Category Archives: Travel
Porto Day 4- Filled With Delicious Food!
So today was a good day… why you ask??? Well, because it was filled with delicious food.
Well, it started off with the usual yummy breakfast consisting of serrano ham, fried egg, a yummy roll and delicious coffee. The day itself was quite unstructured as we were all tired from roaming around yesterday… so we kind of had a late starte and headed to a town called Matosinho, which is a small fishing village near Foz where we were staying. We took a bus there and looked for a lunch place as that area is known for delicious and fresh seafood. We ordered the most delicious plates of sardines, prawns, swordfish and salmon. We ended with yummy creme brulee and of course had great Rose wine. It was a great afternoon filled with delicious food and great company. 
After the meal some of us headed to the city center and some of headed to take a siesta in the afternoon. My husband and and I wanted to go for some more Port tastings and as we were headed there in the bus, he realized he had forgotten his bag at the restaurant… so we headed back and luckily found it as the nice people there had kept it aside for us. So we took the opportunity and walked around the little town some more and decided to walk back to our apartment as walked along the ocean. It was a good 45 minute walk which built up a great appetite for the evening… as we were going to Pedro Lemos (http://www.timeout.com/food-drink/pedro-lemos-restaurant-porto/), which is highly rated restaurant in Porto and has a Michelin star!
One reason for our yearly trip with the whole family is to get together, but another one this year was to celebrate a couple’s 25th anniversary… so this dinner was marking the great occasion. Luckily the place was walking distance to our apartments. We walked over to a small, charming, cobblestoned neigborhood where the restaurant was in the corner. They welcomed us in and sat us in their beautiful wine room that had 2 walls filled with fabulous wines!
The whole evening was wonderful, filled with delicious food, yummy wine and amazing company. We reminisced about old times, the new generation and how important it is to spend time with family… especially if you are lucky enough to like them as much as we like each other!
One more day left in Porto…
Porto- Day 3
So, day 3 was a lot of walking and exploring… well, I guess as much walking and exploring 13 people can do who for some reason were not on the same eating, drinking and going to the bathroom schedule… so what that meant was that we essentiaally stopped every 10 minutes for food, coffee, wine, water and then of course bathrooms. That being said, we did see a lot of the main city today and I am convinced that I will be coming back to this place. I love the feel, the friendly peope, the reasonable food and drink. A glass of wine is as little as 80 cents. We ordered a house bottle of wine for 4 euros.
Lunch was a combination of a bunch of snacks we ate over a few hours. We also indulged in Portugal’s favorite pastry Pastel de nata (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel_de_nata), which are delicious….
We had dinner reservations at a very traditional Portuguese restaurant called O Buraco,
(https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=161956973839602&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Ffbrdr%2F274%2F161956973839602%2F&_rdr). The food was very delicious and the restaurant owners were very warm and friendly. I again ordered the sardines which were absolutely delicious… as we were enjoying the lovely dinner, there was another family enjoying their dinner… once they were done, a cake was brought to them as they were celebrating someone’s birthday. They clapped and sang the birthday song in Portuguese and we joined in and sang in English. They started to cut the cake and began to share with us as well… we were all so surprised and very touched and happily shared the delicious cake. It was a lovely meal and a great way to end the day. 
Porto- Day 2
So we are done with day 2 and I am thinking I really like this city and I want to come back… but for now let me tell you what we did…. I woke up by 8 and did a quick 10 minute exercise routine, got ready and ate a yummy breakfast, including cheese, rolls, fresh fruit, amazing yogurt and the most delicious freshly squeezed orange juice- the taste was like I was eating the juiciest oranges ever… and of course an amazing cup of coffee. It took a long time for everyone to get ready and leave the apartments… in fact we didn’t get out till noon… I guess when you have 13 people, it takes a while. We took a bus to the old part of the town and by that time it was time for lunch. We found a local restaurant in the big square… the meal experience was okay… everyone’s food took forever to come and when it did, it wasn’t so good. But mine was quite good, octopus with a side of fried potatoes. The octopus was grilled and lightly dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.. I really enjoyed it.
We then walked across the old bridge to the other side of river Duoro to Gaia which is another town. That is where a lot of the Port houses are… so we took an hour river cruise and then walked around and went for several Port tastings- including the Tawny, Ruby, White and Rose! All were delicious and we bought a few bottles to bring home to enjoy later. The weather was beautiful- mid 70’s to lower 80’s. We walked around and evetually made our way back and found a local eatery where I had the most amazing pan seared salmon and a bowl of charred Padron peppers which are kind of like shishito peppers but even yummier. We ordered a bottle of rose which had slight bubbles.. it was all delicious and a finish to a very nice day! 
We walked back to the apartments and got together with some cheese and port and enjoyed another hour or so before it was time to call it a night. We discussed plans for tomorrow but couldn’t decide on anything… so stay tuned!
Day One in Lovely Porto
So, here we are in beautiful Porto after just a six hour flight- it really didn’t seem long at all. We flew TAP Portugal, which was nothing special.. service was okay, the food was nothing special at all and the coffee was worse than United- if that was possible… this coffee was watered down and luke warm… I just don’t get what the problem is with these airlines, they can’t even serve a proper cup of coffee. The good news is I had a delicious cup of espresso topped with whipped cream at the Porto airport. It was a small airport and we could smell the salty, ocean air as soon as we disembarked the plane. We made our way out of the airport and caught and cab and 10 minutes later we were at the apartments we rented. As we are quite a few people, I managed to find four apartments in the same building overlooking the ocean. They are beautiful, filled with sunlight and across the street from the beach. Some people in the family are beach goers… I like to explore and walk around so not sure if I will be sitting on the beach for very long. We unpacked and ventured out for a snack as it was still early, around 9 am and we were hungry. We found a place called Tavi (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g189180-d790485-Reviews-Tavi_Confeitaria-Porto_Porto_District_Northern_Portugal.html), which was overlooking the ocean… so we walked in and got a table and ordered coffee and some mushroom and bacon croquettes as well as a turnip green and game meat pie. I have eaten croquettes before, many times but never tried mushroom and bacon ones.. they were yum and so was the turnip green pie… A good start to the trip so far…
After returning back to the aparment, most people took a siesta… I couldn’t so I worked on this blog post and enjoyed the surroundings. After a while some of the other family arrived and we headed for lunch. We walked out and found a hole in the wall called Cafe Concha (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g800271-d5587815-Reviews-Pastelaria_Snack_Bar_Concha_Lda-Sao_Martinho_do_Porto_Alcobaca_Leiria_District_Ce.html), it smelled delicious outside and there was no menu inside… perfect! Most of us ordered fish, I had the most delicious plate of sardines- yum! Some people had salmon which was great as well!
All the food was yummy… we walked out and found a store selling and sampling port. I tasted some white port for the first time and boy was it delicious! We immediately bought some to take home. The rest of the day was more walking around and enjoying the beautiful city and enjoying a delicious, fancy meal at a place called Cafeina (http://www.cafeina.pt/en/), which our apartment owners recommended. It was a lovely space and the food was yummy. I couldn’t take a good enough photo as it was quite dark. The restaurant menu had mostly fish and seafood. We had some delicious salads and I ate stuffed octopus with delicious shrimp. The dinner was amazing and the first day was a success! Looking forward to the rest of the vacation…
Porto, London and Edinburgh… Here I Come!
So, it is time to do some traveling again! This trip is with a big group of people- all family but we will be 15 of us in Porto. We have been doing a big family trip now for 3 years and it is a lot of fun. There is a lot of planning that goes into it but in the end, it is really worth it.
We have been to Lisbon a few years ago and it was wonderful. I loved the city, the people and the food. It was an easy trip to take and a quick flight helped as well! While coming up with a destination for the family, we had a few things to keep in mind- it had to be moderate temperatures- nothing super hot… otherwise one can’t walk around and sightsee, it also had to have a nice town and preferably close to the ocean. Our first choice was Majorca but then with the really hot weather and super high airfares, we decided to look for another option. Porto came to mind as it was easy to get to, has good weather and it’s home to Port wine!!! Sign me up, I thought, especially since we had such a great time in Lisbon!
So we will be in Porto for 5 nights and then we go off to London and Edinburgh. We have been to both cities before but some of the family members have not… so for me it will nice to revisit the beautiful cities and eat some delicious food… oh and spend time with family!
Stay tuned….
Naples- Last Day!
I am thrilled to be here in Naples but am disappointed that we only allotted 2 nights for this fabulous city. For me the highlights have been Bologna and Naples. Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano and Capri were very nice but I think I like the cities- so much more to explore and so much more to eat! Well, there was plenty to eat in Sorrento as well- we did have some yummy meals but nothing compared to the big cities.
Morning started the usual way, exercise and breakfast… we ventured out soon after that and headed to the National Archeological Museum which is very close to our hotel. It was filled with all the artifacts from Pompeii… it was fascinating! After a few hours, we headed to a very highly rated dessert place called, Pasticceria Poppella…it was delicious stuff, but to go. We ate some pastries and realized a very high rated pizza place was just a 100 feel away, called Pizzeria Oliva. We walked over and saw a crowd waiting outside, we put our names down and found out there would be about a half an hour wait. As we waited with the rest of the crowd, one of the owners came out and started giving out small fried pizzas to everyone- topped with mozzarella cheese and a bit of sauce- they were delicious… small pillows of fried dough, not greasy at all. He then brought a bottle of beer and poured it for some of the people. After about 45 minutes our turn came and we ordered the fabulous pizzas- one with mushrooms and the other one with spicy salami. The pizzas were delicious- better than yesterdays! Yummy sauce, cheese and toppings!
After a very satisfying meal, we walked around the city for another few hours and finally got back to our hotel to rest our tired feet and have a drink and sit in the courtyard… Time to research dinner places!!!
So, we didn’t do any research and decided to jus walk out and explore. We walked and walked and finally came up with a place to go- La locanda dei borboni… it was empty when we got there- which was at 8:30 but as we sat down, the place started to get crowded. We started off with a fabulous bottle of red wine- it so good… ordered an octopus salad to start. We also got fried calamari and shrimp, a gnocchi with seafood and spaghetti with anchovies, pine nuts, raisins and crushed crackers- that one was mine and it was delicious- more Sicilian flavors with the sweet and savory- I love that flavor profile and so I was delighted with all the food- it was all delicious… what a nice way to end the trip! I ended the evening with a panna cotta with a berry sauce on top- exquisite!
So, my final thoughts…well, this trip has been fabulous and feel lucky to be able to experience different cultures myself and also expose my daughter to all the world has to offer outside of the US. I will fondly remember Bologna and Naples. I enjoyed Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano and Capri but Naples has definitely captured my heart… and I can’t wait to come back!
Sorrento to Naples, Yay!
Half of our last day in Sorrento was spent in Pompeii- what an amazing site it is… we took a break in between and ate some snacks before exploring some more of the ancient city… by the time we got back to our hotel, it was after 5 pm. We were very tired… our feet were killing us as the streets in Pompeii were very uneven.. after resting in our hotel for a couple of hours and drinking a glass of Prosecco, we ventured out to enjoy the last evening in Sorrento. We had scouted a restaurant that was a bit off the beaten path, Il Ritrovo… it had decent ratings on trip advisor, so we decided to go ahead and try it. We started with the calamari- which was really yummy… nicely fried and great seasoning. We also got the pasta vongole, bolognese and a filet of fish. The bolognese was the best of all the dishes. Overall, it was good- not spectacular but quite good.
We walked around a bit more and soaked in the lovely town and came home to pack and get ready to leave for Naples the next morning. I have been looking forward to Naples as it is supposed a gritty, old city filled with delicious food.
We woke up, ate breakfast and took the train to Naples and got out into the bustling city- very different from Sorrento. Sorrento was beautiful, filled with loads of tourists. Naples is crowded, old and filled with street foods- which is what I look for when traveling to new destinations.
We took a cab and arrived at our hotel, Hotel Piazza Bellini ten minutes later. Our room wasn’t ready, so we dropped our luggage off and set out to explore and look for a pizza place for lunch. We found, Antica pizzeria e friggitoria Di Matteo– yummy, yummy! We ordered the margherita with buffalo cheese and also one with funghi or mushrooms. We washed the yummy pizza down with white wine and beer. It was a bustling pizza place with a long line outside…
After sitting there for a bit, we ventured out again, exploring the windy, cobblestoned streets. Of course if was time for a gelato break- Scimmia Factory! We soaked in a bit more of the city and then walked back to the hotel to get our room and unpack. After a bit of rest, we ventured out again. Naples reminds me of a dirtier version of Rome- without all the excavations and monuments all over the city… it is the kind of place one needs at least a week at a time to explore. We only have 2 nights and I am already thinking when I can return to this vibrant place!
We sat down for a glass of Prosecco to give a rest to our tired feet. We sat in a small piazza watching all the locals walking by… soon there was an amazing street band that started performing- it was a great evening. As we sat, I researched some restaurants for dinner and found Tandem, a small restaurant not so far away from where we were. We got there as they were opening at 7 and were the first ones there- as usual! The restaurant was all about ragu… we ordered some pasta with ragu and a bowl of ragu with bread. We also got some salad and a bottle of Gragnano, a red bubbly… The meal was delicious but unfortunately I was too full for dessert. 
After a bit more strolling we returned to our hotel… city was buzzing but we were tired and wanted to take it easy and prepare for a full day of exploration- as it is our last day in Naples and Italy!