On our way to Spain, we thought it would be fun to rent a car and drive through some of Southern Portugal, including the Alentejo wine region and the Algarve (although it wouldn’t be beach weather).
We began in Evora, a 1,000 year-old walled city a couple of hundred kilometres east of Lisbon. We had heard great things about Evora and the Alentejo region, specifically that it had the best food in Portugal and that the people were extremely friendly. Both of these were true. We stayed in an incredible hotel (above) that was situated in an old convent that had only recently been converted, and still housed an incredible 500 year-old chapel (that hosted Sunday mass every month). All of the food that we ate in the area was also incredible. The area is known for their meat and we enjoyed some delicious lamb, wild boar and beef (among other things) as we explored the region.
Being the food capital of Portugal, Evora is also known for their desserts. Pictured above is the regional specialty, egg yolk and sugar tart. We learned that this dessert, prepared by the nuns (to earn a few Euro), came about when the nuns found themselves with extra egg yolks after using the whites to starch their wimples. The nuns cleverly mixed the yolks with sugar, thus creating the egg yolk and sugar tart! The tart was simple and delicious - a perfect ending to a great dinner.
On our second day in Evora, we took a trip to the nearby town of Estramoz for their weekly farmers market. The market has a mix of vendors, including old antiques, produce, dairy (cheese vendor above) and live chickens (not on our shopping list).
We were specifically looking for some local cheeses to try and ended up finding a bounty. The cheese in Portugal is very inexpensive given the quality and artisinal cheese tended to cost 1-3 Euro for a small round of great local cheese. We went a bit overboard on cheese, olives and honey, which resulted in a great lunch the following day (pictured above).
After two days, we departed Evora for the southern coast of Portugal, the Algarve. Since this was offseason, we only planned a short stay in the Algarve, but if it had been May or later, we definitely would have stayed for longer. In our case, we had a great couple of days and really just relaxed and didn’t venture out too much. It was relatively sleepy in our area given the season, which was fine with us.
We didn’t know very much about Portugal and its various regions, prior to our trip mainly because we expected to be spending time in Israel (as opposed to Portugal) before the violence flared up. However, after three weeks, we have built up a bit of a knowledge base on the country and have put together a list of facts / idiosyncrasies about Portugal and the Portuguese.
1. While they are experts at preparing meat and fish, the Portuguese have no idea how to prepare vegetables nor do they eat enough of them (other than the ubiquitous french fry). Other than fries, the average Portuguese meal MAY contain a few leaves of sad-looking lettuce (undressed) and perhaps (if you are lucky) some broccoli that has been steamed to death. Gordon Ramsey would not be happy.
2. The Portuguese language is pretty interesting. If you try reading it, it looks somewhat like Spanish, which has many words that the English/French speaker can pick out. However, when hearing the spoken language, it sounds more like Russian than Spanish. Note that this applies only to the dialect spoken in Portugal. We met some Brazilians on our trip who also explained that the Brazilian Portuguese sounds more like Spanish and that they even had some trouble communicating with the locals.
3. Eggs and dairy in Portugal (and much of Europe) taste about 10x better than in North America. For those who have never visited a European supermarket, the eggs and milk are not refrigerated and milk only needs to be refrigerated after opening. The eggs yolks are more orange than yellow. Kristi and I attribute this to better living standards for the hens, but are not quite sure.
We didn't take a ton of photos on this road trip, but those not in this post can be found here.
Following Portugal, we arrived in Seville on Tuesday and have been relaxing in a rented apartment that we have for 10 days (we are really excited to finally be able to cook our own food). Looking forward to posting about some of the things we have been up to.
Cheers,
J & K
We began in Evora, a 1,000 year-old walled city a couple of hundred kilometres east of Lisbon. We had heard great things about Evora and the Alentejo region, specifically that it had the best food in Portugal and that the people were extremely friendly. Both of these were true. We stayed in an incredible hotel (above) that was situated in an old convent that had only recently been converted, and still housed an incredible 500 year-old chapel (that hosted Sunday mass every month). All of the food that we ate in the area was also incredible. The area is known for their meat and we enjoyed some delicious lamb, wild boar and beef (among other things) as we explored the region.
Being the food capital of Portugal, Evora is also known for their desserts. Pictured above is the regional specialty, egg yolk and sugar tart. We learned that this dessert, prepared by the nuns (to earn a few Euro), came about when the nuns found themselves with extra egg yolks after using the whites to starch their wimples. The nuns cleverly mixed the yolks with sugar, thus creating the egg yolk and sugar tart! The tart was simple and delicious - a perfect ending to a great dinner.
On our second day in Evora, we took a trip to the nearby town of Estramoz for their weekly farmers market. The market has a mix of vendors, including old antiques, produce, dairy (cheese vendor above) and live chickens (not on our shopping list).
We were specifically looking for some local cheeses to try and ended up finding a bounty. The cheese in Portugal is very inexpensive given the quality and artisinal cheese tended to cost 1-3 Euro for a small round of great local cheese. We went a bit overboard on cheese, olives and honey, which resulted in a great lunch the following day (pictured above).
After two days, we departed Evora for the southern coast of Portugal, the Algarve. Since this was offseason, we only planned a short stay in the Algarve, but if it had been May or later, we definitely would have stayed for longer. In our case, we had a great couple of days and really just relaxed and didn’t venture out too much. It was relatively sleepy in our area given the season, which was fine with us.
We didn’t know very much about Portugal and its various regions, prior to our trip mainly because we expected to be spending time in Israel (as opposed to Portugal) before the violence flared up. However, after three weeks, we have built up a bit of a knowledge base on the country and have put together a list of facts / idiosyncrasies about Portugal and the Portuguese.
1. While they are experts at preparing meat and fish, the Portuguese have no idea how to prepare vegetables nor do they eat enough of them (other than the ubiquitous french fry). Other than fries, the average Portuguese meal MAY contain a few leaves of sad-looking lettuce (undressed) and perhaps (if you are lucky) some broccoli that has been steamed to death. Gordon Ramsey would not be happy.
2. The Portuguese language is pretty interesting. If you try reading it, it looks somewhat like Spanish, which has many words that the English/French speaker can pick out. However, when hearing the spoken language, it sounds more like Russian than Spanish. Note that this applies only to the dialect spoken in Portugal. We met some Brazilians on our trip who also explained that the Brazilian Portuguese sounds more like Spanish and that they even had some trouble communicating with the locals.
3. Eggs and dairy in Portugal (and much of Europe) taste about 10x better than in North America. For those who have never visited a European supermarket, the eggs and milk are not refrigerated and milk only needs to be refrigerated after opening. The eggs yolks are more orange than yellow. Kristi and I attribute this to better living standards for the hens, but are not quite sure.
We didn't take a ton of photos on this road trip, but those not in this post can be found here.
Following Portugal, we arrived in Seville on Tuesday and have been relaxing in a rented apartment that we have for 10 days (we are really excited to finally be able to cook our own food). Looking forward to posting about some of the things we have been up to.
Cheers,
J & K
A new blog so soon! What a treat. Good thing your lactose tolerance is ok. Sounds like Potugal should be on my destination list. Thanks for the great tour of the country, Jona and Kreisti. Love Mom.
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