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<\/a>Back home Lu\u00c3\u00ads was working on the attached house, cleaning it up. I think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rented it for a couple of nights. I decided I was diving into the bread just to taste it. It took a really sharp blade to cut through it. I took off a small piece. It was brown bread inside , like a whole wheat, I buttered it and bit in. It was unbelievable- the taste of the bread was so- I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how to describe it. It was so natural. I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not supposed to eat too many carbs with bread things like that but my blood sugars have been good here so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to taste the stuff I want to taste. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m here at the train station now and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about 8 vehicles around. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how you actually get on the train from here. Everything is closed up. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1:30 in the afternoon; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a lively station. I thought there were three or four trains a day but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing going on. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like I’m in in the middle of a deserted town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another interesting day has passed. It’s a tough life!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I woke up this morning and it was supposed to be cooler today, not more than 16 but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure it will be lovely out with the sun out.By 11:20 am there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge storm cloud crossing over but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to rain. Of course first thing this morning, I check … Continue reading Wednesday, February 22, 2023<\/span>
After a shower and getting dressed, I decided I was going to run into the bakery in town. I know Trip Advisor said it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the best bakeries around. Lu\u00c3\u00ads said make sure you go in the morning. I headed down there for 10:30. There are only two loaves of bread left; the owner made me understand that I need to be there at eight in the morning. I bought the smaller of the two loaves. It was the size of a small football, outside was hard as a rock and I wondered what it was going to be like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>
At the restaurant yesterday I noticed on the menu, barnacles again; they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on every seafaring menu here. I asked the waiter about them. I asked what do they taste like- he said they taste like the sea! OK. They are very expensive about \u00e2\u201a\u00ac200 for 2 pounds so the waiter suggested, I get 100 g the next time I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m in and try them. Barnacles live on the rocks and boats and whales in tidal areas. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize that they were actual shellfish of sorts, much like shrimp and crab and lobster. But they cling to rocks using some thing that they secrete and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like concrete glue. Even scientists are trying to reproduce this glue, it is so strong. When the tide comes in, they open their shells and take in what organisms they can, and when the tide goes out, they close up their shells to protect themselves. In order to get them, and the reason they are so expensive is you have to scrape them off whatever they are attached to. Apparently that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really heavy work.
I decided to take a drive inland. One of the other ways of getting from Lisbon to to Zambujeira Do Mar is by train -the train arrives at Santa Clara Saboia, so I wanted to see what that place looked like. It would be a lovely train ride but a long journey to my village on the coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
I turned back a couple of kilometres and drove into the town of Sabo\u00c3\u00aca. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the town that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s associated with the train station but you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to hike a couple of kilometers to get the train or find a taxi. I came in to town, through the winding narrow streets, parked the car, but it almost felt like -you know when you ride into the western towns(with Clint Eastwood) on your horse and its noticed that there is a stranger in town. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I feel like. I am at the center; I found the church and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to go and photograph it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/a>
Back in Zambujeira after an interesting journey through the hills and valleys in the interior along winding roads, back to the coast, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but stop in to Estrela Do Mar, Mr Bean\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s restaurant. Lu\u00c3\u00ads told me he is a neighbour of mine on this little roadway. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the owner of the black cat. He is a farmer with about 40 head of cattle, and he grows his own crops and feed for the cattle and takes care of the daily farm chores and manages a fabulous restaurant with his wife in town. Work work work. Wow! I had another meal of his wife’s special octopus with white beans in tomato sauce and brought half of it home. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way I could eat all of that in one sitting. I had a glass of good wine to and Mr Bean said it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not expensive wine but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s from the region. I could only find it in a big carton. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how many litres – it is probably 4 L – I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy it but maybe I will when my company comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n