vacation: obidos and coimbra, portugal
Breakfast on the way out of Lisbon. We end up at a café even though Alyssa and Tom wanted to try Portuguese McDonald’s, but they had no coffee and were not open for breakfast. Instead we had a final tasty pastel de nata and ordered some strange chocolate orange soda that was as odd as it sounds. Soda pop with pulp in the bottom is a fair common occurrence.
We decide to take the Alenquer wine road through the Estremurada region. Several failed attempts to find the first winery gets us to a wine museum, where a nice lady directs us down the road to Quinta da Pancas and Quinta Boavista. On our way out we pass a group of girls dressed in bunny costumes for Easter who do a dance and give us chocolate eggs.
Quinta da Pancas has neon green grape leaves with black T-vines. The sun reminds me of Tuscany, only lizards run up and down the walls. As Alyssa pokes her head out of an abandoned door with a mask on for a photo, the owner of the vineyard comes out to talk with us. He points us in the direction of yet another vineyard, and in the end none of them are open or tourist friendly or require appointments.
Instead we follow the lines of wind turbines up to the top of a hill, where we picnic under a giant spinning tower. The sound is peaceful, and despite the flies and ants, the picnic is a success. The Quinta da Pancas wine I ended up buying from the museum is delicious with the cured meats. Portuguese cheese proves again to be a disappointment, and has gotten sweaty in the sunshine.
Off to Obidos, the castle walled town where there is ginja tastings everywhere. The whole town with its white walls and bright blue and yellow paint smells of fresh flowers. Outside of the castle walls there are so many trees with purple flowers, I can’t stop taking photos.
We manage to avoid accidents with all the crazy Portuguese drivers as we arrive in Sintra, listening to two CDs I bought along the way. One with a mustached man with a giant accordion, and another that I think translates into the vampires of Coimbra.
We have a long dinner at A Taberna, which explodes with garlic aroma the minute we walk through the door. The wine, 2001 Sidonia de Sousa Reserva Tinto from Bairrada is amazing. The food is incredible… flavorful meats served table side, covered in their own juices and then paired with as many sides as you could hope for.
We take the city streets the mile back to walk off our dinner. Trying to capture the beauty of a European town at night along the way, but never quite succeeding.
Tomorrow: Porto
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