A thought struck me as I tootled along behind a visiting driver enjoying the scenery at under 40mph in a 60mph zone. Apart from when I lived in Manchester and Stockport, I’ve always lived in places that were popular tourist destinations. This has covered four different countries. […]
Like a living barometer, you don’t need a calendar here on the farm to tell you when the seasons are changing, the animals do that for you … […]
Less than 24 hours later and I wish we’d bought more at the Alentejo supermarket. The madness we’d been reading about in British press reports descends on Portugal. There are queues of shoppers at each till, their trolleys piled high with produce including, of course, multi-packs of toilet paper. […]
Arrábida Natural Park is a maze of tracks and paths. That’s the upside for walkers. The downside is not all of them are public ways. The trick is knowing which are and which aren’t. […]
The depths of winter (i.e. now) in central Portugal is a yin and yang affair. Warm enough to eat lunch al fresco in the midday sunshine, as cold as my home island of Bute in Scotland at night. […]
I couldn’t tell you how many times we’ve eaten in restaurants, cafes, bars etc. in various destinations this year. Basically, a hell of a lot. But there are some dishes which stand out above others for numerous reasons. These aren’t always solely to do with the food on the plate in front of us […]
The first time we encountered a couvert was in Porto when it a waiter brought a tray of small dishes to our table. We weren’t sure if they were a complimentary amuse-bouche or we’d have to pay. […]
The obsession with choco frito is said to have started in the days when cuttlefish had no commercial value. So the fishermen who sailed the waters south of the Tagus, from the Sado Estuary down to Sines, tended to keep chocos for themselves […]
Although no distance as the crow flies, the transformation between bustling Setúbal and the sparsely populated, tree-fringed, white sands on the other side of the estuary was astounding. Within moments of disembarking we were on our own… […]
There’s history as rich as anywhere, Roman ruins, golden beaches, forests, plains, scenic ridges, Moorish castles, traditional towns, sprawling vineyards, more gastronomic specialities than you’d find in a trendy London deli, the people are exceedingly friendly, and there’s the Virgin Mary on a giant mule. […]
We’ve just returned from a short visit to Britain to deliver training sessions on these and so now can take the foot off the pedal and, before we look forward, take a moment or two to remember the best and worst travel experiences we’ve enjoyed, or not, during the last twelve months. […]
After 14 years in the Canary Islands we already knew about the important difference between Britain’s centrally heated houses and ones in (mostly) warmer climes with little or no heating. But we still weren’t prepared for the temperature drop between the Canaries and central Portugal. […]
There are countries where finding something with a local flavour (no international fast food franchises allowed) to satisfy this yen can be problematic. Portugal isn’t one of them. […]
On a sizzler of a day in mid May, when the Sado was a mill pond, we finally got around to finding out what Troia was actually like. […]
I was particularly disappointed as Lonely Planet was once our travel bible, the key to unlocking exciting new travel experiences. But there was no edgy insight with any of the examples and I was expecting the unexpected. […]
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