Food & drink

Bacon, an essential travel item

During the course of a neverending monologue from Marcia, with an “aye, that’s right” thrown in by Preston every now and again, she mentioned their suitcase was half-filled with tins of Spam. It snapped me out of the self-induced coma I’d retreated into. What sort of strange person would pack Spam in their suitcase? […]

Europe

Electric scooters, the scourge of Lisbon

It’s effortless to hit a thumbs up on facebook, a retweet on Twitter and share posts which show others just how much we care about our planet. We can do it without expending any energy whatsoever. It’s easy to be an eco-warrior when you don’t need to leave the house. […]

Food & drink

Going local with gastronomy or doing a Mumford

What’s available locally has a strong bearing on gastronomic specialities in an area. And what those local specialities are tends to be what restaurants do best. In the hills and mountains these dishes are usually meat based; at the coast they’re whatever salty gifts the sea offers. […]

Europe

Being James Bond in Siena, Tuscany

Tables, chairs and parasols line narrow streets and fill small piazzas, their occupants enjoying fat-crusted pizzas whose slices reluctantly pull apart in a cat’s cradle of melted cheese, and plates of pasta topped with rich sauce and drizzled in aromatic olive oil. […]

As we walked out

Walking in Europe with a spring in the step

“Em Abril, águas mil.” There’s a reason for these old proverbs. This is from Portugal, Spain has one almost identical. Incidentally, so has Chile. Even Disney alludes to a feature that April can be known for – “Drip, drip, drop little April shower… ” […]

Hiking

Scenic saunters across Europe

Something occurred to me the other day as we stood on a ridge overlooking a valley in Arrabida, Portugal. Whenever I hear the name of a specific area the image which pops into my head usually isn’t one of just bricks and mortar, it’s often a countryside scene […]

Port tasting at Graham's Lodge
Europe

Putting the Port in Porto

It’s hard to imagine I was semi-seriously considering paying €38 for a bottle of port. Last week I would have laughed out loud at such a preposterous prospect. Yet here, alongside its terroir, it tastes like liquid heaven and worthy of its price tag. […]