After an almost 24 hour trip, we made it home last night. Tired, but still excited over what we saw and ate, the Missus even more so over the weight I lost…..all that walking.
So while my internal clock gets adjusted and I catch up at work, here's a few clues as to the third country we visited. It was one with a close tie to Rhodes, which we v
isited last year….I know, I still have to get to those posts.
Though a small country, there's a ton of history here……the kinds of stuff I used to read as a kid. Knights, castles, a walled city, invading Turks!
The narrow streets and hills totally reminded me of San Francisco.
We visited one of the cathedrals in the city. Later that evening as we were passing by, we heard music emanating from the Cathedral.
We peeked in and saw several vocalists and an orchestra rehearsing. Instead of shooing us out, we were welcomed to sit and watch.
The next day we inquired about the concert and were told it was free!
So that evening we attended the performance that had an interesting history. It had only been performed once in the last hundred years! Where else can you attend a concert in a historic, 450 year old cathedral by the national philharmonic and choir for free?
We were especially surprised by the food. We hadn't hear much about this country's cuisine and was pleasantly surprised. Because of it's history, the chef's here seemed less burdened by too much tradition and we had dishes with quinoa and black rice. Still, the traditional and local food was excellent. I was especially surprised by how delicious the Fried Rabbit Liver and Melon salad was.
We also spent a couple of nights in a village where 70% of the country's fishing boats are located.
The colorful traditional blue and yellow fishing boats are still adorned with the "Eyes of Osiris". We found out that this boat design goes back to Phoenician times.
Of course the seafood was excellent.
The traditional items like Horse Stew were excellent as well.
We loved the people here. Much like the folks in Portugal, they are warm and friendly….and some, like the baker who we found down a small flight of stairs tending a 168 year old wood burning stove have large personalities.
We ordered a pizza with traditional ingredients that was very good and got his life story to boot!
All in all, it was a fantastic visit.
Even though the country is small, there's a ton of history. We managed to snag reservations for a UNESCO protected site that allows only 60 visitors a day. It was amazing.
Soon we headed back to busy Rome.
Sadly, Michelin starred Metamorphosi had to cancel our reservations because of some special event. We ended up having a wonderful meal anyway. Here's the fried lamb's brains.
We ended our trip in a town outside of Lisbon. The setting was almost out of a fairy tale, King's, Queen's, castles, and even a palace on top of a hill.
Since it was highly recommended that we take the bus up the mountain, the Missus decided that we should climb walk up.
We had quite a time!
I'll need a couple of days to regroup and recover. So until then, Cathy's still in charge. See you again shortly.