Portugal

Óbidos

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Imagine that the year is 1282 and that you are king D. Dinis. What wedding present would you choose to impress your bride, Isabel of Aragon?

1) a passionate “cantiga de amor” (a medieval love poem);

2) a state-of-the art ship that can crest ocean waves without capsizing;

3) silk and jewels;

4) a medieval town.

If you guessed 4), you are correct. King Dinis offered Queen Isabel the town of Óbidos. And, while the gift might seem extravagant, Queen Isabel repaid it many times over by helping the poor and maintaining peace in the realm.

Óbidos’ beauty is unique. Inside the castle walls it is easy to imagine we are in the Middle Ages and that we might bump into the “Lidador,” the knight who helped conquer the town in 1148.

If you cannot afford giving your loved one a medieval town, you can settle for the next best thing: a visit to Óbidos.

Matraquilhos

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This unpronounceable word is the Portuguese word for table soccer. In the old days, many Portuguese wasted their youth learning the fine motor skills needed to control the ball. Even today, table soccer remains popular. So, if you see a table at a local café, don’t be afraid to join in. You will be surprised at how easy it is to start playing and at how much fun it can be.

Portuguese corn bread

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Broa is a delicious corn bread that is a great complement to many Portuguese dishes (if you guessed that broa goes great with grilled sardines, you guessed right).

For a while broa was hard to find in urban areas where people preferred bread made with white flour. But, over time, urbanites saw the error in their ways, so now you can find broa almost everywhere. The texture and color varies by region but the taste is always deeply satisfying.

300 years of brewing

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The Portuguese produce wonderful coffee. “It tastes like cognac,” an American friend said, admiring the smooth taste of Delta coffee. This coffee is so good that Delta exports it to Brazil.

It has taken three centuries of experience in three continents to learn to roast coffee that tastes like no other. All so that we can wake up in a good mood, looking forward to our first cup of brew.

Click here to visit Delta‘s web site.

Boia Bar

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Boia Bar Composit

At Boia Bar, a restaurant in Salema, near Lagos, Algarve, we always feel we are in a movie set. Everything is too perfect to be real. The restaurant is right on the beach. At dinner time you see the sky drowned in yellow and the sea getting ready for sunset, covering its dark blue color with washes of lighter hues. The warm air and the fresh sea breeze create the perfect temperature. Then, the wine and food arrive.

The best item on the menu is the “robalo” (sea bass) grilled Algarve style. Before grilling, the chef makes diagonal incisions on the fish and fills them with thin slices of garlic and some olive oil. It’s that simple. But simple things are often the hardest. You have to have the freshest fish. You have to know the right temperature for the coal, the right amount of salt to use, the right moment to take the fish from the grill to the table. It’s this perfection of simple things that you can enjoy at Boia Bar.

Rua dos Pescadores 101, 8650-199 Salema, tel. 282 695 382, email: boiabar@mail.telepac.pt, click here for website.