Irish Fish Pie

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day: a tale of Irish Fish Pie and saudade.

Tastes Like Vacation

My vacation tasted like home.

Hold on a minute-- don't start making assumptions there, bucko.  I am no McDonald's tourist.  I firmly believe that vacations should taste of exotic spices and meats, with a side of foreign scenery and menus you can't really understand but order from anyhow.  I believe in trying whatever the locals consider best and opening your mind to what you find.

But when I return home to the US for my two-week visit with the family each year, I love becoming reacquainted with the familiar flavors of my childhood.  I can't get enough of the huge range of multi-cultural offerings you find in the States, with all these ingredients I can't get my hands on in Lisbon.  And the spiciness!  Ohhh, how I love getting my hands on the spicy.

Luckily, anytime my family gets together in one time zone there is a 100% chance that delicious food will be involved.  Every hour, on the hour, if possible.  I am still smiling at the memories of all the good stuff I got to eat.  Wanna see the highlight reel?

(Yes, you do.  You totally do.)

The Great Santini Gelado

Today, Bacalhau Boy and I were three-hour tourists.

Lisbon is emptied of half its inhabitants thanks to a four-day weekend, and poor Bacalhau Boy was stuck working for most of it.  This afternoon we said enough!, and turned the car towards the storybook charming village of Cascais for some strolling in the sun.  Even if we couldn't take a proper vacation, we were going to pretend we did anyhow.

Although Cascais is just 25 miles (40 km) from Lisbon, we rarely visit on weekends.  Today I asked myself why, again and again.

And again.

After a brief wander through the picturesque streets of the old town and some delicious arroz de marisco (shellfish rice) for lunch, we made our way here:

Frango na Púcara at Frei Bernardo

Alcobaça is a town with an amazing monastery.

Stunning, right? One of the best examples of gothic architecture in Portugal, it was founded by the first king of Portugal in the 12th century and back in the day used to house over 300 hard-drinking, big-eating monks.

But do you know what else Alcobaça is famous for?

Frango na Púcara.

The Immortal Love of Pedro and Inês

Bacalhau Boy had a birthday last week.

Because I am a clever girl who will use any excuse for luring him away from his workaholic tendencies, one of his birthday presents was a romantic weekend road trip to find the footsteps of Portugal's most famous star-crossed lovers, Dom Pedro I and Inês de Castro. 

And because I am also an excessively share-y and excitable girl, here is a little of what we saw from this extraordinary (and TRUE) love story which began almost 700 years ago... and is still waiting for its happy ending.

(If you are not a fan of tragic and haunting love stories, stop reading now. No judgement.)