A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Lagos is a very beautiful, old town coastal in the middle of the Algarve region. We took yet another morning tour, this time with Arturo. He gave us the history of the town as we walked up and down the narrow, Medieval streets. We met Arturo outside the walls of the old castle. I know, right?! Another castle in Portugal. 🙂

Arturo grew up in Lagos and still lives there today. So this was his personal history too. It was fascinating.

The only parts that remain of this castle are the outside walls. The old city of Lagos is behind these walls.

Lagos is an old fishermen’s town. Originally, most of the inhabitants were connected to the fishing industry. Not so much any more though. It is becoming gentrified and is now place for a lot of people of all kinds of backgrounds who like to work remotely from home. There are also a lot of B & B’s there too. it is a cute, quaint and charming town wit a rich, diverse history.

These small, tiny houses were some of the original houses, with traditional designs, with the low roofs and the simple designs on top of the buildings.

Once again, the streets were beautifully decorated depicting the lifestyles of the region.

Everything has a story. These door knockers represent the home of a wealthy married couple. There is a knocker for the man and a knocker for the woman. Even the knocks had their own meanings. Often times you could tell who was knocking and the message they were sending by the knocks and codes that were being used.

This is an old water station. The little house contained fresh water for people to drink and to use. It came in very handy during the hot summer months. Today, it is just a beautifully decorated reminder of the past. The gate behind it opens up the world between the old city and the new, modern city.

Arturo said his dad helped construct it in 1932.

These little round windows at the top of the house also indicates a very traditional building style, particularly for the wealthy.

Since graffiti is a big problem all over Portugal, more and more cities and town are encouraging street art through street art festivals to try to clean up the graffiti problem. This is nice. I like it and I like the idea behind it.

But I still prefer the “old” street art. I think it has a lot more personality and character. 🙂

This is one of the oldest churches in Lagos, and like so many other old churches, is still in use today. One of the fun facts Arturo shared with us is that most churches in Portugal have the Saints and other statues outside on the tops of the churches. You can see the spaces for them. But in Lagos, most of the churches do not. When Napoleon and his soldiers invaded the area, they stole a lot of the statues, as well as many other things. So as a way of saying “no more”, the people of Lagos left the statues off the churches when they were rebuilt after the terrible earthquake of 1755.

This building is one of the original buildings that is still owned by the same family in the town square. The green tiles, and the design of the railings are French, back from the Napoleonic days. The family lives above and their store is on the ground level.

Wine anyone? How thirsty are you?

Our tour ended at the old fish market, that is still thriving today.

Storks are all over the place and are protected. They were once endangered, but through Portugal’s protections, they are once again thriving. Portugal hosts the only known white storks in the world that nest on sea cliffs, particularly on the Alentejo and Algarve coasts.

This was only the beginning of our day. We were off galavanting around the area all day. I have lots more coming your way, just not today, not right now. Anticipation my friends, anticipation. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

I know I have only been home from Portugal for 2 weeks, but as usual, I hit the ground running as soon as we got home. I am still taking my jewelry classes. Now I am in silversmithing 2. In the first class, we had assigned pieces. This class is more of our own ideas. Last night I just finished another bracelet. This is my own design and concept.

The design for this piece was inspired by a bracelet my dad bought me years ago, that is one of my favorites. My instructors weren’t quite sure about it, and were perplexed by my idea and concept. But, I proved them wrong and proved I could do it. 🙂

It is a “floating” rope design. If you look closely, the center rope is suspended in the middle. I only soldered it on the ends. This is after the first cut.

Then I soldered it together and sanded, polished, sanded, polished, and sanded and polished again, until I had a new finished piece.

And now, I have a brandy new shiny piece of bling. 🙂

Here are the two bracelets I made – the lightning bracelet and now my floating rope bracelet.

I already have a few more pieces in the works too. Hopefully they will be finished before too long as well.

Have a great day and make everyday great. We are never too old to learn new things. Learning new things keeps us young, even if only young at heart. 🙂 ‘Til next time.

It was yet another early morning wake up call (we got up early every morning though) to head to Benagil for our dolphin and sea cave explorations. Benagil is a fishing town in the Algarve, but it is also known for its beautiful sea caves that dot the Algarve coastline between Lagos and Albufeira. We got to see those sea caves and a pod of about 30 common dolphins on our boat cruise out of Benagil. The caves were great, but I was there for the dolphins. 🙂

Our cruise was a 2 or 3 hour cruise. We were looking for dolphins first, but none came out to play with us for quite some time. Fortunately all the boats in the area communicate with each other and someone a little further out from us spotted a pod of about 30 common dolphins. They waited for us to arrive, since the dolphins love to play between the boats and their wakes. Most of us on the boat were VERY happy with this decision, but there are always those who object. Believe it or not, someone on the boat was disappointed we were spending more time finding dolphins than visiting the caves. I wanted to throw her off the boat and let her find the caves on her own. I will ALWAYS take the dolphins and whales. Dolphins are one of my spirit animals. 🙂

When we did find the dolphins, they were so fun and friendly and were swimming all around the boat, for quite some time too. I would have loved to be in the water swimming along beside them. (We’ve done that quite a few times).

The dolphins disappeared as quickly as they came. Once they were gone we went in to see the caves (from afar) too. The caves were impressive and beautiful, and I am very glad we got to see them, but I will still take the dolphins over caves ANYDAY! 🙂

This is Marcos, our guide for the trip. He too was great and very knowledgeable and entertaining. We shared a lot of our adventures with him and got to talk to him quite a bit. We got very lucky. All of our guides were great. Most usually are, though we have had some bad ones too; fortunately NOT on this trip though. 🙂

After getting off the boat, we decided to drive around as much as we could, since we only had o sapo for a limited time. We stayed along the coastal roads and just enjoyed the ride.

There was yet another castle we were trying to go see, but this is as close as we got. So many of the roads are VERY narrow Medieval roads, and are not really meant for cars. We tried very hard to find roads that would take up us to the castle, but we literally kept running into dead ends. One “road” we ended up taking led us straight to a staircase. Larry had a hard time getting us out of that one. But he did. All the walking paths to the castle were up very steep hills, so we declined (plus we were desperate need for the facilities, so walking up steep hills was NOT an option at this time).

We finally just had to give up on the castle. We had other pressing matters that needs to be attended to. 🙂 We stopped at the local visitor’s center and took a few minutes to check out their cultural displays.

The whole eastern part and southern part of Portugal borders Spain. This is one of the bridges at one of the many border crossings.

Our boat cruise was the main thing we did this day. Our hotel had laundry facilities and we thought it was a good idea to take advantage of them and do our laundry, so we would have clean clothes for the rest of our trip. So this is a good place to stop for now. Don’t worry, I have lots more in store. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

After taking in the spectacular sights of the Algarve region and getting familiar with the area, it was once again time to find a place for dinner. The Portuguese, like the Spanish, like to eat late (I do too actually). So it was already dark, and around 8:00 PM. This is a normal dinner time all over Portugal.

We found this lovely family owned and operated restaurant called Festa da Praia. It has been going strong since 1990.

We almost ate outside, but it was a little too chilly to be really comfortable, so we opted to dine inside instead. I am so glad we did too, for a number of reasons.

After we ordered and before our food came, of course I wondered around and took a few pictures. Like so many restaurants, they had a display of their fresh catches of the day. They offered seabass, salmon, tuna, barnacles (a Portuguese favorite) and clams.

Then our food came. Again, we ordered a delicious Portuguese white wine and some garlic bread to start us off.

Larry ordered a curried seafood pasta as his main dish. It was loaded with shrimp, mussels and clams.

I ordered a Portuguese traditional classic, the bacalhau, or salt cod casserole.

Everything was delicious. We would have been very happy if our perfect day and dinner ended here. But …. it got even better, if you can imagine that! The owner, Paola, came out and was talking to the guests, and she made her way over to our table too. We hit it off immediately, and have so much in common. She sent us some port to enjoy before giving us on a little tour of her restaurant and the kitchen.

To me, Paola’s kitchen was small, but she insisted it was actually a large kitchen. Regardless of the size though, everything that comes from that kitchen is delicious and made with the number one ingredient, LOVE. Everyone was very friendly and a lot of fun too.

Paola also hosts weekly arts and crafts classes, and was proudly showing off some of her other creative skills. We would be best friends if I lived there, that’s for sure. We talked like we had known each other all our lives.

Thank you Paola and staff for sharing your lovely hospitality and “home” with us. You and Festa da Praia are true gems. We thoroughly enjoyed our short visit with you. We hope to see you again one day.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

OK. My short intermission is over, and I am resuming my Portugal report. This time, we are in the Algarve region, or the southernmost region, famed for its stunning, sun-drenched Mediterranean climate, dramatic limestone cliffs, and golden beaches. Popular spots include Lagos for nightlife and beaches, Albufeira for resorts, and Tavira for a quieter, traditional feel.

We got up early to catch our train from Lisboa to the Algarve. It was about a 3 hour train ride. We ended up at the airport where we had to catch a cab to go to the car rental place, then off to our hotel and beyond.

Our little green car we named o sapo, or the frog, or Freddie, took us all over the Algarve region. Freddie was a loyal companion and hopped all over the place with us.

I fell in love with the Algarve region of Portugal. It was breathtaking. We stayed in Albuefeira. This was the only time we had a car while in Portugal. We covered as much of the region as we could in the time we were there. Once again, we saw and did so much, but it was a lot more relaxed than our time in Lisboa.

We had a nice apartment/hotel we called home while we in the Algarve. It had a little kitchenette, two bathrooms, a nice deck and our room was upstairs. This is the hotel lobby.

And our little apartment.

Our deck and view. We ate our breakfast out on the deck every morning while there.

As soon as we checked in and got settled, we were off again. We asked the reception desk where to go. Since it was a Sunday, many things were closed, but we still had a great time. As recommended, we headed to the coast. But first, we needed to find a place to eat.

Along our drive, we found a little pizza place, Tenis Pizzas, and ordered a pizza to take with us. We ordered a new kind of pizza for us, but traditional to Southern Portugal. We ordered a shrimp and fish pizza. We love shrimp, we love fish and we love pizza. It was a win/win.

They made it right in front of me, so I know everything was fresh. The fish was freshly caught as well.

The pizza was different and delicious.

And we had lunch with a view.

We even had an unexpected guest come join us.

After finishing our lunch, we started our coastal explorations. This tiled mural represents the history and changing times of the Algarve area.

We were enjoying the gorgeous scenery, stopping wherever we felt like stopping, but we were also familiarizing ourselves with the area so we would know where to go for our next day’s adventures.

No need for words. The pictures speak for themselves. A pictures is worth 1000 words.

As we were strolling along the boardwalk, there was a gentleman playing guitar beautifully. It doesn’t get much better than that – beautiful guitar with the rugged coastline as a backdrop.

They were also filming a sports clothing commercial right here too. Of course the models they were using were Portuguese gods. I loved that view too. 🙂

These little, tiny irises were everywhere. They were fully in bloom, but were only a few inches tall, and the flowers themselves were very small. I love them. this little gem has found a nice home underneath the bottom of the fence.

These beautiful yellow flowering trees were everywhere and were on full display in the Algarve.

Larry wanted to head back to our hotel before it was dark, since he didn’t know the area yet. These are the sights we saw on the way back.

We always knew where our hotel was by the street art. We were after the big watches and right by the two dancing worms.

And so ends our first day in the breathtakingly beautiful Algarve region.

If you like these photos, I have a lot more in store for you. Sit back, relax and and enjoy the ride. Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. ‘Til next time.

I am taking a little intermission from my Portugal adventures and giving you a simple dessert instead. I made this and took to Mike and Lauren’s shortly after we returned home.

When I was doing my shopping, I stumbled upon something new and intriguing.; chocolate hummus. I love hummus, and we eat quite a bit of hummus, but I had never heard of chocolate hummus before. I had to give it a try, and I am very glad I did. It’s very smooth and creamy and very good.

Boar’s Head Dark Chocolate Dessert Hummus is a gluten-free, Non-GMO Project verified blend of steamed chickpeas, organic cane sugar, water, sunflower oil, cocoa powder (processed with alkali), vanilla extract, sea salt, and sesame tahini. It uses nisin as a natural preservative, providing a smooth texture for dipping fruits or crackers. I used it as a spread for crepes and then made a fruit plate with mixed berries and banana chips that we could “stuff” our crepes with.

The crepes were easy to make and it made for a light dessert, that was something fun and and different.

Sweet Crepes

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup water

2 TBSP sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 TBSP sweet liqueur or rum

butter to cook each crepe

Mix everything together well, the cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cooking.

Get a small skillet very hot, spray with cooking spray and add a little bit of butter (do this for each crepe and cook one at a time). Add about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter to the skillet and immediately swirl around so it covers the whole pan. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, then carefully flip and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the batter. The crepes can be cooked ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a few days if sealed in an airtight container.

This is a light and simple, easy-peasy dessert that travels well.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest and make the most out of every minute. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

Things we saw on the way down, back into the town of Sintra, after our mountainous trek. We saw more beautiful tiles everywhere we went. So many different kinds of tiles too. I love them. I never tire of seeing them.

We found out this used to be a jail. Now it is a Boy Scout house.

These are private homes. WOW!!!!!

Once we made it back down the mountain, and into civilization again, we had worked up quite an appetite. So we found a little place to eat called Tasca saloia in Sintra. We took the last available seat outside, where we could take in the sites as we ate and relaxed.

We ordered more traditional Portuguese foods, but I can’t remember all the names of them. They were very good, that much I do know. 🙂

We ordered some more grilled sausages, that were grilled right at our table. I am assuming he is pouring alcohol over the sausage to get them to flame up.

It was so good. We ate it all. 🙂 There were two types of sausage on this platter, blood sausage and traditional chorizo.

Of course we had more olives and bread. The olives also had some fava beans mixed in this time. I could easily live on olives and bread, and wine too. 🙂

After relaxing a bit, and refueling, we strolled around Sintra a bit more before catching our train back to Lisboa. We went into the gardens to see and smell the flowers. I had to take pictures of the irises. Irises were my mother’s favorite flower, so whenever I see them, I think of my mom.

There was even a koi pond.

Once we made it back to our hotel, we were exhausted. It had been a very long, very full day, with lots of walking and hiking. We literally walked 14 miles this day. We were tracking our steps and our miles on our phones. We hit the bed as soon as we got in. We knew we had another early day again the next day, as we had to catch the train to head down south to the Algarve region. I will give you an intermission on our Portuguese adventures here, since the next session is in the Algarve region, the southern portion of Portugal, which is totally different than Lisboa.

We’ve been home less than two weeks, but we hit the ground running as soon as we got back. And believe it or not, I have been cooking a bit since we’ve been home too. I know, right?! Me cooking. Imagine that. 🙂 I will never run out of things to share. I have so many good things that are always going on. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest (we always do). It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

Part of the Sintra and Pena Palace experience is to visit the palace grounds as well. So we started our trek away from the palace and through the woods. It was very mythical indeed. The grounds were green and lush and full of mystery.

We followed the path to the mystical lakes that King Ferdinand created for his children to play in. This is quite a playground that will definitely allow your imagination to run wild with whatever fantasies you can dream up.

From here, things got VERY tricky. We followed the travel tips stating you should walk down the mountain from the Palace, and to walk through the woods. Well …… we did, and it was NOT what we expected. We got lost through the woods, following the little creek, then we got stuck within in the walls surrounding the creek, with no other way out than to follow the creek, which gave us quite an adventure; an adventure we weren’t entirely prepared for. But we made it through unscathed. Once again after about an hour of walking through the woods, and what seemed like unchartered territory, we found our way back to civilization.

We found another palace, but didn’t enter the grounds. We had other places to go. Besides, they looked like they were setting up for a wedding or some formal ceremony.

We were headed towards Quinta da Regaleira and the Initiation Well. Quinta da Regaleira, celebrates Portugal’s unique historical connection to the mysterious Knights Templar. Quinta da Regaleira is a postcard-perfect mix of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance architecture. But it’s what lies beneath the palace’s gardens that truly sets the estate’s design apart. A pair of wells, called Initiation Wells, spiral down deep within the earth, like inverted towers. The wells were never used to collect water. Instead, in fact, it was never built to serve as a water resource at all. It was actually built for secret ceremonial purposes, as a part of a mysterious initiation ritual within the Knights of Templar tradition. It has a spiral staircase of 27m to the bottom.

The Knights Templar, a Catholic military order with roots dating to early 12th Century CE. While the group is believed to have disbanded 700 years ago, certain groups, like Freemasons, revived the medieval group’s rituals and traditions centuries later. It is believed that Templar initiations at Quinta da Regaleira began with candidates entering one of Initiation Wells blindfolded. Holding a sword close to their heart, they would descend nine flights of stairs – a number that represents the nine founders of the Templar order. Once reaching the bottom of the well, the candidates would walk into a dark labyrinth where they would symbolically and literally find their way up towards the light. If they were able to make back through the well tower and into the sunlight, initiates would walk across stones in water to reach the chapel, where they would then be welcomed into the brotherhood.

Before reaching the Initiation Well, we strolled through the grounds of Quinta da Regaleira, which were breathtaking and gorgeous in their own right. The entrance was once home to the Royal stables.

Beautiful gardens and flowers decorated the grounds.

Many other structures, of many kinds, were scattered throughout the property as well, all enhancing the magical, mythical, Medieval vibes and characteristics of the grounds.

A view of the Moorish Castle. This was the closest we got to this castle. We had done enough hiking and climbing for one day. Plus we still had a lot of walking and climbing on this part of our adventure as well. 🙂

Quinta da Regaleira was inhabited by wealthy Patrons, Nobles and Elites, each with their own palatial homes and grounds. Some we could go into, some are still privately owned, and were closed to the public.

And again, there were many chapels all around, most of which were privately owned by the wealthy Patrons.

This is a good stopping point for now. Now, we were headed into the actual town or city of Sintra, where we stopped for something to eat, and of course, more explorations.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride and make the journey count. ‘Til next time.

It was another early morning train ride, this time our destination was Sintra. Our first stop was a trip to the romantic, mystical, magical Pena Palace. It was even more magical and mystical because of the deep fog layer that covered the mountain when we first arrived. Pena Palace or Palacio da Pena is a vibrant, hilltop Romanticist palace featuring diverse architectural styles and panoramic views. The train only took us so far. After getting off the train we hired a cab to take us up as far as he could. Then …. we had to hike up the mountain for about 1/4 mile, straight up, to get to the actual castle. It was well worth it, even if it was yet another tough climb. Portugal has many, many STEEP, STEEP hills all over. If you really want to see and explore Portugal, there is no getting around these steep hills.

Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Lisbon, is a breathtaking hilltop town renowned for its 19th-century Romanticist palaces, misty pine-covered forests, and dramatic, colorful, and eclectic architecture. Major attractions include the iconic Pena Palace, the mystical Quinta da Regaleira, and the medieval Moorish Castle, making it a premier, magical day trip from Lisbon.

Pena Palace is the legacy of the artist king, King Ferdinand II.

The Palace of Pena is the result of two distinct periods, reflected in its complex and seemingly fantastical architecture. To the 16th-century monastery, the consort king Ferdinand II added, in the mid-19th century, an entirely new palace. Even today, the palace’s silhouette clearly reveals these two construction phases, harmoniously combined by 19th-century Romanticism. The two wings served different purposes, although some domestic functions — such as bedrooms, studies and dining rooms — recur in both. However, while private apartments predominate in the former monastery, or Old Palace, state rooms are found only in the New Palace. This architectural duality allows visitors to explore two distinct visitor circuits.

But the construction of Pena Palace actually started much, much earlier. The original construction began in the 12th century, following reports of apparitions of Our Lady, a chapel was erected on this site, and was a religious site for many centuries. King Ferdinand II purchased the castle in 1838, and expanded the castle, mixing and matching architecural styles. This sixteenth century monastery held an enormous degree of fascination for the king stemming both from his Germanic education and the romantic imaginary prevailing at the time that attracted him to the hills and the aesthetic value of the ruins. The original project was simply to restore the building as the summer residence for the royal family but his enthusiasm led him to opt for the construction of a palace and extending the pre-existing construction under the supervision of Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, a mineralogist and mine engineer who was then residing in Portugal. The building is circled by other architectural structures that appeal to the medieval imaginary, such as the parapet paths, the lookout towers, an access tunnel and even its own drawbridge. The palace incorporates architectural references displaying Manueline and Moorish influences that together produce a surprising scenario recollecting “a thousand and one nights.” The Palace of Pena thus emerged from the combination of the former Hieronymite monastery with a sophisticated 19th-century building, reflecting a taste for Romantic revivalism.

We got there early, which was a good thing. That gave us plenty of time to hike up the mountain, catch our breath, relieve ourselves and explore the grounds a bit before our scheduled tour time. In time, the fog cleared too.

Our time had come to see the inside of the Palace. Once again, we were in awe. It did not disappoint. We started off in the huge kitchen. Again, I would love a BIG kitchen like this. I would have plenty of room for everything I need. 🙂

The Royal China and it’s dragon design.

This room is known as the Hunter’s Room.

King Ferdinand’s private chambers.

The Royal Chapel

We left the Palace and started our trek through the gardens and beyond. Those are going to be in a separate post though, since I have many more pictures and stories to tell about that; too much to add on here, and definitely more than enough to warrant it’s own posting. 🙂

Haver a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride, even the challenging parts. They make it all worthwhile in the end. ‘Til next time.

This was a VERY full and busy day. We stopped for a late lunch, in between activities, at a little place called Tapas & Friends for some Portuguese styled tapas. The food was delicious, and it was a fun little place in the heart of Baixa.

I relaxed a little with a tasty, traditional sangria.

One of the dishes we ordered was some grilled sausage, and this is how the grilled it; on a little open fire portable grill. We noticed this at other places we stopped too.

We also ordered the cod cakes, that we ended up eating quite a few times on our trip, and one of our favorites patatas bravas. Patatas bravas are Spanish, but Spain and Portugal share many things, along with their long borders. The whole Eastern part of Portugal is bordered by Spain, from the north all the way down to the south.

This was just enough to re-energize us for the rest of our day’s activities. It also felt very good to sit down and relax a bit too.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.