September 4, 2014

We have been in Portugal for 4 days and can speak only a few words.  Obrigado is thank you and the most important.  Turns out "obrigado" is what men say and "obrigada" is what women say no matter who you are talking to.  Different from Spanish.  To me Portuguese sounds Russian, to Jeffrey it sounds like French and Spanish.

I think you might have to register for this blog if you want to comment, but I'm not sure.  We want it private-ish, so I'm looking into what it takes, but I don't want it to be a hassle for friends either.

Today we went to the beach. It was a short 20-25 min. metro ride.  It was pretty empty when we arrived around 1pm.  We found a little place to eat something before swimming and basking in the sun.  People don't get going here until after 1pm most days.  By 3 the place was much busier and by 5 it was hopping.  However, by 5:30 or 6pm, we were ready for dinner, but most places don't open until 7.  Luckily we found someone opened at 6:30pm and after a walk around the neighborhood, a glass of vinho verde wine and fresh grilled sardines were just what I needed.  Both are typical of the area.

Yesterday we checked out a bookstore that was an inspiration for JK Rowling when she was writing Harry Potter.  Sadly, I forgot my camera, but they don't allow photographs anyway.

I should mention our hotel.  Hotel da Musica.  It is a lovely modern hotel with a classical music theme.  It is located near to the Casa da Musica a beautiful ultra modern music venue close by.  In the center of the hotel is a gourmet market that serves fantastic wine, cheese, jamon, pastries etc.  It also has a fresh food market as well.  A few pitctures.

Menu in Portuguese.

Here are pictures from the beach and dinner.  Motosinhos is the beach area.

Willie's crepe.

An old fort.

No clue what that red thing is.

I loved these guys.  They were drinking beer and playing cards.

Grilled sardines.