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| High Priced Wine |
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| Mussels and Prawns in sauce |
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| Desert of Mateus Rose, eclairs,and café con leche |
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| Three kinds of ham with goat cheese in Lamego, Pt |
This evening after a walk from the Arterra Residence into the village of Tondela I found a small bar and had a bottle of beer then a bottle of water before walking home. Along the way going and coming, I plucked ripe grapes from vines hanging over almost every yard in the area. All stone fences, by the way. The wine maker in me says, Vitis vinifera, pH is still too low and so is sugar. That is probably why they are still hanging on the vine.
At the ºCorreoº on the walk back I bought some potato chips, fried in Olive Oil. Of course, with that, I purchased a bottle of local wine (red wine from the Dao region including Viseu). It is mostly a blended wine of no distinct character, but very characteristic of this region´s wine. Thank goodness, it was not in the oakey California style. More earthy, non-commercial. A good table wine. The wine cost 1.5Euro (approximately $4.00)
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Café con leche is a single shot of expresso with warm milk. The volume is about 3/4 the size of a US cup. The US seems to be consumed with KING Size and Extra Large. Here and in most other surrounding places life is taken more in moderation without the superlative marketing.
Getting to the end of my time in Portugal and prepared for moving on to España. Change in language, food, drink, and to some degree culture.
Today is an afternoon of rest after taking a few hours to get back from Coimbra. I´m sipping on a glass of vinho from Quinta do Crasto from the Douro region. Quite good and of course tasting more sheep cheese.
Yesterday´s food in Coimbra was mixed. Lunch with Dani & co was shrimp, lobster in a bed of wet rice. There is also always olives and bread. We had a beer and water and Vinho Verde. The Vino Verde was the best I´ve ever tasted. Of course there was postre - three types of cake type items. One was strawberry cream, another had chocolate, and the third was an orange, baked pudding type of thing and of course the obligatory Cafe con Leche. A great meal with lots of discussion about the culture, food, and differences between America, Spain, and Portugal.
Supper too was good and interesting. Tapas consisting of bread, mussels, shrimp. The mussels were in a sauce with garlic and parsley. Quite good. Of course that went with a 1/2 bottle of Mateus Rose followed by creme filled eclairs covered with a bit of hot chocolate and the obligatory espresso and milk.
Finally this morning for a mid morning meal I was able to get a toasted bread but with a good slice of beef. Beef, always a pleasant breakfast for me, especially with good coffee.
Again, sitting in the room I rented, I went to say good by to Manuela and drink some pistachoes and eat a beer then I bought some canned baccalhau for an evening snack which I´ll try later. On the way back I looked up at a tree and saw some green fruit starting to crack along the bottom. Looking closer at one hanging over the fence I see that it is a ripe pomegranate. Que cosa tan bella. Now I´m sitting on the balcony looking out across to the East and I see nothing but green. Hundreds of olive trees, just about ready for harvesting, a tractor driving by with a load of grapes headed to be pressed for wine. The sheep in the field across look good enough to eat but they are full of milk this evening and ready for milking instead. To my left is a large pumpkin, a chestnut tree loaded with chestnuts that will likely be ready at first frost. Grapevines, of course, are everywhere. Some ripe with grapes, some neglected and dried grapes, others just waiting , waiting, waiting. In the back yard are various citrus trees, apple trees, cabbage, and multiple farm birds that have more fruit to eat from the ground than you can imagine.
Sept 21, 2011
Supper tonight was fairly early by European standards but I am tired from the all-night train ride last night from Portugal and I thought I´d end early then my CS friend Miren called. We have arrangements to meet later this week.
Well, Supper was at a tasca eating tapas. Wonderful, again. Octopus (firm and tasty), mussles, shrimp, crab, peppers, onion, olives, bread, Vino Tinto. What else do you need? Well of course the requisite Café con leche!
Now it is almost 10:pm and I´m out again and the streets are more lively than ever.
Douro River
Vinho Verde
Porto
