Olive Oil is like Wine - a tip I learned from Francisco of the Rovisco Garcia farm: good olive oil should be protected from both light and air to limit the aging process and changing the flavor - with olive oil this good, that's great to know!
All about cork farming - first of all, I didn't know cork comes from the bark of a cork tree before I arrived. But I learned much more, like how it's harvested in strips about once a decade (the trees are marked to show the last harvest year). And special skill is required in harvesting the cork without harming the tree itself and trees aren't harvested for the first 25 years at all - cork farmers have to think longterm, that's why many cork farms go back multiple generations! It's no wonder that pine nuts are so expensive! Not only do you have to shake the nuts out of the pine cone, you still have to shell them to get to the yummy but tiny nut inside. The farm we visited harvests the pine cones, but sells them for processing as otherwise the cost is prohibitive due to the elaborate machinery. All (well, a lot) about port - Not only did we get to sample the different kinds in the Duoro Valley, but I liked seeing the behind-the-scenes look at how a small farm makes port from vineyard to final bottle. Port production is highly monitored by the Port Wine Institute (based in Lisbon); each year, a limited number of official seals are assigned to each port producer to place on their bottles. Each bottle has its unique identifying number and anyone can take a bottle to the Port Institute to verify that it's official port! |
Manueline Architecture - Named after King Manuel I who began a large number of construction projects, this late-Gothic style is uniquely Portguese and incorporates a lot of abstract and naturalistic representations of nature and symbols of exploration. I'm an architecture buff (and former art history major) so it's always fun to learn about something new that I've never heard of before.
Don't kill yourself looking at the wondeful Manueline decorative motifs - and Portuguese soldiers are very nice to clumsy American tourists. Shortly after I took this picture, I tripped over an old stone well covering in the middle of the cloisters and went splat down on the ground. (I was OK, just embarrassed and slightly bruised.) A Portuguese soldier ran over to make sure I was OK and even offered me a cup of coffee! (This was at Batalha where the WWI Memorial is guarded by soldiers.) How Devastating the 1755 Earthquake was to Lisbon. In this photo, you can see the fissure caused in the arch by the quake. The thriving city was hit with not only the quake (about 8.5-9.0 on the Ritcher scale), but as with recent modern disasters, the aftermath made the situation undoubtedly worse. The quake cause a large fire and also a tsunami that flooded the city. A reminder that architecture quirks usually are born of necessity. Cristina told us that these doubled doorways in Porto churches provided open access and light into the basilica while protecting the elaborate interiors by limiting the wind coming into the nave of churches. A fun fact that I've never heard before. |
If you get the chance to eat this melon, do it! I asked Cristina what it was called, there's no specific name (just called 'melon'), but it's usually grown in Spain and extremely popular in Portugal too. We had it at a few of our morning hotel breakfasts and I wish I could get it at home. (If anyone can hook me up in Arizona, let me know!)
Make the effort to visit Portuguese bakeries whenever you can. While the ones in Belem are probably the best, the Pastel de Nata are great all over the country and there are lots of other yummy regional specialties too. A great option for free time, especially if you have a large group dinner coming! For a meat-loving country, there are a surprising number of vegetarian options. They love their pork and seafood, but there are vegetarian options everywhere you go. I don't eat red meat at all, and was easily accommodated at all of the group meals. We had a vegetarian in our group and her meals sometimes looked better than the carnivores got! Below is a wonderful vegetarian soup (made with kale) that is a staple around the country. Also the Portuguese eat potatoes and/or rice with almost every meal, so if you love starch you'll be in heaven! Iberian Organs. I was thinking 'have I seen an organ with horizontal pipes before', when our guide explained that these organs are only found in the Iberian peninsula (so Portugal and Spain). Reportedly the sound is different, but as I didn't get a chance to hear one, I have another reason to go back! |