It’s a Great Place to Walk

Upon first visiting NYC and Chicago and later cities in Europe, I fell in love with the ability to live, work, shop, dine, visit parks, and entertainment in a place where all these things are accessible by walking and occasional use of public transportation.  Now, part of our criteria for selecting an apartment when we travel is just these very things.

On Sunday, we took a leisurely walk along the coast.  Now, this walk is not a trek.  A very nice, paved walk winds from north to south along the scenic rocky coast.  We have not found the end to it yet.  On the way to the coastal walk, we came upon Mercado in the center of Ericeira.  Fresh produce and fish are sold here and for once for us, it was open.  As we walked through, we ogled the fruits and vegetables and watched a man cleaning freshly-caught octopus in his fish stall.  The fish in the Mercado was so fresh, there was no fishy smell. 

We made our way toward the coast through town on its tiny winding streets with houses built directly on the curb.  Just as we approached the sea, we discovered an outdoor Sunday market in full swing.  Local vendors sold the usual items like dresses, skirts, shirts, jewelry, breads, cheeses, and soaps, but this event also had small-item antiques.  The booths that rang my bell though were the fruit and vegetable stands.  We weren’t finished walking yet so we waited until our return trip to make our purchases.  Later that afternoon, we bought fragrant peaches that rival any we’ve tasted anywhere else in the world.  We bought the most beautiful fully red, ripe strawberries for 4 Euros for a kilo – that’s about $2.00 per pound.  Those berries had a drive-you-crazy-summertime taste!!  Finally, we have seen yellow beans in a liquid in just about every grocery store and market we have visited here but could not figure out what they were.  Were the fava beans, or possibly a yellow variety of lima beans?????  A covered vat of these things was at the fruit vendor’s stand.  I asked what they were.  The lady said “tremocos.”  That meant nothing to me.  I asked, “Are they beans?”  “Si!”  She took a small strainer and scooped out a few for me to sample.  The beans, also called lupine beans, were very salty and made me think of the boiled peanuts our friends in Panama City Beach used to cook and share with us.  I can see how tremocos become a similarly addictive snack.  We bought a half kilo.

Our early dinner was at Gabriel, a very popular seafood restaurant just up from the beach.  We had to wait a while but the shrimp and calamari dinner was worth it.  I simply love dining outside.

A few days ago, our lunchtime waiter in Mafra said we should visit Vila Jose Franco in Sobreiro.  Over the years we have learned the best advice as to what we should see and do in an area, comes from a fellow traveler or a local.  Vila Jose Franco was his first suggestion; we put it on our list.  The day was gorgeous so we walked there Monday morning.  It took us just 1.5 hours to travel the 5 miles.  I would have been upset had we missed this little place. 

Here’s the story:  in about 1945, Senor Jose Franco wanted to preserve for future generations a glimpse into a typical historic village in this area of Portugal.  Per Wiki in so many words, the “museum” was built by the sculptor and potter José Franco.  It represents the typical occupations of ancient Portugal in miniature scenarios, with the respective working instruments, like a windmill and waterwheel to grind wheat, corn, and grains. The condensed town included a chapel, a bakery with wood-fired ovens – can you imagine trying to cook with a wood-fired oven?  — a replica blacksmith shed an apothecary, barber, tailor, ceramic maker, carpentry shop, dentist, and more.  It was such a very interesting place!  And we would have never found it on our own.  There was no admission fee; the only income is from sales in the colorful ceramics shop and a small pao e chorizo shop.  We bought a couple of bright red ceramic pieces made here in Portugal.  Make a note, this charming little place is worth a visit.

A little into our return walk home we began to need lunch.  We had not seen many restaurants earlier along the way to Soberia.  One we passed showed possibility but the man who walked a wobbly way after leaving it made us a little leery.  We kept walking.  We picked three lemons on trees in dire need of help in an abandoned lot then we came upon “A paragem cervejaria.  Petiscos.”  (I had to look this up . . . in English:  The Brewery Stop.  Snacks).  “Hmm, would this be any good?”  But the flavors we could smell coming from there invited us in. At nearly all the tables in this busy restaurant, working craftsmen enjoyed their lunch breaks; their tables were filled with cups, bowls, and plates of delicious-looking stuff. 

We arrived a little late for lunch service.  The lamb shank, Stan’s first choice was all gone.  He chose turkey steaks with gravy instead. His dish was fantastic; a true hearty man’s dinner!  I had sopa do dia e salada mista. Yes, that’s a light meal, but I knew Stan would give me a bite!  Our food was so good and so inexpensive we might walk back there just for the meal.  A comida estava deliciosa!  Turns out this place we accidentally found is a pretty well-known place among the people who live here.

On a walk like this, we never know what we might encounter . . . how about goats?  They were so cute we stayed a while and chatted.