Wow, it has been a long time since I traveled for pleasure. After the amazing trip to Australia, I put travel on hold so I could search for a new job in a new city and new state. (yeah, I have wanderlust in my everyday life too.) 2019s vacation was replaced with quick trips to interview, impress and finally land the job I wanted. Happily, I moved into my new city in the Seattle area. Sadly, it was the day that that first Covid death happened in the life care facility, and the Governor announced a health emergency. Do I really need to say more?? 2020 put a halt to all pleasure travel. 2021 did not seem to hold much more, yet towards the middle of the year, things were improving. Dave and Merry Jo D MJ Binkley and I planned a trip to Bosnia and Croatia. We planned, researched, were excited; however, when it came time to book, none of us felt confident that we would be able to travel safely, or that the countries would be open to travel. Back to the drawing board we went. Canada? A trip through the Canadian Rockies? Sounded fun, but would we be given entrance?
Who knew? Alaska? Sure, that was a great idea, but Alaska has this thing called winter, so our trip would be during off season with limited travel choices. More research, more discussions, and finally we came to something we had discussed at the going away dinner before I moved. A river cruise on the Douro river in Portugal had been placed on the bucket list of places we would enjoy traveling together. Within a week, we had the trip planned, and soon after, it was booked. So, here I am, free range Brendan. Now that you have the explanation out of the way, it is time to have that glass of port and enjoy the real story.
A jetlagged, but excited Travel Brendan arrived in Lisbon early Tuesday morning. Dave and Merry Jo have been on the road for several weeks, so were at the hotel to meet me, and just like that, the band was back together. I used their room to shower, freshen up and leave my luggage while we plotted what to do with the day. Naturally our first stop was to include food, specifically, pastel de Belm at Casa Pastis de Belm. Although this
is sold throughout the city, there is only 1 bakery where the original is sold, and has been since 1837. The recipe is a secret held by 3 people, and has never been replicated. We stood in a line enjoying an unseasonable sunny day, and my Starbucks coffee. Yup, after traveling over 5200 miles, it was the from home. Sometimes slipping into a new country gently is a good thing. The pastel de Belm was as good as I had hoped. Crispy crust, and I mean truly crispy, held a sweet custard. I can see why it has been a fan favorite for so many years. Later I heard that there is a to see who the closest to the original, the winner being announced at a fish festival of all things. Sitting there with friends who are part of my family of choice, drinking coffee, eating special sweets in the sun, I had to give a huge sigh of relief. I was traveling again. My new passport, renewed during the pandemic, had its first stamp, and I was on the road in Lisbon.
time to do some serious touring. I laugh as I write this, because jetlagged Brendan was far from serious. Churches and museums are never at the top of my travel list. I will see them, and can enjoy the beauty, but unless there is a zip line from the belfry, I am not that excited by them. The pastel de Belm was actually developed in a monastery located next door to the cafe. There is a lot more history there, but I am going to glaze over it for now. We stood in line to see the Monastery of Jeronimos. The church was beautiful inside with amazing stained glass. Next door was an exhibit on Egyptian artifacts, followed by ancient art. I was punchy, cranky, and in general just full of it. The architecture of the building was magnificent, as were the courtyards and grounds. Soon, we had seen what we wanted to, and it was time to move to the next part of the day.
