I originally intended to write a post about Neuschwanstein. But, due to the pandemic, the number of visitors inside the castle was limited, by the time I looked up tickets for King Ludwig II’s fairytale castle, it’s already sold out. There were tickets available at the Hohenschwangau Castle, however, given that it was a beautiful autumn day after a streak of rainy days , I decided to stay en plain air and enjoy the natual settings – mountains & lakes – around the castles.
Continue reading “Mountains, Lakes & Castles”Arrival in Munich
I just completed my first trip outside of Portugal since my move to Lisbon. It’s also my first “international” trip after the start of this pandemic. I was super excited, yet nervous about being in a crowded space – airports, airplanes, trains, restaurants & concert venues, you name it – In the end, my fear was overcome by the great yearning to travel, to be in some place else. So there I went.
Continue reading “Arrival in Munich”Lisbon Day Trip: Queluz National Palace
Queluz National Palace is located in the city of Queluz, midway between Lisbon and Sintra on the Linha de Sintra railway line, making it an easy day trip from Lisbon.
Continue reading “Lisbon Day Trip: Queluz National Palace”Há Caracóis!
Summer in Portugal is the time to eat Sardinhas Grelhadas (grilled sardines) and Caracóis (Portuguese snails). While the sardine season starts right around June – before the famous Santo António Festival, the Há Caracóis (Have snails) sign pops up in most restaurants/tascas shortly after the Easter holiday.
Algarve, Portugal
You know you are with the right travel companions when after a trip, no only you still talk to one another, your friendship strengthens.
To be honest our week-long trip to the Algarve and Alentejo wasn’t entirely incident free – First, on the day of the departure, our Airbnb host cancelled our accommondation; Then we smoked the clutch on our manual rental car at one of the longest bridges in Europe; Thirdly we encountered a wildfire outburst, as soon as we reached the Algarve, near Monchique, it burned all night long, even spread to Portimão; Finally, just as we thought it wouldn’t get any worse, we scratched the side of our car making a tight turn in the medieval street of Estremoz Castle – Thank you American Express Platnium card!
Continue reading “Algarve, Portugal”Recipe: Chinese Braised Spare Ribs
I made Chinese braised spare ribs for a dinner party yesterday and it became one of the favourite dishes of the night.
Here is how I made it.
Continue reading “Recipe: Chinese Braised Spare Ribs”Lisbon Legends
Last week we went for an “immersive experience” called Lisbon Legends – a 360º multimedia show that takes us through the legends and historical episodes of Lisbon’s 7 hills – inside the ruins of the Carmo Convent, a 14th century Gothic style convent destroyed by the 1755 earthquake.
Recipe: Purslane Salad
I picked up a bag of organic purslanes for €0.78 at the farmers market and decided to turn them into a salad.
Arrábida Natural Park, Portugal
At the end of May, we made a day trip to Arrábida Natural Park on the Setúbal Peninsula.
We started the day with a visit to the Palmela Castle.
Recipe: Summer Fruit (Apricot & Plum) Cake
This recipe of Moelleux of Summer Fruit from David Lebovitz popped up in my Instagram feed the other day. I happened to have some local apricots and plums from my visit to Caldas da Rainha in central Portugal. So I decided to give it a try. It was super easy to make and turned out beautifully.
