dining in Porto...

I have many times shared with you "better than shoes" experiences from Porto and I hope some of you have actually visited this magnificent city by now to see for yourself that, although I am indeed biased (and proud to admit it), I am not misleading you.

Here's another one...

Imagine you arrive there late and you are looking for a place to have dinner at 11pm; you are in the centre and you head to "Tascö". You get there and it is full of young people and buzzing, good vibes for sure; you are told that only around midnight you could get a table (kitchen stays open until 1, I think) so you go have a drink and you return about an hour later. You get a table, you order 4-5 different dishes to share. You start looking at the blackboard on the wall, messages written by people from all over the world testifying to special moments have been had there... you share your own... A while later, after you have already started savouring delicious authentic Portuguese food with a definite home-made quality, you are offered a plate of "presunto", just to try... it's divine!

By then, you are treated by your first name, you are listening to great music, you are cracking jokes with the owners and laughing with the other guests and photos of you have been uploaded on Facebook having the time of your life and you already feel like your are having dinner at a friend's house! You have a bit of space left in your belly and you order dessert... but they are out of chocolate mousse so you are offered an alternative, on the house, which completes perfectly a fabulous meal!

And then you ask whether it would be possible to book a table to celebrate your birthday in a few days, longing to share this experience  with some close friends and... you are offered a bottle of Port wine as a present!! Because now you are a friend! And it's your birthday! And all this is better than a pair of Fendi sandals, on sale!!!
And of course you go back and you have a marvellous time, again, and when you leave and the guys say "until next time" you know you already can't wait for "the next time"!

Ps. Don't forget to try the "panados" and the "pataniscas de bacalhau" and the home-made fried potatoes! Oh! And the home-made chocolate mousse is a dream; have it with a glass of Port wine ;)

we are going on a summer holiday...

Ok, last day and a half and then I take a break!

Truth is that this is the worst bit, right before the escape, no brain left to work, no energy to get off my bed in the morning even, brilliant weather here that makes everyone to just want to be out and about and do nothing really productive apart from drinking cold drinks and chat about how brilliant the weather is... Man, I love the summer! But it is indeed very difficult to concentrate on work... I mean, I try, I'm here, I'm in front of my computer but... I write this instead...

Ever since I was a kid the summer holidays were the best time of my year! One month by the sea, spending the morning on the beach, mothers shouting "come out of the water, your fingers are so pruned they look like actual prunes...." around lunchtime, then shower, lunch, the unavoidable nap (which always felt like such a waste of time but was a great idea because you don't really want to run outside with that sun on your head... you just don't know it because you're a kid...), then cold fruits in the afternoon and playing outside with my friends until it was time for dinner and more play afterwards on the beach until maybe midnight... and the "one ice cream per day" rule... Ah, good times...

And now, so close to taking my short (unfortunately... not a kid any more) break, almost unable to run this last mile of work obligations that I have to finish before leaving, I have exactly the same feeling of anticipation and excitement and joy as I had back then... Some things never change... thank goodness... ;) except the ice cream rule... now I'm an adult, I can have as many of those as I like!!

"we are going on a summer holiday... no more worries for a week or two"... ;)

Ps. I don't really need to say that it's better than shoes, right?!

the world cup...

... is better than shoes!! End of discussion!...sort of...

No, please do not be surprised, I never said I'm a girl's girl... The fact that I love shoes does not retract from the fact that I grew up as a tomboy, had short hair for many many years, most of the friends I would play with when I was a kid (usually with sticks and stones and mud during holidays, when I would actually get a chance to play outside...) were boys and I have been seriously scolded by bestie A. in order to stop dressing like a teenage male...

So, yes, the World Cup is my favourite time every 4 years! Hell, I was born during the World Cup in '74! ...mind you, I came to the world 17 days earlier, I guess so that I wouldn't miss the Cup! And I have my favourites, usually the underdog (Costa Rica, though you beat us, I was rooting for you against the Dutch...) and I know what kind of game I like (nobody can argue against the German precision and discipline but I love a bit of chaos in the game, a bit of dance, a bit of surprise, a bit of South America...) and I have an opinion on fouls and penalties and offsides...
Yes, I do love football!!

What about the final, you ask?... Well, my head says Germany will win but my heart wants to dance an Argentine tango... In any case, I think it will be a great game, two entirely different schools of thought, two different styles of football... the head against the heart... I better make sure I have enough vodka and tomato juice (did I tell you I just discovered how much I like Bloody Mary??... what a waste, all these years... I had to turn 40 to find out!) and potato chips (the World Cup is no time for a diet...) and be ready for Sunday night... ;)

What about you?