On the Road Again

After another amazing dinner party on the Friday evening hosted by a retired French chef and his partner, Michael, John and I set off on a 4-day road trip to central Portugal.  Dinner was a lot of fun but I mention it only because in all the years I have been visiting Alsace, I have never ordered that region's signature dish called choucroute as I have no love of sauerkraut.  So, after more than 40 years of avoiding it, ironically, that was the dish served at dinner here in Portugal.  From Wikipedia:  There is no fixed recipe for this dish and any preparation of hot sauerkraut with meat and potatoes could qualify – but in practice there are certain traditions, favourite recipes, and stereotypical garnishes that are more commonly called choucroute garnie than others. Traditional recipes call for three types of sausage.  Fatty, inexpensive or salted cuts of pork also often form a part of choucroute garnie, including ham hocks, pork knuckles and shoulders, back bacon and slices of salt pork.  That evening, along with the sauerkraut and boiled potatoes, it was served with jambonneau (ham hock), back bacon and a sausage.  I had a few bites of the sauerkraut and then managed to quietly put the rest on John's plate.  The apple strudel dessert suited my palate much more!

The following morning, we set off from Pedro and John's home heading north with Nazare being our destination.  We went over the April 25^th Bridge – passing the giant statue of Christ – and drove through Lisbon and then headed up the A1 and then the A8. 

 

Our first stop was going to be Obidos but, when we got there, it was packed and there was no parking anywhere.  Clearly, there was something major going on as there were crowds of people and lots of buses.  Later, my sister told me she'd been there as part of a pilgrimage so maybe it was related to that sort of thing.  I got a quick photo of the castle and then we gave up.  John was interested in seeing a nearby town called Caldas da Rainha.  Again, when we arrived, there was no parking to be had.  It seems to be a centre for porcelain as we saw a factory and a museum.  it might have been interesting to check that out but it wasn't to be.

We decided to get off the highway and take a coastal road that would be more scenic.  This part of Portugal is called the Silver Coast, also called Costa de Prata in Portuguese.  It is a stunning stretch of coastline in central-western Portugal running from the city of Porto Portugal in the north to Ericeira in the south.  The Silver Coast is famous for its beautiful beaches, charming fishing villages, and historical attractions.  It’s a popular destination also known for its delicious seafood and interesting places to visit like Aveiro, Coimbra, Nazaré, and Óbidos.

To get there, we drove through forest after forest of eucalyptus trees before reaching some beautiful beaches.  Just south of Sao Martinho do Porto, we saw what looked to be a very nice restaurant called A Quilha Mar overlooking the beach.  John had a huge seafood and pasta salad while I ordered a cheese board which was served with frozen berries, walnuts and lovely fresh bread rolls.  Both lunches were lovely and mine was about €20 which included wine.  We were served a complementary cherry liqueur and puff pastry afterwards.

We continued up the coast going into the town of Sao Martinho do Porto and up to a viewpoint that gave us wonderful views up and down the coast. 

Our destination was Nazare, a popular beach town, and I loved it.  Our hotel was called Hotel Mare and mare means tide.  Once we’d settled in, we wandered along the seafront which was jam-packed with people enjoying the warm Saturday evening.  We had drinks (a couple of Aperol spritzes and Coke Zero for John) at a beach bar with perfect views of the beach, ocean and sky.  The drinks cost much less than I expected them to be and certainly way less than in France.  I think I paid less than €15 for them all.  The sun was setting and I took lots of photos as it dipped into the ocean in front of the beach.  Stunning!

Then, it was a matter of finding somewhere to eat.  We checked out a number of restaurants but none of them were exactly what we were looking for.  Then, we found a restaurant on the seafront called Tabernasso.  It was very crowded and seemed popular with locals.  Even though we didn’t have a reservation, the proprietor found us a table.  I ordered roast chicken which came with vegetables and fries.  I also had a couple of glasses of wine and a very tasty pavlova for dessert.  All that for €30.  It had been a great start to our mini-road trip. 

The following day, we had breakfast in hotel's breakfast room on the top floor which had sweeping views down the beach.  

We decided to head along the coast road as much as we could and I got some good photos of the beach called Praia do Pedrogao just north of Vieira de Leiria.  

After that, the road didn’t follow the coast so, after seeing sand dunes and beaches, we decided to get back on the highway to Aveiro, known as the Venice of Portugal.  I had thought perhaps I'd been there and, we arrived, I realized it was the place I remembered.  I have to say I wasn’t too impressed then and it was the same this time.  There are canals but only the one running through the town has pretty buildings along it.  The others seem to be located in less attractive industrial areas.  Further, the “gondolas” they use are painted quite gaudily and not at all reminiscent of those beautiful ones in Venice.  

We stayed for about an hour, had a refreshment, John bought some ovos moles, and then headed to our destination, the town of Tomar which was more than two hours away.