Portugal trip Part 1

 

Lots and lots of photos to share from our Portugal trip. It was a great two weeks of adventure.

Your eyes do not deceive - ancient building with modern grass cutting robot

Pigeon coop

rabbit hutch

Dessert - all edible -Sancho pepper and almond bark with hibiscus and lychee drizzled with miso caramel

We stayed at a gorgeous resort Penha Longa for the first week. Along with a golf course, beautiful pool, spa, and gourmet chocolate store, there were a myriad of ancient buildings woven in with the modern facility. This was the site of the first convent of Hieronymite Order in Portugal founded in the 14th century. There is a monastery with a church and various outbuildings that have survived all this time. It is a very popular wedding venue and three were scheduled while we were there which included a three day Indian wedding ceremony. Impressive. Their selection of restaurants included Midori - a Michelin star Japanese/Portuguese restaurant that we were thrilled to attend. 10 courses and wine pairings - absolutely fantastic meal.

very spooky slippery well - Masonic rituals are rumored to have happened here

In between golf rounds (which all seemed to require a long bus ride away) we went to Sintra. Had a great guided tour of the area. A long time resort area, it is home to palaces, ancient castles, parks, and close to the beach (Atlantic Ocean).

Chef Filipe at his restaurant Garum

We had a lot of fun food experiences including a 45 year old fresh fish restaurant called Furnas do Guincho right by the water and a memorable experience at Chef Filipe's restaurant Garum in Lisbon (who is friends with our chef Chad at the club in Naples). He closed the restaurant for our group and produced a multi course tasting menu like no other. More very fresh fish!

Tuk-tuk

The food tour continued with a tuk-tuk tour of the big sights and sounds of Lisbon. We stopped at Pasteis de Belem a world famous bakery founded in 1837. Their most famous pastry are mini egg-custard pies made with a secret recipe that is framed inside. The Catholic monks invented these using egg yolks only. The egg whites were used for starching clothes back then. The lines are always out the door and thousands are sold every day. Our guide got us all one - really good stuff with cinnamon and sugar dusting on top.

before we destroyed the kitchen - that's the cataplana in the background left.

Our final food adventure in the Lisbon area was a cooking school experience. We've done quite a few cooking classes but this was quite unique. It was a terrific way to experience regional Portuguese cooking. It's run by two sisters who grew up on a farm and they really knew their stuff. There were ten of us broken out into couples to cook, bake, and generally do a lot of prep work for an entire meal. Appetizers, entree, and dessert. Great food and of course Mark has ordered the pot that the entree was cooked in. It's called a cataplana. Has not been delivered so can't give you results yet. 

I will be back to you with part 2. Our second week was a totally different experience in northern parts of Portugal.

Star Mountain 2026

 

Marvelous to be back in the mountains. We come back in May, always aware that the weather is not stable and freezing temps along with a flurry of snow are possible at any point. Freeze date in our area is June 10. All things are green and wildflowers bursting forth. The flowers are early, as expected, as a record low winter snowpack makes for a condensed blooming season. "Our" cattle have arrived two days ago which is super early. Our cattle rancher Burt knows grass will be eaten up quickly and unless decent rainfall occurs he will have to sell his cattle earlier than the normal October time frame. It's a fairly grim forecast overall. But you wouldn't know it right now - all looks normal except the low amount of snow on the surrounding peaks. Prayers for soaking rain!

We did have a snow event and freezing temps which lasted all of a brief morning. Fun to see. And the hummingbirds (who were waiting for us as we arrived) did not seem too bothered.

We've seen a wide range of the  wild animals that we coexist with. Elk, deer, coyote, great horned owl, grouse, hawks, rabbits, no moose yet but a neighbor did see a bear go into our woods last week. The birds are also here in mass. They start their day singing at 5:20am...a tad early for me.

red tail hawk overlooking the hummingbird feeders

I made it up to Crested Butte with my friend Kim to investigate how the town is holding up. It was astonishingly quiet as summer season has not quite gotten here.  Many restaurants were closed but happily one of our favorites (Ryce) was open and welcoming. The never ending staff shortage is still in effect in CB with many restaurants closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays.  We did find a new ice cream place to try. Well, Kim was the main experimenter. She said good not great. I personally had never heard of New Zealand ice cream - who knew... 

Mark and friend Steve (Kim's husband) are off on a fishing trip in the Black Canyon. It involves a mile hike down to the water, two nights out camping, and food provided by the fishing guide. Hope they're having a great time and catching lots of fish.

We have a big trip coming up - Portugal.  we've never been so quite excited. I'll be back to share the photos.