Day 28 - Getting to Bologn

# Gelati: 1, Distance Walked: 12.8km

Today marked the end of my Portuguese holiday and the start of my Italian one.  As I expected, I didn't sleep through my alarm.  In fact, I woke at 4am and decided to just give up and got up.  Breakfast was included in my room rate so I thought I might as well have some.

First breakfast at the hotel was a continental breakfast of salami and cheese and surprisingly decent bread.  I also had one (last) mini pastel de nata.   I then headed for the airport itself at 5am.  This was the time I had originally planned to get up.  As it turns out I'm glad I got up earlier.

I was flying TAP Portugual, which is the local airline and which has a reputation of being not very well organised.  I was flying out of Lisbon airport which has a reputation of being not very well organised.  In its defence, it is too small for the amount of traffic it has to handle.  Because of these facts I'd splurged on a business class fare.  Business class on an inter-Europe flight isn't very special.  The same seat, perhaps a little more leg room and slightly better food.  Where it pays off is on the ground.  Express check-in, express lane through security and lounge access.  You are also less likely to get bumped or have to gate check your hand luggage.

I spent 15 minutes in the check in queue (once I found the correct one) rather than the 1+ hours everyone else had to spend.  The place was a zoo and many people were getting very frazzled.  I then sailed through security, without having to queue at all.  Also no-one even glanced at my hand luggage, although other people had to gate check theirs.  My stress levels appreciated every extra dollar I spent.

I had second breakfast in the lounge.  Granola with yoghurt and fruit (+ coffee).  Sadly they had no pastel de nata.  There was a place on the buffet for them but no pastries.  I suppose that means they get them fresh daily from the bakery which is a good sign.  Shame the bakers hadn't baked a little faster.

I had 3rd breakfast on the plane.  This time I had fruit, yoghurt, cheese & salami & bread plus a pastry that had once been a croissant.  However, once it had been cooked, flash frozen, defrosted and then reheated it only resembled a croissant in its shape.  Very sad.

I got to Bologna a little after 11am.  After dropping off my suitcase at a baggage storage place I headed out for lunch.  I decided to go to the restaurant near my old apartment I went to the very first night I was in Bologna for old time's sake.  I'm so happy to be in a country where I can go into just about any restaurant and know there will be (many) things on the menu I'll like the sound of.  Of course, there is no guarantee I'll like the taste of them, but the concept will be pleasing.  Lunch was tortelloni stuffed with ricotta & spinach in a porcini mushroom sauce.  It was Good.

 I realise I've been neglecting my Italian practice.  Back home I would spend 20 minutes or so every day on some Italian revision.  I haven't done any since I've been holiday.  I had to stop and think before ordering "un bicchiere di vino rosso" rather than "un copo di vinho tinto".

After lunch it was late enough that I could check into my apartment.  It is at Via del Carro 2/2 and is called the apartment under the tower.  I had visions of it being in a tower (for some reason) and perhaps upstairs.  However, it is on the ground floor of a 3 storey building and there is no tower in sight.  My front door is the small one on the right.

Given the size of the door at #2 perhaps this building was the stables/coach house of a tower that is no longer there?  My  apartment definitely has the feel of a corner that has been walled off a larger space.  The door opens directly into my kitchen/living space.  The only window is the one above the door.  Directly opposite the front door is the door to the bedroom.  The only window in that room is a skylight.  Beyond that is the bathroom which has no windows at all.   It is bigger than the apartment I had last time but not as nicely set up.

After finding the place I headed out again to fetch my suitcase.  Once that was retrieved I headed out a 2nd time to do some shopping.  I bought some stuff for breakfast and some bread, cheese & salami for dinner tonight.  I'm too tired to stay up to a late enough to eat at a civilised hour.  

One thing I also bought was some laundry detergent.  The thieving laundromat in Lisbon had used some very strong smelling detergent which I loathed.  I rewashed everything (my apartment has a washing machine).  Sadly it came out smelling just the same.  I have accidentally bought the same brand of detergent!

My final trip out today was to buy a pretty (purple) notebook to record all my Italian lessons in.  I also bought yet another book on Italian grammar.  I remain convinced I just need to find the right book.  When I do it will automatically download all the knowledge into my brain and I'll be fluent.  

I also got myself my first Italian gelato of this holiday and ambled around a bit.  I checked I remembered where the school was.  I also found the cat charity OpShop I bought a coat from last time I was here.  I'll have to buy something from there again.

I'm now back at my apartment trying to stay awake until a sensible hour.  Shades of dealing with jetlag.  This apartment is much noisier than my previous one.  That one faced onto a rear courtyard.  This one faces right onto a street.

Tomorrow I'll do some Italian study and explore the area around my apartment.  Not sure what I'll do on Monday.  It is a public holiday here so there are no classes.  I had planned to go on a hike in the hills around Bologna but the temperature is predicted to be 31C.  Much too hot for hiking.

Day 27 - Heading back to Lisbon

# Pasteis de Nata: 3, Distance Walked: 7.8km, # Floors Climbed: 20

Today was a nothing much day.  I have a 7:20am (!) flight tomorrow morning from Lisbon airport to Bologna.  It is effectively a domestic flight but I still want to be at the airport 2 hours before just to be on the safe side.  Obviously I'm staying in an airport hotel tonight.  It is all of a 5 minute walk from the hotel to the airport, even with luggage.

The hotel is pleasant enough.  Reasonably well sound proofed.  But what is it with modern architects and glass toilet doors?

Anyway, today I started off with a leisurely breakfast at my hotel in Èvora, followed by leisurely packing, followed by a short taxi ride to the train station.  There I sat and waited for the train to arrive.  Once on the train I sat waiting for it to move.  If I say I miss the Italian railway system, that should give you a good idea of the state of the Portuguese one.

Once back in Lisbon I caught the metro to the airport.  I had to fend off several taxi touts at the airport who kept trying to drive me to my hotel.  It's all of 400m away.  I could see it clearly from the airport!

Lunch had been one very overpriced and very stale roll on the train, so once I'd checked in I headed back to downtown Lisbon.  First stop was the really good pastry shop for one last Absolutely Delicious pastel de nata and an excellent coffee.  Next stop was a good gelateria for an Absolutely Delicous gelato (pistachio and passionfruit).  I'll have to start keeping a gelati count from tomorrow.

Now I was fortified I went to visit one last museum - the museum of money.  It had a lot of interactive displays which I enjoyed.  But is it sad I could answer almost all 20 questions about the role of the Portuguese central bank correctly?

I didn't stay long as there was a group of teenagers on a school trip at the museum.  Also I didn't want to be taking the metro back out to the airport during peak hour.

Once back at the airport I went for a wander around to work out where the check-in desks were and where the entrance to security was.  I had assumed there wouldn't be a lot of traffic early on a Saturday morning.  However, there are 27 flights leaving Lisbon airport between 6:30am and 7:30am tomorrow.  It's going to be a zoo!

For dinner I ate at the hotel.  They serve a continental breakfast from 2am to 5am, a full breakfast buffet from 5am to 11am, lunch/dinner from 12pm to 12am with a somewhat expensive dinner buffet starting at 6:30pm.  Bad luck if you are hungry between 11am and 12pm or 12am and 1am.   I had the dinner buffet and made sure I got my money's worth.  

I'm now back in my room trying to convince myself I'm tired and want to go to sleep early.  I'll definitely be tired tomorrow as I'm sure I'll wake every hour or so to check I haven't slept through my alarm.  I've never done such a thing but I'll worry about it all the same.

Day 26 - Évora

# Pasteis de Nata: 2, Distance Walked: 10.6km, # Floors Climbed: 33

This morning I had organised to take a 3 hour tour of various neolithic monuments in the local area.  I had booked this some months ago with a local company headed by an archeologist.  They run tours with a minimum of 3 people and a maximum of 8.  At the time I booked I was the only person interested so I agreed to pay the price of 3 people.  It was only 30 euro a head so it wasn't too expensive.  I didn't hear anything more from them as time went on, so I assumed I would be having a solo tour.

I was told to go to an area on the edge of the old town, which was easily accessible by cars, and to look for a grey van with the company logo on it.  I got to the spot early and waited.  Eventually a dark green van with no logos showed up and a young woman got out.  Various other people who had been waiting went over to her.  Obviously being picked up for a tour.  I continued to wait.  Eventually the woman came over to me and asked if I was Barbara.  It turns out she had got fully booked for the tour and her regular van was being repaired.  It would have been helpful if she'd let me know.

Anyway, we all piled into the van and off we went to visit 3 different sites.  I thought she was an excellent tour guide, if perhaps a little disorganised when it comes to administrivia.  I found it absolutely fascinating how you could draw all sorts of conclusions about how a society is structured just from a bunch of stones standing in a field.

There are over 600 dolmen (stone burial chambers) in the Alentejo region alone.  Almost all of them (95%+) face east-ish.  But a particular version of east-ish.  They face the point where the full moon rises for the first time after the spring equinox.  Determining this direction takes daily measurements over 40+ years.  Sira happily talked about what this teaches us about neolithic society for a good 30 minutes.  I was enthralled.  Perhaps some of my fellow tourist were not, but I might start reading more about archeology and how they come to the conclusions they do.  There is a lot of science behind it.

After visiting the 3 sites we had to make a detour to the company offices.  One person hadn't read their instructions and hadn't brought cash to pay for the tour and wanted to pay by card.  It turned out well for the company as many of us also brought souvenirs from their shop.  I got a t-shirt of course.

When we finally got back to Évora it was close to 2pm.  We had been supposed to get back by 1pm.  This would have been OK but a lot of restaurants shut from 2pm or 2:30pm and don't open again until dinner time.  For lunch I tried an Italian place near my hotel which stays open until 2:30pm.  However, even though I'd got there a bit before 2pm and the place was half empty they claimed they had no free tables.  

I ended up at a bakery which stays open all day (shutting at 6pm) and which also serves light meals.  I had a very Good mushroom omelette with a side salad.  I tried their molotof cake for dessert as I'd never heard of it.  It turns out to be a meringue that has been baked in a bain marie so it has the texture of a marshmallow.  It is then coated in a caramel sauce and sprinkled with nuts.  It was Interesting.

I had a bunch of other sites to visit but I decided to make my next visit to be to a pastry shop that had been recommended.  It was definitely a place for locals, not tourists.  Only one of the people there spoke a few words of English and everyone - staff and customers, besides me, was a local.  The pastry I picked at random (since we didn't have enough common language get explanations) was sadly Dull but their coffee was good.

As it was a very hot day (36C) and my pastry had been disappointing, my next stop was a gelateria.  I had pistachio and zabaglione.  It was very Good.

I then thought I really should do some sightseeing and headed to the cathedral.  On the way, I met an American man who had been on the tour that morning.  I feel no guilt about not remembering his name as I don't think I was ever told what it was.  We visited the tower (fabulous views), the cloister and the cathedral itself.  In the cathedral there was a very bored priest sitting in one of the side chapels, on the off chance someone wanted to make a confession.  He was passing the time by twisting side to side on his swivel chair.  

My American friend wanted to visit the cathedral museum but I gave it miss and we parted ways.  I decided to get a drink and sit in a park and read a book.  There was a kiosk in the park next to the Roman temple which seemed ideal.

When I got to the park I ran into an Irish-Australian woman, Liz, who had also been on the tour.  We had a drink together.  She was in her 70s I'd guess.  Before Covid she and her husband travelled a lot but his health isn't good enough to handle long-haul flights now.  She was easy to talk to.  Mainly because she did most of the talking.  I just needed to be an interested audience.  I think this is the first time she has travelled on her own and she seemed a bit lonely.

Eventually, we decided to both head to our hotels for a rest and a wash before dinner.  I hadn't enjoyed her company enough to invite her to join me for dinner, so I just heartlessly said goodbye.

For dinner I wasn't interested in trying the place that snubbed me at lunch time, so I picked another Italian place nearby - the Buona Forchetta.  This turned out to be a good choice.

It was a tiny place.  Only enough seating for 14 people inside and perhaps that many again outside.  A couple run the restaurant, Sofia and Sergio.  Both work front of house.  In spite of having 2 waiters for such a small restaurant, service was interesting.  Even though I was the first person to order, my table was the 4th to get served.  It took almost 45 minutes.  Sofia was deeply apologetic and kept saying it was coming soon but there had been a problem.  I suspect the problem was someone forgot my order.  I had the spaghetti alla carbonara which was Absolutely Delicious and the tiramisu which was the same so all is forgiven.  After all, it isn't as if I'm in a hurry.

While I was there an American family arrived.  Mother, father and 2 adult sons.  They treated the menu as a starting point.  One son tried to order one of the pasta dishes but with added chicken.  When he was told they had no chicken, he tried to get steak added to it.  When that was a no go, he tried to order a particular shape of pasta but with a different sauce to the one on the menu.  Mum and Dad ordered pizzas without one particular topping but we a different one added.  Dad also kept trying to order drinks that weren't on the menu.  It was a tiny place.  Couldn't they see what was on the menu was all the place had?

I'm pleased to say the chef refused to make the wrong pasta shape with the wrong sauce, but they did get their chosen pizzas.  I'd be curious to know how this family would fare at the restaurant I went to last night.  Would the chef enjoy trying to craft something just for them that would suit their tastes or would he be offended that they didn't want the dishes he had carefully designed?  It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall to that encounter.

Day 25 - Getting to Évora

# Pasteis de Nata: 2, Distance Walked: 9.8km, # Floors Climbed: 15

Not a lot to write about today as I spent a lot of it just sitting around.  My train wasn't until 1:30pm so I sat around my hotel until 10:30am (latest possible check-out).  I took the metro to the railway station, rather than a taxi, as I wasn't in a hurry but I still got there at 11am.  Plenty of time to kill.

The location was all a bit of a maze.  In addition to the intercity railway station, there was the metro stop, the arcade of shops that always goes with a major train station, a bus station for intercity coaches and a plain old shopping centre.  They were all connected.  

I puttered around the shopping centre for an hour, making use of the nice, clean loos rather than the nasty, smelly ones in the train station.  In there I saw a woman with suitcases who was "freshening up".  Now I've seen people in airport toilets cleaning teeth and putting on deodorant, but this woman took it to a whole new level.  She had one leg up on the basin (very flexible) and was shaving her legs!

Évora is a world heritage site, with lots of narrow, steep cobblestone streets within remnants of an old Roman city wall.  My hotel is an old 15th century house with warehouses and stables.  My taxi driver had to go around 3 sides of a square to drive up to the door, there are so many one-way streets.  Even so he only got me to the back door.  I had to climb 2 flights of stairs, with my suitcase, to get to reception.  There is a road out front but it is even narrower and most taxi drivers won't use it unless you insist.

My room is enormous.  Light and airy with barrel vaulted ceilings, which is why I suspect it is part of the old warehouse.  Their website claims all rooms have picturesque views.  I guess if you believe a view of the building across the alley is picturesque then that is true.  I did book the 2nd cheapest type of room they have admittedly.

After checking in I headed out to a pastry shop that had been recommended to me.  However, their pastel de nata was merely Good (the pastry base was a little stodgy).  OK, but not worth trekking across town for in 34C heat.  

Next stop was the Capelo dos Osso (or Chapel of Bones).  This was seriously creepy.  It is so named because its walls are made from human bones.  I would need confirmation from a real medical professional, but from my watching of too many crime shows, it appears that the horizontal bones are arm bones and the nubbly bits are the head of legs bones (the walls are that thick just the ends stick out).  The skulls are obviously skulls.  Just to add to the macabre sensation, there was a kindergarten next door so you could hear children shouting and laughing as you looked at the bones of all these people. 

Apparently the purpose of all this was to remind you that you will die, so you should behave yourself (although phrased more philosophically than that).

After this educational experience I just puttered around town planning on where to go for dinner.  I came across this sign so I had to go to this restaurant.

It was an experience.  The owner and chef, Jorge, meets every diner at the door and personally escorts them to a table, usually with a  friendly hand on your shoulder.  He sits down at your table and explains the day's menu to you.  He later comes back and takes your order.  He also comes out after each course has been served to you to check that you are enjoying it.  Understandably this means service is a little slow.  There is a waitress but her job is merely to fetch and carry.

I started with a salad of tomato and goat's cheese.  It came with 2 types of tomato and 3 types of goat's cheese and lots of different greens.  Tasty Goodness but could have used a touch more salt.

For main I had pork cheeks slow cooked in red wine.  Jorge wasn't kidding when he said he serves his meals with vegetables.  This is what I got.

The things that look like eggs are actually boiled potatoes topped with a spinach and garlic puree.  The rest of the vegetables were lightly steamed and then tossed in olive oil.  I had little piles of zatar and garlic salt to season my veg to taste.  It was all very Good.

I crammed in dessert just because.  I had a cake that was made with super thin layers of a cake made with ground hazelnuts and eggs whites and sugar, sandwiched together with layers of dulce de leche.  I should have take a side-on photo.  The whole thing was only about 5 cm tall but there were 5 layers of cake.  It was, again, very Good.

The food tonight wasn't the best I've eaten in Portugal, but the experience was easily the best ever.

Day 24 - Lisbon Museums

# Pasteis de Nata: 2, Distance Walked: 7.6km, # Floors Climbed: 24

As planned, I had a (relatively) early breakfast and the headed out to the start of the famous #28 tram route.  Unfortunately, a great many other tourists had had the same bright idea and there was a long queue.  Fortunately, I had my Kindle with me so I just waited (and waited).  I eventually got on the 4th tram (they come every 10 minutes) and I got a seat!

The route takes you up through the narrow, winding streets to the east of the city centre, then down through the centre before winding up the hills on the western side.  At times the road is so narrow you can reach out the window and touch the buildings on either side.  The trams are even smaller and rattlier than the old red rattlers in Melbourne (dating myself there).  Great fun for tourists.  Very annoying for the poor locals for whom this route is their regular transport. 

The tram dumped us all out at an interchange a bit before the end of the route for some reason.  I didn't mind.  Instead, I caught a tram on the #25 route back downtown.  It is also one of the small, old fashioned trams.  It dropped me at the Praça do Comercio where I began my tour of Lisbon museums.

First stop was the triumphal arch at one end of the plaza.  You could climb up the top and see the views.  The view that struck me the most was the sight of this enormous cruise ship.  No wonder the streets are full of tourists.

There is a clock in the arch and I was "lucky" enough to be right next to the bell at 11am, when it rang the hour.  It was loud!

Next stop was the Lisbon Story Centre which is a museum about the history of Lisbon from the earliest settlers to the present day.  There was a room where you sat, as if in church, the day of the earthquake.  It wasn't as scary as the Quake museum as it was just noise and video.  They didn't shake you around in your seat.

Last stop before lunch was the Bacalhau Interpretive Centre, which as actually very interesting.  Lots of videos and interactive exhibits as well as just photos and artifacts.  I hadn't realised how important a food source cod was for the Portuguese and what an important role it played in their history.  Canada was very nearly a Portuguese colony.

Also, I had no idea how brutal the conditions for fisherman were, even up to recent times like the 60s and 70s.  Apparently the main ship would sail out to the fishing grounds off the coast of Newfoundland and the like.  Individual fisherman where let down the side in tiny boats (dorys) and sailed away to fish.  When they'd filled their boat, they sailed back to the main ship, assuming they could find it.  They then needed to gut and salt their catch.  Each fisherman was paid individually for what they caught.  There was a room where you could sit in a full-sized replica dory, the temperature was low (but nowhere near the real temperature of the ocean) and then the boat was thrown about to replicate how rough the seas were.  I tried this before remembering how easily I get seasick.

Next stop was lunch.  I found a cafe one street back from the main drag.  It was still a terrible tourist trap but not as bad as it could have been.  I had codfish fritters (it seemed appropriate) with tomato rice and salad.  This meal, at least, had all the ingredients of a balanced meal, even if the proportions were off.  It was Decent.

After fortifying myself with lunch, I headed off to the Roman Theatre museum.  Lisbon had been a Roman city around the 1st century AD and they'd built a theatre on the hillside to the east.  It has long since been pillaged for stone, built over and damaged in the earthquake and by fires.  Parts of it are now 9 metres below ground.  They've only excavated part of it but it was still very interesting.  At the very lowest level the light was quite dim.  There were small insects flying around and a bat came out from a side opening to snap them up, even though it was mid-afternoon.  Some American tourists were freaked out.  Do bats have rabies in the US?

My final stop was the Museum of Design and Fashion.  There were two exhibits.  One was a temporary one about famous Portuguese musicians and the clothes they wore.  They had many of their stage and regular outfits.  There were also videos of each of them performing with headphones so you could listen to their music.  Their clothes were fascinating to look at.  Very theatrical, of course.  Their music was not so interesting - at least to me.

The permanent exhibit featured clothes and furniture and household items from about the 1930s to the present day.  I had fun trying to decide which pieces of furniture I'd have in my house (very few) and which clothes I would wear (assuming they were in my size) - again very few.  Although, there was a wedding dress by Worth from 1935 that was just gorgeous.  These Ugg sandals (with socks!) were not remotely gorgeous.

After this I was all museum-ed out and went the fabulous bakery from yesterday for a pastel de nata and a coffee.  It is called the Confeitaria Nacional.

I then tottered back to my hotel for a rest.  I'm on the 4th floor so I took the lift up to my floor.  When the doors opened at ground level there was an Englishwoman in the lift.  I stood back to let her leave but she said she was going up.  Where she came from was not clear to me as there is no floor below ground level.  When we got to the 4th floor she got out too and followed me down the corridor.  My room is at one end.  It turns out her room is across the corridor from mine.  She had been sitting by the pool on the 1st floor and had meant to go back to her room, but the lift had gone down rather than up.  She was about my age and build but it was still a bit creepy to have her follow me, before she explained what had happened.

For dinner I went to another Italian place near my hotel and had a pizza again.  It was Good, a bit better than yesterday's even.

However, even though I was sitting outside, I could see inside and could watch one of the chefs cooking as the kitchen was right up by the window.  He used the exact same chopping board and cook's knife to cut tomatoes and cucumber for salad, lemon for garnishes as well as gut raw fish and clean raw prawns.  

I couldn't see the chef that made the pizzas so I can only hope his hygiene was better.  Especially, as my pizza had fresh rocket, prosciutto and slices of parmesan put on it *after* it had been cooked.  I guess we will find out if I've got food poisoning in the next 24 hours or so.

Day 23 - Lisbon Food

# Pasteis de Nata: 1, Distance Walked: 11.5km, # Floors Climbed: 40

First order of business for today was to take a food tour of Lisbon.  Our guide was a young man called Duarte who was born and raised in Portugal but had spent time in London, Paris and Canada.  He had the oddest English accent.  Mostly he sounded English but at times he could pass for South African.  There were 11 of us on the tour.  All the others were American.  Eight were all ex-New Yorkers couples who now all live in the same retirement community in Florida.  The other 2 were a young couple who'd only got married the week before.  They are here on their honeymoon.  Because it is their honeymoon they are taking a whole 2 weeks off work!  

They were all very kind and friendly but straight out of central casting.  At one point 2 of the women were saying they always try to find a Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts when they travel as they have to have proper coffee to start their day.  Duarte and I both twitched but didn't say anything.

The tour was a mix of food and Lisbon history.  Duarte was much better at the history than the food.  Our first stop was at a famous old deli where we had the Portuguese equivalent of prosciutto and cheese with quince paste all washed down with a glass of port wine.  We got told all about how port wine came to be made but when it came to the rest of the food it was just "here is some cheese, it's good" (and it was).

The deli was a listed historic shop.  There are many around Lisbon.  Not only is the building protected, so is the business.  If you buy the building, not only are you unable to make significant changes to building, you can't change what business is run there either.  I also think there are limits on how much rent you can charge.  They are marked with signs like this.  When you know what to look for, they are everywhere.  Can you imagine trying to do something like that in Australia?

Next stop was for some Portuguese "fast food".  Duarte was very careful to point out this is food that is for eating quickly, not food that has been made quickly.  Instead, it is bifana which is a sauce made of pork fat, lard, wine and garlic which is simmered over night and then slices of pork are cooked in it slowly.  It is served in a bun with some of the cooking juice.  It was very Good.  We had a glass of green wine with this.

Next stop was in the Alfama district while is much older than downtown as it wasn't (as) damaged in the quake.  It is very steep and with winding streets.  Some are just staircases.  On the way we passed the smallest bookshop in the world.   It is only open when the owner can be bothered.  Here is a picture.  I'm standing in the doorway to take it.  There was perhaps 50cm between the doorway and the only bookshelf.

Are next stop was for samosas.  Portugal used to have a colony in Goa.  When this was given back to India some of the inhabitants felt more Portuguese than Indian so they moved to the nearest Portuguese colony, which was in Mozambique.  When Portugal gave up their African colonies some people came to Portugal itself.  There is now a community that mixes African and Indian cuisines.  The Americans were all amazed by the samosas.  They were good but I've had just as good ones in plenty of Indian restaurants back home.  I had a beer with these.

After this we headed back downtown to a pastry shop where I had the absolutely best pastel de nata of my holiday.  I can remember how to get to the shop but I can't remember what is was called.  I will visit tomorrow, and perhaps Wednesday morning if I can find the time before my train to Evora.  I'll take note of the name then.

Our final stop was back where we started, which was next to a shop selling ginja which is a sour cherry liqueur.  They didn't serve it in little chocolate cups which was a disappointment.

The history lesson (the quake, the colonies and the end of them, the Salazar dictatorship and its overthrow) were interesting but the tour was a little light on info about food.  The Porto tour was much better.

After the tour I headed back up the hill to visit the Castle de São Jorge.  I finally got good use out of my Lisboa card as I was able to completely ignore the queue of people waiting to get in and just waltzed right up to the gate, flashed my card and went straight in.

I spent a pleasant couple of hours wandering around here, but I have to confess I didn't climb all the towers.  I did climb most of them though.  

There are peacocks all around the grounds.  The males are the most ridiculous creatures.  It is difficult to believe those absurd tails are real.  There are signs saying not to feed them but I suspect people do.  They are very tame and one walked up to me when I was sitting down.  I could have reached out and touched it, it came so close.

After leaving the castle I decided to be a terrible tourist and take the famous 28 tram back down the hill.  I decided to be clever and walked higher up the hill in an attempt to get closer to the start.  The trams are quite small and I was hoping to be sure of getting on and, ideally, get a seat.  As I came up to a stop a crowded tram sailed past leaving 2 people waiting at the stop for the next one.

I joined the queue. On the plus side, at least I was sure I was waiting in the right place.  They are meant to run every 10 minutes or so (traffic permitting) but after 30 minutes I gave up and started walking back to my hotel, following the tracks.  I turned a corner and found a sad sight familiar to many Melbournians - a tram jam.  I'm not sure why the lead tram wasn't moving, but it clearly wasn't going anywhere and neither was any others behind it.

I've since discovered the route actually takes a big loop and the stop I was waiting at was nowhere near the start.  The start is actually all of 5 minutes from my hotel.  Tomorrow morning I'll have an early breakfast and then catch the tram from the start, before the bulk of the tourists are out and about.  I'll ride it the whole way while I'm waiting for the museums to open at 10am.

On the way back to my hotel I passed a shop selling Gelato Therapy so, of course, I indulged.  I had pistachio, vanilla with basil, and lemon with rosemary.   The gelati was merely Good but bonus points for the interesting flavours.

I just collapsed in my hotel room for a bit after all this.  I tried watching TV.  I found an English language channel with re-runs of various crime dramas which should have been a harmless why to pass the time.  However, they were subtitled in Portuguese.  I couldn't stop myself from reading them, even though I could barely understand what they meant.  I tried turning off the subtitles but the previous occupant of my room was Polish and they'd set the language in all the menus to Polish.  It took me a good half hour to figure out which menu setting controlled the language.  When I finally got it into English I discovered the subtitles were part of the broadcast and I couldn't turn them off anyway!

For dinner I went to the same Italian place I'd been to on my first night.  This time I had pizza.  The couple at the table next to me started chatting with me.  They are from country NSW.  They couldn't eat all their pizza.  It was too much for them.  I nodded and smiled as I ploughed through my entire pizza and was thinking about what to have for dessert.  I had the tiramisu al limoncello.  This was flavoured with limonello rather than coffee and marsala.  That made it (taste) much lighter than the traditional version.  It was all Good.  However, I think I'll try a different Italian place tomorrow night.

Day 22 - Belém

# Pasteis de Nata: 1, Distance Walked: 14.6km, # Floors Climbed: 12

I didn't sleep well last night.  I could have the air conditioning on, but it was quite noisy.  Also it had a bright green light on it just to show you it was working.  If I turned it off and just opened a window I was too hot.  Also, when I looked out my window this morning I noticed this chimney.  Is it just me or is that the sort of chimney they have at crematoriums?

Today my plan was to visit various sites and museums in the suburb of Belém which is about 8km out of the centre of Lisbon.  

Step 1 was to pick up my Lisboa Card.  This card gives me free public transport and free entry to about 50 museums plus discounts to various others.  In theory this should have been easy.  I ambled to the closest place listed on their website for card collection.  I got there as they opened at 10am only to be told it wasn't possible to get my card there.  Instead, I had to go to somewhere completely different to get it.  Fortunately, that place was close by.  

Next step was to get to Belém.  There are 3 options - tram (slow and crowded), bus (slow and crowded) or train (much quicker).  I assumed it would also be less crowded but it turns out it is the train to Cascais.  While about 10,000 other people had the same smart idea as I did, another 50,000 had decided to spend the day at the beach so the train was crowded too.  (Those figures might be a slight exaggeration.)

First stop was an amble along the waterfront to the Monument of Discoveries where I dutifully took my tourist photos.  They had an exhibition inside on the history and importance of sardines (free with my card) but I was able to resist.

Next stop was the Tower of Belém, which I had particularly wanted to visit (also free with my card).  However, it was closed for renovations so I had to settle for more photos.

By this stage I was getting peckish.  There were all sorts of restaurants and stalls along the waterfront, including this one - who is a little far from home.

I went a street or two away from the waterfront and tried the menu do dia at a traditional restaurant.  It was a mistake.  I had bread (Decent) and olives (hadn't been brined long enough so were bitter) to nibble on first.  Then the dish of the day was grilled sirloin.  This was actually more like 3 thin minute steaks.  I ordered it medium rare and it was properly cooked on the inside.  However, the grill hadn't been hot enough and it was grey on the outside.  It was also tough.  It came with - you guessed it - french fries and rice.   I finished with an espresso which was burnt.  Except for the bread, a Dull meal.   I should hve tried the poutine.

The only excitment was provided by the grill chef.  There was an open kitchen so we could watch him work.  While he didn't have the grill hot enough when cooking my meal, he made the reverse error with another dish.  He burnt it so badly he filled the restaurant with smoke.  People were coughing.

After lunch I went to the Maritime Museum.  Having seen the Atlantic Ocean and the Portuguese coast I'm even more impressed at the mariners who braved sailing that sea, especially on such fragile ships.  The museum included a collection of royal ships too.   These were not so fragile.  In fact, they were heavy with bling.

After this I had planned to either go to the National Coach Museum or the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (both free with my card).  However, on the way I came across a museum called Quake which was all about the devastating 1755 earthquake here in Lisbon so I went there instead.  It is a private museum and cost a whopping 30E (no discounts with my card).

It is an immersive museum with 9 rooms.  You go through it in groups, spending 10 or so minutes in each room.  You are locked in each room and the door to the next only opens when you've spent the appropriate amount of time in the room.

The first room was a cheesy introduction.  There was a voiceover from a mad scientist telling you he was going to send you back in time to investigate the 1755 earthquake.  The 2nd had a bunch of interactive displays teaching you about earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis, how they form and what to do to be safe.  I would have liked to spend more time here playing with all the displays.  The third room had two subrooms - one about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (complete with a floor that shook in replica of the earthquake) and one about the more recent (2011?) quake in Japan.  These were interesting.

The 4th room was a waste of time.  This one was the time machine that sent us back to 1755 with various famous events shown on a timeline to mimic travelling backwards in time.  The 5th room put us in a replica Lisbon street scene from 1755.  This was interesting.  

The 6th room was the best.  The earthquake happen on 1 November which is All Saints Day so many people were in church when it hit.  This room was a replica of a church and we all sat in pews watching the mass being held on a screens all around us.  Then our seats all started shaking in a replica earthquake, with images of the walls and ceiling falling down around us.  This was actually a bit scary and you were thrown around quite violently.  I can't imagine what it must of been like to actually live through it.

The 7th room had displays showing what Lisbon was like in the immediate aftermath of the quake, including a video of what the tsunami must have looked like.  The 8th room was all about how the rebuilding was done.  I wanted to spend more time here too.  The final room was the time machine again taking us back to the present, complete with cheesy voiceover telling us we were all now ambassadors for earthquake safety and preparedness.  If the tickets to this had cost 15E or even 20E this would have been an excellent museum.  

Mind you, if you live somewhere where severe earthquakes can happen such as Lisbon (or California or Japan) I suppose it is important to be prepared and knowledgeable about such things.  There are these tsunami warning signs all over the lower parts of Lisbon.

By the time my visit to Quake was over it was getting on for 6pm.  I had planned to take the tram back to downtown Lisbon but I was near the station so I took the train instead.  It was crowded again with everyone returning from their day at the beach.

I decided to have dinner at the restaurant in my hotel.  I couldn't be bothered walking any further today.  I started with the vegetable soup of the day.  I tried asking the waiter what vegetable exactly but that was beyond his English skills.  I think it was pumpkin.  It was quite Decent.  Next I had bacalhau a bras.  This was basically a hash made of salt cod, potatoes, onions and olives topped with crunchy fried potatoes and a raw egg yolk to break into it to make a sauce.  It was also quite tasty and Decent.  Dessert sadly was Bad.  It was three layers of chocolate cake, layered with chocolate ganache and served with chocolate ice cream.  The ganache and ice cream were bland and the cake was very dry and tasteless.

Tomorrow morning is my food tour.  Hopefully I'll eat better tomorrow.  I should get Good food during the tour at least.

Day 21 - Getting to Lisbon

# Pasteis de Nata: 4, Distance Walked: 9.1km, # Floors Climbed: 7

I had to catch an 8:45am bus from Sagres to Lisbon this morning.  Breakfast didn't start (officially) until 8am but I headed down 10 minutes early, only to find others had beat me to it.  I had just a light breakfast, as I wasn't getting all real exercise today, before heading to the bus stop.  

I got there 20 minutes early and joined a large crowd of people.  There are only 3 buses a day from Sagres to Lisbon.  One leaves before dawn and the other mid-afternoon so my bus was full.  The bus driver tried to get me to put my backpack in the luggage compartment underneath, along with my suitcase, but I channelled my inner Italian and flatly refused and just ignored him.

As I was waiting for the bus to leave, Florian came by and waved to me.  He made lots of big gestures, not just waving.  He is so sweet.  Mind you, I can understand why his wife spends 6 months of the year in Portugal.  Life with him would be a lot.

The bus took off and after 10 minutes we were in Vila do Bispo.  I spent all day yesterday walking from there to Sagres.  Very disheartening.

The bus took around 4 1/2 hours to get to Lisbon.  We had two stops, Lagos and Portimão.  We had a 5 minute toilet break at one and 10 minutes at the other.  I didn't risk the 5 minute break but did get off the bus for the 10 minute one.  It actually ended up being closer to a 20 minute break but the driver made no attempt to count heads or otherwise check all the passengers were back on board before driving off either time.  I made sure I was back well within the 10 minute limit but others strolled.  Nobody ran behind the bus waving frantically so it all worked out.

When I got to Lisbon I caught the metro to my hotel.  Buying a ticket was fun.  I only had 20E notes and the ticket was only 2.50E.  The machine wouldn't give more than 10E in change so I had to use a credit card.  My $4 ticket cost me a $5 foreign transaction fee.  Grr.

I got to my hotel just after 2pm but my room wasn't quite ready.  I was forced to wait in the lobby for 10 whole minutes.  They left me 2 pastel de nata and a bottle of champagne (sparkling wine) in my room for the terrible inconvenience.  I like this place (the Residence Florescente ).  

In addition to the ridiculously friendly service, it is right in the middle of the theatre district.  In fact, there is a theatre right next door.  There are plenty of cafes and restaurants all around and it is mainly a pedestrian area.

Once I got to my room I actually unpacked.  It is so nice not to have to live out of a suitcase.  I get to spend 4 nights here.  However, my first outing was to a local laundromat.  Washing clothes in sinks only works so well.

This visit was an experience.  It cost 6E to wash a load of clothes.  I thought I had 6E in coin but I'd miscounted.  I only had 5.90E.  The machine gave me back the 90 cents but kept the rest.  I tried to pay the last 1E with card but it wouldn't take any of them.  I was forced to put in a 20E note.  It didn't give me change.  However, the payment machine kept telling me I had 20E credit so I figured I could use that to pay for drying the clothes.  But by the time the wash was finished it had timed out and swallowed all my money.  So one load of washing cost me 25E!  Still, the clothes are clean and the spin dry cycle meant they were just damp.  I took them back to my hotel room and turned the air conditioning up to lethal to dry them.

After my adventures in domesticity, I just went for an amble about to get my bearings. I came across a street performer who was charging people 10E to attempt to do a dead hang from a pullup bar for 2 minutes.  If you could manage it, you won 50E.  Many young men attempted it in order to impress their girlfriends.  They had all underestimated how hard it actually is and how much upper body strength it requires.  I was sorely tempted to have a go. There is no way I could last 2 minutes but I think I could manage 30 seconds.  I would like to try.  Perhaps I should give it a go when I get home, rather than humilating myself in front of a crowd - and for a fee.

After my amble I headed back to my hotel.  I had thanked the receptionist for the champagne but said I didn't want it.  She had told me I could take it to the bar and swap it for something else.  I attempted to do just that.  However, that receptionist's shift had ended and the barman's English was only good enough to handle drink orders.  Much confusion occured until another receptionist decided that my unwanted champagne was worth a cocktail, so I had a margarita.

I then wandered out in search of dinner.  I came across an Italian place, (Il Mulino ).  It's menu was in multiple languages which was a worry.  However, the waiters were talking to each other in Italian and the menu admitted they made their Spaghetti Carbonara with pancetta rather than guanciale.  I took that as a sign their food would be reasonably authentic and ate there.  I had the spaghetti carbonara and a salad of rocket, pear, walnuts and parmesan.  It was all very Good.  For dessert I had a Good tiramisu.

Along with good food the restaurant also provided entertainment.  There was one pasta dish that was finished off at the table.  They brought out an enormous wheel of parmesan cheese.  The waiter then scraped some cheese off the surface and then hot pasta was poured onto the cheese.  This was all mixed together to make a creamy sauce.  The pasta was then put on a plate which had proscuitto on it. 

The cheese was supposedly a parmigiana reggiano but when they wheeled it past my table I saw it was just grana padano.  Still, I might have to give it a try.

On the whole, I'm liking Lisbon in spite of the thieving laundromats and the occasional whiff of inadequate drains.

Day 20 - Vila do Bispo to Sagres

# Pasteis de Nata: 2, Distance Walked: 21.7km, # Floors Climbed: 141

Today was the last day of my hike.  My feet have stopped complaining, but I think that is just because they have given up.  They are now sulking in silence.  However, my right knee and left hip have started grumbling.  I'm positively looking forward to spending 4 hours tomorrow sitting on a bus as I go to Lisbon.

Breakfast at my hotel didn't start (officially) until 8:30am.  I wandered down at the correct time to find the place full of people who had been breakfasting for some time.  The hotel was full of walkers and they'd just shown up at the usual time of 8am and started eating.

I joined Florian and the American, whose name is Dwight (honestly) for breakfast.  They'd been there for awhile but sat drinking coffee while I ate.  I didn't eat much as I was still digesting last night's dessert.

We all agreed to walk by ourselves at our own pace but Dwight invited us both to join him for dinner in Sagres, which was very kind of him.

I set off before the two of them but they soon passed me.  That was fine with me.  

The early part of the trail, west to the coast, was easy, if dull, walking.  However, once we actually got to the coast I soon caught up with Dwight and Florian.  They were determined to walk out to the tip of each headland and admire the view.  The coast along this stretch is very wrinkly so this was taking them some time.  Below is a photo of the two of them headed off to yet another viewpoint.

I joined them for a few views but then headed on down the trail.  I wanted to arrive in Sagres today.  

I got to the lighthouse at Capo de São Vincente at around 2pm.  This is the most south-westerly point of Portugal and, hence, Europe.  Sadly you couldn't go out to the lighthouse itself today for some reason.

Standing on the cliff edge here looking out and knowing there was nothing but sea to the south and the west for hundreds, if not thousands, of miles was awe-inspiring.  And yet the Portuguese sailed away from ports all along this coast.

Florian and Dwight caught up with me at the lighthouse.  We walked the last 6km or so into Sagres together.  They weren't quite so keen on going out to the tip of every headland now as the terrain was very rocky and uneven underfoot along this section.

We ended up staggering into Sagres at 4pm and immediately went to our hotels to check in.  I'm in the Marieta View hotel and F&D are in the Marieta Beach just around the corner.  I cheerfully waved goodbye to them both with promises to meet up for dinner.  Florian is very sweet but he has no filter.  If he has a thought, he says it out loud.  I ended up walking very quickly to get ahead and leave the job of making conversation to poor Dwight.

Dinner with the two of them was pleasant.  We went to a nearby place Ricardo had recommended which specialised in fish & seafood.  D&F are both fans.  We all had grilled sea bream.  For a grilled fish it was quite Decent.  For dessert I had something called an almond custard.  It was a small tart in a flaky pastry case with a filling almondy custard filling and a crunchy topping.  I think the topping was made from sugar and ground almonds.  It was very Good.

We then staggered back to our hotels and admitted we are all old, creaky and tired and just want an early night.  We said our goodbyes and parted happily.  I suspect Dwight fled to his room to avoid having a last drink with Florian.  Dwight is a card-carrying introvert and had spent most of the day walking with Florian.

Tomorrow I'm off to Lisbon and back to regular sightseeing.  I have one more week in Portugal then I'm off to Italy where the food will be good (please).

One last view from a cliff just because the views were all so beautiful.

Day 19 -- Carrapateira to Vila do Bispo

# Pasteis de Nata: 0, Distance Walked: 15.3km, # Floors Climbed: 161

The hotel I stayed in last night was a converted farm house.  The breakfast room was the original (huge) farmhouse kitchen.  There was just one big long table.  Breakfast started at 8am.  By 8:10am the table was full of hikers.  The surfers wandered down much later and had to sit in the courtyard outside.

I sat with Florian at breakfast.  While he is normally a very chatty person, he is decently quiet first thing in the morning. 

I asked the hotel staff if it was OK to make a sandwich for lunch using ingredients from the breakfast buffet.  I was sure it was (it said so in the notes in the room) but I wanted to confirm before I started helping myself.  This started a flurry of sandwich making.  Although I did notice the young woman next to me furtively wrapping up half her breakfast and stuffing it in her bag.  She saved a whole 2 euros and 50 cents.

The walk today was quite short.  The first part was along the coastline with a fair amount of up and down.  The scenery was, as always, spectacular. 

The 2nd half was just a straight shot south along an inland path to Vila do Bispo.  Florian had pointed out there was a circular path north out of Vila do Bispo that overlapped a little with our route before heading west to the coast and then south and finally east back to town.  He proposed taking that loop as it would be better scenery and only add an extra 5km to the day.  I got to the turn-off west to the coast and thought about it, but my feet voted no.  I'm glad they did as when I got here and checked the map more closely it was more like an extra 8km - and most of that would have been on loose sand.  Florian did it though.  Mind you, he started his holiday by riding his bicycle from his home in Germany to Porto. 

I got here at about 2pm and stopped at a cafe for a drink and some (more) lunch.  I ordered a toasted tuna sandwich - mainly because I knew the words in Portuguese for that.  It was the first sandwich I've had here with more than the named ingredients in it.  In addition to tuna it had lettuce, tomato and onion and the bread had been buttered!  

The cafe had these fabulous coffee cups.  They are for serving coffee to multiple bogans.   Bogan clearly being a masculine word.

After I'd been in the cafe for about 1/2 an hour the nameless American also came in.  He'd set out much later than I had but walks faster than me.  He joined me for a drink.  About another 30 minutes later Florian showed up and joined us.  We all sat around drinking beer until 4pm when we could check in to our hotel.  We are all staying in the same place tonight.

My room opens onto a shared balcony.  Someone had washed their hiking gear and draped it over chairs to dry.  It is very windy today.  I saw a man, wrapped in just a towel, rushing around the balcony trying to save his laundry before it blew away.  I'm reasonably sure it was Florian but I wasn't wearing my glasses and didn't plan on looking closer.

For dinner I ignored Ricardo's suggestions and once again located the hippy/veggie restaurant in town.  I could see they had a proper pizza oven (not wood fired sadly) so I risked a pizza.  The toppings were Good (capers, olives, oregano and burrata) but the base was merely Decent.  It was made with some sort of healthy wholemeal flour and didn't have the right consistency at all.  

For dessert I had a Black Baba which was Absolutely Delicious.  It was a variant on a rum baba where the super light sponge was made with, I'm guessing, charcoal as it was black.  It was soaked in a local rum equivalent and absolutely stuffed with a large spoonful of marscapone that was flavoured with local honey, more local rum and blackberries.  

Tomorrow is my last day of hiking, then it is off to Lisbon for general sightseeing.  My feet and ankles will be happy.  The weather forecast for Lisbon is high 20s. I'll finally get to wear those dresses and shorts that I packed.

Day 18 - Arrifana to Carrapateira

# Pasteis de Nata: 2, Distance Walked: 19.5km, # Floors Climbed: 120

Today's blog is mainly about food.  As you can see from the map a lot of the trail today actually went inland so there wasn't much in the way of scenery to admire.

As I was heading out to breakfast this morning I ran into the very friendly housekeeper at the hotel.  She'd shown me to my room yesterday.  I asked her about where I could get lunch.  She told me of course they provide packed lunches.  She then rushed off and made me some.  She provided me with 2 sandwiches and 3 pieces of fruit (an apple, a pear and an orange) but was concerned that wouldn't be enough.   Yesterday's receptionist was clueless.

My trip notes had said there was nowhere to buy food on the route but they were wrong too.  At about the 9km mark the Historical and Fisherman's trails split.  There is a B&B there (why I do not know as it is in the middle of nowhere).  They clearly realised they have a lot of hikers going past their front door and have opened a cafe.  I stopped for a coffee and some pastries.  Practically all the tables were occupied even though it is still shoulder season.

I made it to Carrapateira Beach at about 2 in the afternoon which was perfect timing.  At low tide you can walk across the beach and into town.  Otherwise you have to trek along the road, which is both longer and dull.

This is the beach which was lovely and stretched for miles.  I took off my boots and socks and wandered along the shoreline.  The Atlantic is cold!  I then sat on the beach for a bit watching some tourists get surfing lessons.  I realise I don't want a villa in Tuscany.  I want one at a beach -- on the Mediterranean -- the Atlantic is too cold.  

One thing I like about European beaches is that women of all ages and sizes are happily wearing bikinis.  Or, in the case of one granny who didn't want tan lines, bikini bottoms.  Fortunately, European men seem to happily prefer board shorts to budgie smugglers.  My favourite beach goer was a young woman who threw herself down in the warm sand and wriggled around like a happy dog.  I suspect she was high on something but it was clearly making her happy.

I then had to figure out how to get rid of all the sand off my sandy, wet feet and get my boots back on before ambling the last 2km into town.    This beach goes back a loooong way.

When I got into town I stopped at a bar and had a big glass of sangria.  At a neighbouring table was a German man I've been seeing on and off over the past few days.  He always is staying at the same hotel so is clearly being supported by the same local company.  He was chatting with an American man, who is also walking this trail solo.  I ended up joining them and we had a pleasant chat.  Florian (the German) has just retired and is trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life.  The American (whose name I forget) is contemplating retirement.  Florian and I were able to provide him with plenty of encouragement to just do it.

We also talked about the types of holidays we enjoy and the other hikes we've done.  All three of us agreed that the way we are doing it is the best.  When I mentioned this Canadian couple who are much more hardcore the American immediately said "You mean Bob & Tammy?"  He'd been swept up by them too.

My hotel here has strong hippy surfer vibes but check-in went smoothly and without confusion.  Plus they have a cat.  It isn't a hotel cat though.  When I went to pat it, I woke it up and it was annoyed and hissed and took a swipe at me.  Doesn't it know that it is supposed to provide tourists with some cat therapy?

The hotel realises there are few options for buying food here in town and none on the route.  They do the sensible thing and say you can make yourself a packed lunch using things from the breakfast buffet for a very reasonable 3 euro fee.  I guess they got tired of people sneaking food out.

For dinner I tottered into the centre of town (my legs are not appreciating all this walking on sand).   I had 3 options - a restaurant serving traditional dishes (pass), a bar serving meals all of which come with a side of french fries (pass) and a hippy place with a lot of vegan options, including vegan tiramisu (why?!).  

I went to the hippy place.  They offer pizza but as most of the staff seemed North African and there didn't seem to be space in their tiny kitchen for a proper pizza oven I didn't chance it.  Instead I ordered what I thought was grilled chicken with rice and salad.  Why I thought that I'm not entirely sure.  I know the Portuguese word for grilled and the word on the menu was nothing like it.  That is because it was actually a chicken curry.  It was a pleasant tasty mild curry with a side dish of a lethal chili paste to add to taste.  For dessert I risked the baked cheesecake again.  It wasn't made with goat's cheese so didn't have that strong goaty flavour.  Sadly it didn't have much flavour at all.  Overall a Decent meal.