SIntra and town of Penedo in Portugal- some unusual requests
 

I am new to this site and had great responses to my driving question. Here is a question that might prove more difficult.
We are staying in Penedo near Colares, Sintra for two weeks in July. My husband is a chef and would like to find a local who would go with us to a local farmer's market, shop, and come to our house to prepare a traditional meal (together). We want a lesson in local ingredients and what to do with them.
Another question is about driving to Lisbon for dinner from where we are staying. We are six. Is a taxi a possibility?
Lastly, besides the 6 adults we will have 4 children between the ages of 7 and 11. Besides the usual, anything obscure that I am missing in my guidebooks that are 'must see' for them?
Any input on the area would be great. I have read the past messages all the way back to December 2004 and they have been really helpful.
Thanks, Elizabeth

As I recall Colares is about 25 miles west of Lisbon. The roads are not a freeway..except for the first couple of miles. Should not be too difficult to drive into Lisbon. I did not find Lisbon traffic to be as bad as other European big Cities. You might want to drive in to the outskirts and then take a taxi. A taxi from Colares and back would be very expensive.

I would think that, unless you know someone in the area, the best way to find a local person would be to wait until you get there and start asking around.
I believe that Colares is a well known wine and food area and it may be easier there then most places.
Good luck.

ttt for the OP

Thanks Grayland, I appreciate the help.
Suze, forgive a newbie. ttt for the OP?

ttt = "to the top" - - i.e., bringing your message back up "to the top"... (any added post to a message "thread", no matter how insignificant, brings that message back up to the top of the list on the left hand side, where it becomes easier to find).

OP = "original poster" - - the person who first asks the question, to initiate a "message thread".

Welcome to the forum... and...

Best wishes,

Rex

ttt for OP = to the top for original poster.

p.s. see also http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34628805 - - and perhaps you would be willing to send (e-mail) a copy of THAT thread to [email protected]

I'll do it.
Now...about Portugal in July.

The children would like the Pena Palace in Sintra. Our children were ages 10,11,13 when we lived in Lisbon and we have pictures of them perched on the turrets?? or peeking out of the slots in the castle. It is beautiful.
Then on the coast between Lisbon and Sintra is the Westernmost point in Europe,...a high, windy cliff but interesting...just HOLD on to the KIDS!(am sure you have found these things in your guidebook).

Yes, it would be fun to find a chef to shop with you and come cook with you....it could be the simple national dish of bacalau (salt cod) and cooked in a beautiful dish ....
Sintra has a fabulous market (LARGE) flea market and food....every Sat. or Sun,I forget...but the tourism office in Sintra can tell you all about it...AND they alternate with another town. Wish I could give you more details.
I belonged to the the Internatonal Womens club of Libson (many years ago) and perhaps someone in that group would know of chef in the area----OR perhaps you could contact the American school there. It is in Estoril and they have some Portuguese staff in the office who might know of a Chef.
A dinner in Lisbon at night would be a little difficult logisticly because of the traffic and curvy roads at night. A dinner in lovely Estoril, or Cascais, would be very doable, I would think. They are lovely towns...Estoril has beautiful homes, golf courses, and it's where lots of royalty have gone to live in exile in the past. Downtown Lisbon, I guess, would be allright in the summertime.

Thanks for the great ideas. The kids will be easy. Thanks for the ideas on the market/dinner. I have a feeling I will find it where I least expect it. I am going to stay confident to that end.

Just a thought on the chef thing. . . you might try a post on epicurious.com as it is more food oriented.

Thanks Skedaddle, I should have thought of that- great idea.

Thanks Skedaddle- I should have thought of that. Great idea.