Category: Portugal
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Going out in Largo do Intendente
There are 3 main entrance avenues into the triangle-shaped plaza, Largo do Intendente. In one corner, you have “Little Bangladesh” with its Halal butchers, cell phone case stores, travel agencies, and teetotaler Bangladeshi/Pakistani restaurants. The next corner bleeds into Chinatown with its imported clothing and costume jewelry shops and Chinese food markets – all closed…
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Following the Port and Wine Trail in the Douro
Port wine has been the number one Portuguese export for centuries. Naturally, we wanted to visit the heart of the production area, and we also wanted to check out the burgeoning wine scene. Villa Nova de Gaia The coastal city of Porto was the obvious first stop, but technically port lives in the adjacent city of Vila…
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Douro Valley in November
The beginning of winter is a questionable time to visit a wine region. The harvest has long been concluded. The bright green leaves of the grapes are gone, and the vines are being pruned. Open hours are shortened everywhere, and reservations are required at the wineries even more so than in the summer. In spite…
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Anjos Neighborhood in Lisbon
Across the street from our apartment building in the Anjos neighborhood of Lisbon is a small storefront with a few tables inside. The owners post their hand-written lunch menu on the greasy windows every day, inevitably including the classic bacalhau (salt cod) option. Judging from the clientele, if we were 75 year old Portuguese men, we’d fit…
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Fado in Coimbra
In the town of Coimbra, home to Portugal’s oldest university, the shops and museums start closing their doors around 5 PM. However, the restaurants don’t open until 8 (and people don’t start eating until 9.) The bar hours are even later. Our choices were: Drink coffee in a cafe – Bad idea at night. Head…
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5 Things We’ve Learned Walking Around Lisbon
Every review of our apartment mentions the five flights of stairs (with resulting view) that you need to climb to reach home. Living in the South Side Slopes of Pittsburgh, the steps didn’t deter us. The reviews didn’t emphasize that the rest of Lisbon is a collection of relentless hills. This doesn’t deter us from…
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The Perfect Alentejo Picnic
We may be getting ahead of ourselves because we’ve only been in Portugal for a week, but if we could only source our food from one region of the world, the Alentejo would top the list of choices. The region stretches from the Atlantic coast of Portugal to the edge of Spain. Driving from the…