Food Coma

Today I went to Faro, a town a little further down the coast, to join some fellow travelers in stuffing ourselves silly on the specialties of the region. Sali, our guide, has devised a tour starting in the central market, which unlike many fresh markets, appeared to be completely devoid of tourists - this is where the locals shop. Sali seemed to know everyone in the market and had organized several stops for bites of this and that with an emphasis on regional specialties. We were all pretty much stuffed by the time we left the market... before sitting down to lunch... and then coffee and cake. I came back and immediately took a nap.

we started by tasting three different local cheeses, all delicious.

these razor clams made another appearance at lunch.

this octopus did not. 

local jams: strawberry basil; apricot with tarragon and lemongrass; tomato. The tomato jam was especially delicious. 

no food tour in Portugal would be complete without pasteis de nata.

After all that, plus a few other tidbits, we sat down to lunch.

sauteed pickled carrots, olives, bread, and dried fish.

main course: sautted clams, rice with razor clams, pollenta with clams and shrimp. 

from left: Sali, our guide, Sophie, Mackenzie, Jen, Jessica, John, and Annalise.

After lunch we stopped for a treat in a pastry shop, and while we didn't try these marzipan treats, they were so cute, I had to take a picture. 

And then, because we might have still had a millimeter of space left in our stomachs, we stopped for espresso and orange cake.

The Algarve

near the Albufeira marina

Yesterday I arrived in the town of Albuefeira which is smack in the middle of Portugal's south coast. So far, I've only been to the marina which is on the outskirts of town and pretty much just a hub of tourist activity, but I went out on a boat today and saw the spectacular coastline and beaches. I'm a self-proclaimed 'not a beach-person' but even I might find myself on the sand in the next few days.

I have to say, Benagil Cave looks way better on most Instagram pics, without the masses of tourist boats and the handful of people who swam or kayaked in, huddled in a single patch of sunlight.

Last Day in Lisbon

Brenda took off for France today so I was on my own in Lisbon. Did a little eating, did a little shopping, did a lot of walking, and now I'm packed and ready to take the train to Albufeira tomorrow morning.

pasteis de nata - the pastry of Portugal

crostini with procuitto, roasted pear, and cheese sauce

More Lisbon

Today, Brenda and I spent the day exploring Lisbon by foot and tuk-tuk. Turns out Southeast Asia doesn't have the market cornered on this particular mode of transportation -- one can tour Lisbon by three-wheeler. We rode up and down the hills with our super-nice guide, bumping along the cobblestones, taking in the views, meandering down the narrowest of streets, and stopping for stupendous gelato (thank you Phil Rosenthal's travel show on Netflix), and exploring this really lovely European capital.

After our tour, we killed sometime wandering around the city center, got our nails done, popped in a few shops, and had a nice dinner before heading to a waterfront park to watch a bit of Portugal vs. Uruguay in the World Cup soccer match. There appeared to be approximately one jillion people in the park and we could barely see the giant screen, but we stood with the teaming hordes for a while and saw the crowd go wild when Portugal scored to tie the match. We left before the match ended but I just checked the score and sadly, Uruguay won.

Sintra

Pena Palace

...when your seatmate on a transatlantic flight isn't only not deeply unpleasant, which is really the most a person can hope for these days, but has actually become a friend by the time you land. 

Quinta da Regaleira

Lisbon

The trip got off to a rough start (short connection between SEA and ATL, missed flight, Atlanta Best Western, arrived a day late), but once I got here, took a nap, got settled, and saw some sights yesterday, I knew I'd really like Lisbon. I'm in a charming neighborhood a little off the beaten track, there are cool old buildings along with cool new art, and until it started raining just as I was ending my day today, the weather has been wonderfully cool but not too cool -- warm but not too warm, and I spent the day in the lovely hill-town of Sintra with my new friend Brenda, whom I met on the flight over.

Belém Tower - 16th century

This bridge looks really familiar. 

Roadway near where I'm staying.

my neighborhood, the apartment where I'm staying is in the middle section. 

Couple of Weeks in Portland

My pal Emily is away for a few weeks and I needed to get out of my house, so I came to Portland to keep her cat, Blinky Palermo, company while she's gone. Emily lives very close to downtown, walking distance to Powell's City of Books; no other reason needed to hang out here. 

view from Emily's living room on game day

walking through Washington Park to the Rose Garden