Getting better acquainted

Week 2 in Porto started off with a trip across the river to tour a port house and do a tasting.

As fans of beer brewing, wine making, and whisky/bourbon distilling, we enjoyed the nerdy, learning part of the tour. Key differences between ruby and tawny ports, what makes a 10, 20, and 30 year tawny (surprisingly, a 10-year tawny port won’t be only 10 year-old port – it is a blend of 6-19 year old ports that achieve the head winemaker’s desired profile), etc. What we did not enjoy was the port itself. I could see maybe liking some tawny ports with a sharp, aggressive cheese (Roquefort or a sharp blue) as a dessert, but I could also have something else that I know I will like so why waste a perfectly good dessert opportunity on a gamble?

We also spent time with Matt, Marnie, and their boys who were in town. And we got to navigate with a sprained ankle for Luke 😦

We had a few hot days in a row, so daytime activities were focused on shade or were slower-paced. Unlike at home, where the air soaks up heat so it feels hot even when you are sitting still, the temperature here is largely driven by the sun. There is immediate coolness from simply stepping out of the sun and into a shady patch. Similarly, nights are (usually) cooler and it is possible to sleep without AC.

With Luke’s sore ankle (which is improving, thankfully!), I decided to sign us up for an all-day Douro wine valley tour. I’m not typically fond of such tours because the group vibe can be fabulous, awful, or anywhere in between and then you’re trapped, but the tour promised wine (yay!), little walking (yay!), and AC (yay!). Turns out, there were some pretty cool folks in the group and we ended up enjoying it.

The Portuguese do seem to love wine. For under $1, you can buy wine juice boxes in the grocery store (and for the record, the one on the left carries the brand of the grocery store chain where we bought it – it’s not even named for a winery!). Not nearly as good as the mid-tier bottles which sell for less than $5, but at least one of them was perfectly passable. It would easily be a $10 bottle in the US.

We topped off one evening with a dinner at a restaurant called the Cult of Cod. Portugal loves cod. LOVES it. This restaurant (run by a Michelin-starred chef), had cod in every item on the menu, as far as I could recall. The thing that I was most worried about was dessert. After all, how could you possibly put cod into dessert and have it taste good? Well, I was too curious not to try it, and I am glad I did! It was super thin slices of cod, fried to be light and crispy, then dusted in cinnamon and sugar. It was served with a runny egg yolk custard (similar in taste to what’s in a pastel de nata) and served with vanilla ice cream. Heavenly!

Portugal has a law requiring most restaurants to have at least 1 vegan option. While not vegan, I often have trouble finding anything I can eat in the US (let alone finding anything I want to eat). US vegetarian food is painfully generic. Grain bowl. Stir fry. Veggie bowl. Blech. I’ve eaten absolutely fabulous food every single day here.

Pastel de nata (pasteis de nata, plural) is an icon of Portuguese cuisine. These little puff pastry tarts are filled with an egg custard, and they are perhaps the perfect balance to a strong coffee, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a class and learn how to make them ourselves! gain, a bit of a gamble since it was a group activity, but mst of the people were cool and we had a great time.

As we explored the Crystal Palace Garden this morning, we saw signs for a craft beer festival, so we will explore that tonight. The gardens were pretty and featured a surprising array of birds. Chickens, pigeons (of course), ducks in all sizes, and peafowl. We did at one point get cornered by a peacock and had to make a dash for it lest he charge us. Peacocks are jerks.

It is sad that we have only 1 week left. It is so comfortable here. I know where I am going (at least, as much as I do at home), I’m in a good daily rhythm, and I truly like almost everything about this city. It absolutely won’t be the last time we come here.