*crispy waffle*

It's been so hectic I haven't been able to post! Anyway, here are (finally) some pics from our epic journey through Portugal and finishing in Madrid, Spain, where, many moons ago I had spent time as an exchange student (and the city is still the same, and at the same time, different, of course.) This time I traveled with my sister, her daughter, and my two kids. (Kyle missed out because he was busy working. Boo hoo!)

We started in Batalha, Portugal, which is close to Fatima, where we were doing our Catholic pilgrimage. Batalha is a charming town in itself, with a huge Gothic sanctuary that is a UNESCO heritage site. Fatima was great, and while we were in the area, we did our Pork pilgrimage as well: to Mealhada, a town in central Portugal that is famous for its roast suckling pig called leitão. For me, this was worth the hour drive north of Batalha, although my sis, who currently lives in Seattle, was not that impressed with the long drive to get lechon which you can get in Chinatown, Seattle! But, hey, I can't get lechon in the vicinity of Den Haag (that I know of), so I was pretty happy with the Pig.

Our giant plate of leitão at Pedro dos Leitões

The little guy was a big fan. And they served it with homemade potato chips which he also enjoyed, of course.

Next we traveled to the Algarve, which is the southern coast of Portugal. They have spectacular beaches, and of course seafood. Above is feijoada from the Algarve, which is a delicious stew of white beans and every kind of seafood you can imagine.

They take their seafood seriously in the Algarve... this restaurant is called Catedral do Marisco (Seafood Cathedral).

After our Portuguese beach holiday, we headed via bus, then train, to Madrid where we had some specific foods in mind...

The chocolate and churros at Chocolatería San Gines were excellent. I sometimes think that Spanish hot chocolate is too sweet and too thick because of all the cornstarch (I prefer the French hot chocolate at places like Laduree in Paris), but at this chocolatería the hot chocolate was delish.

We went to La Barraca near Gran Vía for, of course, paella. It's an old-schooly dining room where basically paella is the only thing they serve... and it did not disappoint. (Sorry for the dark pic-- I was distracted by the food so I didn't get a good picture of it when it was still in the platter!)

To say it was hot in Madrid mid-July is an understatement. Here, the little guy enjoys his new favorite ice cream flavor, natas at a delicious ice cream stand on Calle Cadiz. Natas is basically like the sweet cream ice cream flavor in the States, but less sweet. The boy looooved it.

With all the outdoor eating, tapas were definitely in sight for us. Here's a tapas joint, also on Calle Cadiz. The array that my daughter is excited about included morcilla, a blood sausage, as well as the típico jamón serrano, and sardines and red peppers.

All of our favorite combo: the unusual combination of Camembert with blueberry preserves. Until exactly that moment in time, I had hated Camembert. Now I know it has a place in this world.

Before leaving, I tried to go to the deli to get some jamón Ibérico for Kyle. But there was a señora in front of me who, I swear to you, had the dude slice off every type of ham leg you see hanging there, then was like "Hmmmm, I'll also get some longaniza..." By that time we had 10 minutes to get back to the hotel, so no jamón for Kyle, unfortunately.

Labels: travel

posted by sheryl | 2:14 PM |

It's refreshing to see kids that aren't picky eaters. Kudos to you, Sheryl!
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Anonymous 10/7/06 4:58 AM