d88700f.jpg Porto https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...60f06121f5.jpg Porto https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...23e240bdce.jpg Porto https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...949f545f2f.jpg Porto https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2f98fe37f7.jpg Porto https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...13393ee509.jpg Porto https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...997e5aa6c4.jpg Porto https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c73c282bbc.jpg Porto |
Wow!!! Love the photos especially that Big Banana photo!!!:)
How many nights are you spending in Porto? What's the rest of your itinerary? |
Adelaidean
Portugal is truly lovely. Heaps to see and do, not expensive, and on a smaller scale, with fewer crowds. |
Mel, I’m absolutely enjoying your photos and how your capturing the many different views! 😉
|
Mel, trust me, Vinho do Porto (Port wine) is to drink alone. Well, not exactly, we drink it with "pão-de-ló", a tyoical cake for Easter season. But never with cheese or chocolate. But... well, it's a tourist thing, if one likes it, one likes it.
xyz: codfish cakes - no milk. Just codfish, eggs, potatoes, onions, parsley, and with two spoons you make the thing. |
Originally Posted by KarenWoo
(Post 17350131)
Wow!!! Love the photos especially that Big Banana photo!!!:)
How many nights are you spending in Porto? What's the rest of your itinerary? |
Helena -
I'll take your word for it. We haven't eaten anything with our port, but I do like those port wine chocolates! Thank you so much for your recommendation of Eurostars Porto Centro - it's been the perfect base for our visit - very central and incredibly quiet! You'd never know we were smack dab in the middle of the city. |
Originally Posted by HelenaFatima
(Post 17350200)
xyz: codfish cakes - no milk. Just codfish, eggs, potatoes, onions, parsley, and with two spoons you make the thing.
|
I have no idea where this notion that one should not eat food with port came from. Far from being a tourist invention, port and cheese - preferably blue cheese and even more preferably Stilton - is a standard pairing in Britain. And the wine trade with Britain was responsible for the development of port in the first place.
See: https://www.taylor.pt/us/what-is-por...istory-of-port And: https://www.wine-tastings-guide.com/...d-stilton.html |
Have a great time in Pinhão, Mel. Hope the weather gods keep up the good work for you!
Helena, I love "pão-de-ló". I had a great version of it in Coimbra. |
Originally Posted by Maribel
(Post 17350268)
Have a great time in Pinhão, Mel. Hope the weather gods keep up the good work for you!
Helena, I love "pão-de-ló". I had a great version of it in Coimbra. Maribel, where in Coimbra? -Pão-de-ló looks really good! |
Helena can correct me but I think it may be a specialty of Coimbra (??), although I did have a great version of it in Lisbon too.
In Coimbra they make it at many of the pastelarias and padarias, and there's even a competition for who makes the best version. I had mine at Loggia, the restaurant run by the Quinta das Lagrimas on the loggia of the wonderful Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro. But any pastelaria or padaria should make a nice cake. In fact (insert drum roll........), I believe that "Tertúlia de Sabores", very close to the Quinta das Lagrimas, at Amorim Girão 6 on the Santa Clara side of the river makes a very good version. https://www.facebook.com/pages/categ...7426977646806/ Mel, it's not perhaps for you because it does contain eggs, lots of them! |
My wife Liliana and I will be visiting Lisbon.
We would like to get nice local privet driver to show us around Please help. Any suggestions ??? Thank you Alex |
Just when we didn't need another (gulp!) monument to visit in Sintra, I just read that another 19th century treasure, the neo-Gothic and Romantic Palacio Biester, which dates back to 1880, will reopen to the public on April 30, beautifully restored. It was closed for many years. It's apparently not far from Quinta da Regaleira, on the Estrada da Pena, has fabulous views of Sintra and is surrounded (not surprisingly) by a vast park with beautiful flora (camellias, Australian acacias, beech trees, North American firs, etc.) and a well, Gruta da Pena, that visitors can "dive into".
Tickets will cost 10 euros or 5 for seniors and children 12 and under. There is currently no info in English about it but you can view a gallery of photos here: https://www.nit.pt/fora-de-casa/turi...a-primeira-vez. |
Melnq8-Thanks for sharing! I’ve not been to Portugal yet but I remember we both love the Swiss Alps. Have a wonderful visit!
|
Following along to relive a great trip we took in 2015. I wish I had written a trip report. I think I missed doing that because at the time so many of our friends were planning trips that I just kept copying them on an email I had written. As you are going to Lisbon later in your trip I'm copying some of my notes below.
Beware of closing days. We didn't get to do all we wanted in Lisbon because I hadn't figured that in when putting our itinerary together. We had to choose between the tile museum and the Gulbenkian. We were blown away by the well curated collection at the Gulbenkian. It is a short walk from the metro, spend a few hours then cab to the Ourique neighborhood for a great lunch at Peixaria da Esquina and gelato at Giallo. After spending a few days in the thick of touristic Lisbon, we loved this neighborhood, the food was great and it was also Italian style gelato which we ate in a little park (Jardim da Parada) across the street. Peixaria has a sister restaurant called Tasca da Esquina in the same area. You can catch a tram back to the center from here. |
thursdaysd wrote: "I have no idea where this notion that one should not eat food with port came from. Far from being a tourist invention, port and cheese - preferably blue cheese and even more preferably Stilton - is a standard pairing in Britain."
The notion came from portuguese, that don't drink vinho do Porto with food. But I must say that the British citizens created Port wine. As the oldest ally in Europe, we were saved several times by UK, we even have a tribute to them, the obelisc at Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque, aka Rotunda da Boavista. If British people like their Port with cheese or whatever, than I completely agree. I'd like to add that many monuments in Porto were only possible with the influence (and money) of British. Like for instance, Palácio da Bolsa. |
Muito obrigada, Helen. Interesting that the Portuguese don't eat with port. So the nibbles available in the Port Institute in Lisbon were for tourists? (I would think the Americans got the idea from the British - I know that port tastings I have been to in the US definitely provided eats.)
|
PJ Travels,
I also love the two Vitor Sobral restaurants in Campo de Ourique, a cool neighborhood and completely different from downtown. We went there to check on the Mercado do Ourique, but unfortunately, it's a shadow of its former self and on a weekday was fairly deserted. Our morning was saved by coffee in the quiosque of the sweet park-town square that you mention, and lunch again at Tasca da Esquina. His Peixaria da Esquina is no more, now morphed into Padaria da Esquina, serving sandwiches, cheeses, charcuterie, and of course, breads. He just opened this month a really nice place in the Cascais Marina, Balção da Esquina, where we had a very tasty lunch while contemplating the yachts moored there and the sea. https://padariadaesquinacampodeouriq....com/?lang=en# https://tascadaesquina.com/pt-br/. https://balcaodaesquina.com. We would have caught the tram 28 back to Martim Moniz but alas, it was standing room only (we were too late in the day), as all the trams were during our Lisbon week. My advice for the trams, catch them early in the morning or later in the evening and guard belongings carefully, even then. As we left our dinner Cervejaria Ramiro in Intendente, the tram did then have empty seats. The closing day for the Gulbenkian is Tuesday and Monday is the closing day for most monuments in Belém and the Tile Museum. |
Oh, no, Maribel, not another treasure to see in Sintra! An embarrassment of riches! Planning the visit will be a challenge! And a big thank you for the many places to try pão-de-ló - especially the one near Quinta Das Lagrimas. That’s a definite stop.
PJ, thanks for the suggestions - and the reminder of days closed. I’m aware the Gulbenkian is open on Monday when most other places are closed. Is it going to be too crowded on a Monday? I’m intrigued by the Ourique neighborhood, too. Helena, thank you for the little history of port! I’m looking forward to our visit to Porto. I’ll have to decide for myself whether I eat with port or not but cheese or chocolate both sound ok to me! 😉 |
Cheese and chocolate, both:devil:
The Gulbenkian never seems very crowded. It's just such an easy, comfortable see, with gardens to relax in and a nice cafeteria downstairs to have a refreshment break. |
Originally Posted by Maribel
(Post 17350422)
Cheese and chocolate, both:devil:
The Gulbenkian never seems very crowded. It's just such an easy, comfortable see, with gardens to relax in and a nice cafeteria downstairs to have a refreshment break. Thanks for the info about Gulbenkian. Very helpful! |
Progol, if the British eat, do the British thing! They know, trust me! Of course you will not see any portuguese in those places where tourists go to feel as a local. No locals there. No locals eating things with Port. In our homes, we eat (as I've said) Pão-de-ló with vinho do Porto, at Easter, and sometimes with Bolo-rei at Christmas. Usually, we drink Porto after dinning. Or before. With meals, we drink regular wine. To me, drinking vinho do Porto with cheese, is as strange as drinking Brandy with a sausage.
Thursdays "So the nibbles available in the Port Institute in Lisbon were for tourists?". - Yes. Were there any portuguese? Mel, I'm so glad you like your hotel, I was a litle bit worried, I advised you without knowing the place (never stayed there), just for the location. I think the location is really good! Of course you still have to face the hills, but at least you are in the midle. |
Arrived in Pinhão after a slow and rather uncomfortable train ride.
Pinhão is not what I expected. The town is very non-descript and the rolling hills more brown than green...understandably given the time of year. Tonight's dinner in the Vintage House Hotel was okay, but nothing we need to repeat, which might be rather challenging considering we're here for three nights. Maybe I'm just tired. Tomorrow is another day, we'll see how this plays out. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f950f0a1a9.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7d4be7fd1f.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6ef0d20d13.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...66a90fc68d.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...43b7ac683e.jpg Vintage House Hotel https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5c5c8ae0d9.jpg View from our hotel room |
Helena - what pray tell is codfish swim bladder stew? It was on tonight's menu.
|
Mel,
Try Veladouro for your next meal if there are items on the menu that appeal to both of you (the Capresse salad is good, as are the wines). None of the Douro villages will ever win a beauty prize, I'm afraid. |
Will look for it tomorrow - I had it on my list from your previous recommendation. Tomorrow we have a late afternoon booking for tapas at Quinta da la Rossa. And wine's a food, is it not?
|
Thursdaysd "So the nibbles available in the Port Institute in Lisbon were for tourists?". - Yes. Were there any portuguese? |
Yep, Mel, wine is food. The Douro is all about the wine, the hiking through the vineyards and the views from the Miradouros. Veladouro is down by the pier, behind the LBV restaurant, easily walkable from Vintage House.
|
Port, chocolate, cheese, and Nata...wish I was in Portugal right now.
|
Reliving our trip last year through your lovely photos! Keep them coming. :love: We also loved Guimarães!
|
Train from Pinhão to Pocinho along the Douro River, alfresco wine infused lunch alongside the waterfront (now there's a story, will have to wait for the trip report, lol), followed by more wine, food and port. Oink, oink.
Pinhão is the most pedestrian unfriendly place I've visited since Hahndorf, South Australia. Boats and cars rule, mere mortals are on their own. We're sunburned, windburned and thoroughly worn out, but feeling much better about Pinhão than we did yesterday. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8a548c4ed7.jpg Pinhão https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8a4d490177.jpg Pocinho https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0871dc08b4.jpg Douro River https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...66dfbfad32.jpg Douro River https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3204291819.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c465b522fe.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f572c0d61e.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...70bc87ad34.jpg |
Animo, mel!
Wow, the Douro IS brown in early April! but that lunch looked quite nice! I found a pão-de-ló recipe from Fernanda, the cook at Quinta Guimarães, and wow is it egg-y-- Separate the whites and yolks of 12 eggs. Beat the whites until they are firm. Mix the yolks with 250 grams of sugar. Strain 100 grams of white flour though a fine sieve and add to the yolk mixture. Fold the whites with the yolks. Place the batter in a cake pan lined with paper. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 200 degrees Centigrade (390 Fahrenheit). Can't duplicate Fernanda's recipe at home because she uses 3 unique ingredients: eggs from her own free range chickens, a large cake pan with a round clay cover and her special, magic touch. |
OMG, that lunch! I can feel my waistband expanding even as I look at it! I hope I get to read the story before I leave -- or perhaps, even as I'm traveling.
The Douro Valley looks lovely even with its early spring greenery; we'll be there at the end of May, so I imagine it'll be a bit greener by then. |
Would love some of that cheese!
You're bringing back memories, but I stayed in Regua, and rode a couple of mountain railways. |
Yummy!!!! That lunch looks delicious, to echo everyone else. Especially the salad! And what is the dessert???
|
The dessert - sponge cake with port reduction and walnut ice cream.
|
Animo, mel!
Wow, the Douro IS brown in early April! but that lunch looked quite nice! Your recommendation Maribel (thank you!) Veladouro which took some doing to locate, but made complete sense once we found it. We're booked in for dinner tomorrow night too. |
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:20 AM. |