WHAT'S PORTUGUESE FOR POISONOUS?

Bom Dia,
Thanks to J&A again for their welcome comments. I thought all swans were property of the monarch but I suppose she doesn't want a dead swan leaving outside Buck House. Similarly we were reluctant to take a live swan back on the bus, let alone slaughtering it on the campsite!
But along with the usual weird and wonderful things we buy at markets, the safest bet we thought were what looked like fava beans. Dried but kept in water they resembled butter beans and are ubiquitous at any Portuguese market. The old crone we bought from babbled to us in Portuguese, none of which we understood, but got the gist that they needed to be soaked and peeled. How hard could it be? 1 kilo was less than a euro so it wasn't a great expense. I soaked them for about 9 hours, boiled them for another 2 hours by which time they were still rock hard. So peeled them, soaked them for another 30 hours then cooked them in tomatoes and onions for 2 hours and we ate them. Still rock hard. So cooked the remainder of these for another hour but still hard. So what to do with there aiming 750 grams. Check the Internet.
These were the infamous bitter lupin beans. To avoid poisoning they need - soaking overnight, draining and boiling in salted water for 2 hours (so far so good), draining, putting in a bucket under running water for 7 - 14 days (oh dear), boiling for another 2 hours (oh dear, oh dear), finally pickling in salt, vinegar and brine. Otherwise, lupin poisoning: dilated, unresponsive pupils, confusion, slowed thought and disorientation, fever, high heart rate and blood pressure, slurred speech, incoordination, dizziness, burning dry mouth, stomach pain and anxiety.
As this is our usual Monday morning feeling I think we got away with it! The remaining beans have been disposed of safely.
We now find ourselves in Guincho, about a 10 km cycle from Cascais.

The campsite in a pine forest has great views

And the town itself although quite touristy, therefore more expensive, is still pretty. 

It has a thriving market with many interesting non-bean related stalls including a craft beer stall which has many Belgian bottles and some Portuguese craft beer called Vadia or something similar, a refreshing change from Superbock, Cintra and Sagres. 

We also discovered in a converted fort next to the beach, a Michelin starred restaurant, opened by a 3 star French chef from Paris. Well, thanks to Hull City getting relegated and an unknown benefactor called Brian, we had the funds to visit.

It is called 

Fortaleza de Guincho and was really fantastic. A number of very interesting canapés and amuse bouches were followed by foie gras (not again!) sea bass, black pork and pork cheek, a pre-dessert and a tasty raspberry concoction, then petit fours and coffee. A superb wine list and altogether a real highlight. Some of the intricacies in the courses had to be seen to be believed and the presentation was definitely three stars. It was good to see that a lot can be made of staple Portuguses ingredients given the right chefs. 

We are now a couple of bus rides away from Cintra so next post will be largely devoted to this old royal retreat and its buildings. Thanks to all for reading, including, strangely two hits from Armenia! 

Adeu,

J&P

WE DID NOT OVERSPEND!

Bom Dia,
Another day, another country.
Thanks to A&J and Deb for their comments.
I do indeed remember my sporting injury which necessitated my visit to A&E. The cause of which I rarely mention. But those kerbs on the crazy golf course were lethal!
I have been keeping check of footie results where possible. Loved beating Liverpool and then great result yesterday!
Before we left the UK our policy stated that we eat out one or two days a week and cook for ourselves the other five days. In fact it has been the reverse. But I maintain we did not overspend: we were merely trying to bolster the downtrodden economies of France and Spain.
We have noticed that food is getting cheaper in Spain; 3 courses for 10 Euros is quite normal but the ingredients are often a bit more basic. Rabbit, pigs cheeks, eggs, pasta etc especially when you get out of the towns. So to Portugal and if you thought food was cheap in Spain then this is a real shock.
We are staying half way up a mountain in a pine forest near Tomar. The benefits are the views

And the lovely walks through the forest.

The downside is the one bus a day at 7am into Tomar. Fortunately on market day there is an additional bus at 9.30 which meant we got to see a very busy and  old fashioned market. We have seen most things in our world travels in markets, including skinned dogs for sale in Vietnam But this is the first time we have seen a live swan. I imagine for eating but it's not been on the menu yet. It would probably not be on the menus we have had. In the hamlet next to the campsite in a place called Aboboreiras which is not even on the map, they offer 3 courses for 9 euros. The starter is a selection of tapas, olives, black pudding, spicy sausage and bread, main is either chicken or fish with loads of tasty potatoes and salad and pudding is a sort of Portuguse trifle. Not gastronomy but tasty all the same. With it we shared a litre of house white and finished with two coffees which we were to find were all included in the 9 euros per head! 

Tomar is a delightful large town with lots of little cobbled streets but its main attraction is the World 

Heritage Convent which is beautiful.

And the town itself is nicely laid out.

And the beer here is 90 cents for a bottle of 5.2% Superbock (33cl) or a litre of the draft for just 1.6 euros. Sounds ok to me and the weather is warming up nicely if a little windy. Can't complain though!

Adeu

J&P 

PAIS VASCO

Kaixo!
Another midweek post as some of our future sites have limited wifi.
So into Spain and the Basque Country, hence the unpronounceable greeting and farewell. Our first stop is San Sebastián and our campsite on top of the surrounding mountains about 30 minutes bus ride away. We need to remind ourselves not to use the satnav as it led us down single track roads which were strictly not big enough for our vehicle. Luckily nobody else was stupid enough to use these tracks so we had no crisis. Pan comido as they say in Espana.
We haven't exactly found the sun as J&A suggested but we weren't too worried in San Sebastián as it is a very atmosheric and elegant city and well worth a visit. The old town has interesting bars and shops and narrow streets and views to the cathedral and the new town below.

Good old Don Quixote and Sancho Panza ride along the promenade.

The local museum and art gallery are well worth a visit although it is so big and has so many diverse exhibitions that it is a bit much to take in. Not hard to take in is the marvellous food on offer. There seem to be bars and restaurants on every corner and most buildings in between. The one below had been recommended and we worried that it might have become a bit tired but the pintxos (like tapas but a bit more sophisticated) were brilliant. Various fishy toppings on bread, light and tasty croquetas de queso, carrilleras (beef cheek) and despite what I said in my last post, the most delicate, delicious grilled foie gras (speciality of the casa, couldn't resist!) that we had ever tasted. Washed down with a couple of glasses of Txacoli, which is a local young wine that is poured from a great height to give it a bit of fizz. Nearly all the locals seemed to drink it. And all this for under 25 Euros! Really extraordinary value.

A misty view from our campsite. A lovely position but when the weather came in, you couldn't see a yard in front.

A few lovely walks whilst the weather was kind. On the way back it rained solidly and you couldn't see a thing. Fortunately there was a bar half way home which provided melt in the mouth jamon iberico and a beautifully fresh tasting tortilla patatas. 

As we approached Bilbao temperatures scarcely reached double figures. We are staying at Islares, a couple of non-coordinated bus rides from Bilbao. Not quite as atmospheric as San Sebasian but it does have the extraordinary Guggenheim Museum which is amazing inside and out and was the real reason we visited. Sadly the exhibitions were less inspiring. The ground floor had some pretentious installation by Richard Serra,  the second floor was closed and the top floor was dedicated to a retrospective of  Niki de Saint Phalle who I first came across at the Nice Modern Art museum and enjoyed but a whole floor at the Guggenheim was just a bit too much.

One of Nikki de Saint Phalle's external sculptures.

There is also a very good fine art museum but at the end of day and all that art we just skimmed the surface. 

As you can see below, the weather cheered up for our last day and we ate at a local restaurant offering  superb fish amongst other things albeit at a price. But considering it was a whole sea bass and a whole monkfish it wasn't too bad. 

Egun Ona Izan! As they say in these parts. Thanks for reading. More next time. 

J&P

WHO SHRANK MY TROUSERS?

Bonjour,
Our journey moves us south to a village I read about a few years ago and have since wanted to visit. The place is called Oradour sur Glane and in WW2 was the site of a SS division massacre of all the inhabitants save 5 who managed to escape. The troops completely surrounded the village, rounded up all the inhabitants from 8 months to 80 and shot them all. As a memorial the Government decided to leave the village as it was when the Germans left and built another town to its side.

It is certainly a very atmospheric place although sadly it would seem few lessons have been learnt.

Onwards to Sarlat which is in the very foodie Perigord region. We first visited here over 30 years ago.   The medieval centre is much the same and the crowds just as numerous. Like most of these heritage sites there are just a profusion of shops selling the same things - in this case anything related to geese and ducks. Foie gras in particular comes high on the list. Although there are apparently more humane methods applied these days, I am a bit wary about the ethics of la gavage and opted out of a trip to see it. So neither did we eat it, tasty as it undoubtedly is. But we still had our fair share of goose products - goose rillettes, goose breast, duck legs - the list is as large as my expanding waistline! 

The old goose market square, above.

The market on Saturdays, below, is huge and sells pretty much everything, goose related. 

Our campsite, below, was a short, steep climb from Sarlat. It had lovely views and also the opportunity of our first game of tennis.

I don't think rich food agrees with me anymore. It makes me dream. Other people's dreams are notoriously boring but I was concerned about the images of the former Open and U.S. Golf champion, Tony Jacklin and a duck. The final scene that awoke me in a sweat revealed said golfer lying seemingly dead but still in his trademark Pringle sweater amongst the semi-rough at Hoylake next to, what can only be described as a late mallard. I think I'll keep off the goose for the moment.

We're off to the Spanish Basque region next, so more when wifi next becomes available.

A bientot,

J&P

RURAL FRANCE

Bonjour,
Unusually for us we are staying awhile in rural surroundings. Normally, because of the van size we avoid single track roads but not this time. On the theory that if there is a campsite we must be able to get there we have taken small roads to some delightful spots.
Our first site was close to Le Bec Hellouin notable only for its huge abbey shown in the two pictures below. The site was quite isolated but had decent facilities like an indoor pool, cafe and cheap beer.
I'm sure, like the British, the French complain about EU bureaucracy but they tend to ignore it; hence cider made on the site and sold in unmarked bottles at 2.5 Euros. Very good too!

The small town was being dug up and the abbey grounds was having archaeological excavations so after a brief visit and sight of a few monks and nuns the only thing to do was have lunch. Two of the 

three restaurants were shut so we went to Restaurant de la Tour.  It had two menus, one at 20 Euros 

which seemed fine but the one at 33 Euros was right up my street. Oysters, a pear sorbet and calvados palate cleanser, Ris de Veau, selection of cheeses and finishing with a Bavarois. Pauline opted for the seafood platter to start (so large help was needed in finishing it), filet of Turbot, cheese and a tarte tatin. In the end chef was 'desolee' that she only had 5 oysters left so we shared them as a pre-starter and I had a trio of fish tartare to begin. Washed down with a very pleasant muscadet sur lie we were well satisfied. Ris de Veau may not be to everyone's taste but veal sweetbreads are one of my real favourites when I can find them. Only disappointing note was that the restaurant was completely empty save us; pretty unusual for lunchtime in France but perhaps the prices kept the locals away.

Then onwards to Ustre, an even smaller settlement between Tours and Poitiers. If the weather had been better we might have enjoyed the outdoor heated pool and the crazy golf but despite the pictures below it tipped down most of the time and we decided to hibernate for the week. There were some nice walks but the nearest small town of Ingrandes - second picture below - had little to offer. We complain about our rural public transport but despite its train station there was one train a day at 7am so was unused. Also no buses! 

  Despite this, Ustre did have a restaurant, open for lunch 7 days a week and run by an Anglo French couple. It did a simple but tasty 3 course lunch, pate, duck confit and lemon tart, for 12.50 Euros and on the Monday we went it wax full entirely of locals, nearly all farm workers who ate there every day. 

Our motorhome may look nice and secure but we were one of the few which didn't have to be towed out by the owner's tractor! So with weather improving we move further south. Thanks to J&A for their comments. Glad you enjoyed your Rheinland trip. More next week.

Adieu,

J&P

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Hi Everybody,
I hope this first post finds you all well.
As promised a few photos from our South Africa trip in February. Loads to see and do but the animals are the stars.

I might include a few more in future posts if we are not in a very photogenic place.

This trip takes us first to Blenheim Palace which we have never visited. Absolutely superb building with fantastic grounds. Only downside is the modern insistence on placing contemporary 'installations' in (here anyway) Georgian rooms. Who wants to see plastic crabs piled on the carpet of a Georgian interior: or a pile of stools rising up to an ornate ceiling. I'm afraid I just don't get it.

Nothing better than a UK break when the sun shines.

Listening to the Churchill wartime oratory was particularly spine tingling and you can't help being thankful that Ed Milliband was not PM in those days. Try doing the 'fight them on the beaches' speech in Milliband speak. Makes you shudder. (Other contemporary politicians are available for ridicule.)

So, on to Brighton. A fun city with lots of attractions. Loved the Royal Pavillion and the eclectic museum. Great street corner locals still abound even though the days of 1 pub per 30 people have long gone. Prices though are at least £1 per pint more than Manchester. An added bonus at the weekend was the Jaguar rally which was right up my street.

Next will see us across the Channel in a couple of rural locations. More next week - wifi permitting.

Cheers

J&P