travel tips

KN, p. 290 “Portuguese Food Adventure”

The best part of any trip for a food enthusiast is the wonderful taste treats encountered along the way. The beach might be fun, the mountains may be spectacular, but if we can share the views with friends over a great meal, the memories will stay with us for a very long time.

 

We spent our recent trip to Portugal in Porto and Braga, (in the northern region, about four/ five hours north of Lisbon). We discovered that northern inland Portugal eateries focused on cod, the national fish of Portugal, as a menu choice. Fried, poached, grilled, broiled, mashed – with different sauces everywhere. The coastal towns have a larger sampling of the seas, but the islands of the Azores deliver the greatest variety I have ever eaten – including fish I had never heard of before. Dourado (a type of bream) and robalo (a type of sea bass) can be found in more expensive restaurants, as well as at lunch counters near the ocean.

 

Since the bigger Portuguese cities are tourist destinations for an international crowd, small restaurants and specialty lunch places are tucked around the edges of central plazas. They offer freshly cooked food – a big departure from American chains.

 

Enjoyed as a ‘fast-food’ all over the EuroZone, Doner Kebab is basically shaved meat (lamb, veal, or chicken) served on a hamburger roll or in a takeout box on top of fresh vegetables. The meat is stacked and cooked on a metal rod and often displayed in the front window of the restaurant. A large shaver is used to slice the meat quite thin.
                                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Doner Kebab lunch in a Porto sandwich shop near the train station was made with chicken. Beneath the chicken in the photo is shredded lettuce and tomato. The sauce is a garlicky, mayo type sauce similar to Tzatziki.

 

Lots of lunch menus include beef, chicken, or fish served with an egg on top. We ate this dish (steak and peppers with fries under the egg) at a diner-type place in Porto frequented by the locals – a great venue for comfort food served quickly to people from the neighborhood businesses on their lunch hour.

One welcome change we found on this trip to northern Portugal was that almost all the restaurants now have some version of a tossed salad on the menu, as well as vegetables listed as side dishes. The vegetables are well-seasoned to complement the main dishes. We have yet to eat at a place with bland food, so bring your taste buds.

 

Part of the foreign travel adventure is that our American stand-by favorites are frequently reimagined (or deconstructed) to reflect the local chef’s interpretation. The dinner menu at a lovely restaurant in Braga promised a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. This is what was served – layers of Canadian style bacon, bread, and sliced tomato, all sitting in a tomato soup with an egg on top. Delicious, spicy, and oh so filling, but not at all what a traveler from the U.S. would expect for a BLT.

Another night, we wandered into a vegetarian restaurant that advertised all-you-can-eat with a price tag of about $12.00 for each of us. We doubted that we could stuff ourselves on ‘just veggies,’ but wow, were we wrong. Large platters filled the banquet tables with beautifully arranged appetizer sized vegetable concoctions. One notable item we might try to make at home was sliced, grilled sweet potato rounds, with a dollop of zesty hummus on top. Another platter held small stuffed mushroom caps filled with a pesto mixture. Yum!

 

As travel opens up around the world, be prepared to be surprised and delighted by the many new choices of cuisine. There are tourist traps out there that charge too much for the food you are served, but many are quite reasonably priced. Most places have menus near the doorway so you can be prepared before walking in (or away). We have found gems tucked behind the famous spots, and lousy food when a renowned chef has a bad day, but we’ve had tons more great food than ‘eh.’

 

It’s all an adventure and you’ll come back with great stories to share. Plus, some of the places we visited were perfect settings for murder mysteries, with subdued lighting and centuries-old architecture, so what’s not to like?

 

KN, p. 290 “Portuguese Food Adventure” Read More »

KN, p. 273 “On the Road: Traveling During the Pandemic”

A family member needed lots of help after surgery and since we had a couple of weeks of Covid down time, we volunteered to pitch in. The tricky part was that she lived in western Pennsylvania, and a last minute obligation meant that we had to stay overnight on the drive out there.

 

Overnight. On the road. During the Pandemic, when some restaurants would be closed and protocols would be different from previous trips for every single public rest stop.

 

We couldn’t merely toss clothes in the suitcases and hop in the car; we had to plan for all kinds of contingencies. Normally, we carry a handy AAA travel guide for the States in which we will travel. It lists hotels and restaurants by town, so when we’re ready to stop, we call from the road to make reservations for dining or hotels. This time, we had to call before we left the house since Sheila needs a walk-in shower and a place with an elevator. No tubs or stairs for us right now, and those requirements limited our hotel choices.

 

We discovered from the phone calls that breakfast was going to be problematic at the hotels. Breakfast buffets were a no-no. We could pick up go-bags at the front desk that contained a bagel and boiled eggs which was good for some happy travelers, but not for us. We elected to eat at a Denny’s we knew to be near our chosen hotel, in order to get hot food.

 

Restaurants all along the route required masks. Once we entered, we saw that every table had more space than usual between it and the next, and sometimes, empty tables had signs that said: ‘not available.’ In one place, the manager placed empty mop buckets on the ‘forbidden’ spots. Yup, a definite deterrent. We did need to use our surface wipes on the restaurant tables in two of the places, since the waitstaff missed quite a bit. BUT, the extra space was in some ways relaxing – less noise and no crowds are a plus.

 

The take-out places had decals on the floor that marked where you could stand to give your order and pick up your food. Not everyone followed the rules, but most complied.

 

The highway rest stops were cleaner and more organized than we had ever seen them. Areas in front of map displays were cordoned off and ‘no browsing’ was enforced. We told the staff members which maps we needed and they handed them to us. The vending machine operation seemed to be the same as always.

 

The hotels had contactless check-ins and checkouts, but a surprising touch at one was the seal on some doors to the rooms. The seals meant that the room had been sanitized after the last guest. The seal was broken only by using the key to gain access. Another plus? The hotel lobbies and rooms were cleaner than we’d ever seen them before. Not a smudge, dust bunny, or stray fingerprint anywhere. The hotel pools were open, but could only be used if reserved ahead of time; one family/group at a time.

 

These were our essential travel supplies that before the Pandemic would have been unnecessary:

 

  • Handi-wipes
  • Masks
  • Medical gloves
  • Surface wipes

 

We have returned, with mission accomplished, and have been tested as Covid-free, but we didn’t take sanitation for granted anywhere.

 

For other “On-the-Road” travel tips, check out:

 

Stay safe out there and have a great time!

 

 

KN, p. 273 “On the Road: Traveling During the Pandemic” Read More »

KN, p. 159 “What IS that in your carry-on?”

 

CarryonSantaIMG_5030_2

Traveling during the holidays? We all try to stuff too much into the carry-ons, but there are special rules for what you can and can’t bring with you on the flight.

 

Just in case this is the first time you’re flying since 2001, when the regulations changed for everyone, here are two of the biggest no-no rules:

 

Don’t carry knives

Don’t carry guns

 

There are signs near every single U.S. security check area for carry-on luggage showing you the general list of what CANNOT be brought onto the plane, and some of the baggage check-in counters have physical examples of the no-nos. Here is a partial list of items that the TSA doesn’t want on the planes:

 

  • Aerosols
  • Blasting Caps
  • Dynamite
  • Fire Extinguishers
  • Fireworks
  • Flammable Paints
  • Gasoline
  • Grenades
  • Liquid Bleach
  • Explosives
  • Spray Paint
  • Tear Gas
  • Turpentine
  • Vehicle Air Bags

 

Why do you suppose people want to bring these items onto the plane? Because they are probably trying to avoid the extra baggage fee. Guess what? Nobody wants to sit next to a passenger that stows dynamite under the seat, no matter how much it is needed it for your business. Check with your airline for other no-fly items.

 

Click on the TSA link for their list:

http://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/prohibited-items

 

 

The TSA has actually had to confiscate:

 

  • Lipstick holder that contained a knife instead of lipstick
  • A bag of exotic snakes
  • Pliers with a knife as one side of the tool
  • Loaded guns packed in a suitcase with stuffed toys
  • Knives in the form of an interlocking belt buckle
  • Grenades
  • Book with carved out inner section holding bullets
  • Anti-tank weapon
  • C4
  • Mace (the weapon seen in medieval jousts)

 

Click on the link below for other items that can’t be transported in the passenger section of a plane, and in some cases, not at all:

http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/features/10-strange-things-people-tried-to-smuggle-onto-an-airplane.html

 

 

Suppose all your stuff is legal and you are good to get on the plane. All your shampoos and other liquids are stowed in your checked luggage. But, you still have a lot of carry-on paraphernalia – Laptop, book, coat, food for the plane, presents. Hmmm…

 

Space on a plane: It’s the time of year when people want to bring back the presents they have been given at their holiday gatherings. Unfortunately, most of them do NOT fit in the space below the seats or in the overhead storage. Those overhead spaces are SHARED space, meaning that you are allowed a space that is about the size of a weekender suitcase on a cross country plane with 100+ passengers.

 

If you are flying on a regional jet, there is barely enough room for a briefcase or a jacket up there, let alone packages or suitcases. Think kid’s backpack for overhead space size on a regional jet. You may be asked to keep your coat on, rather than stow it and in most cases, you will not be allowed to keep the presents/laptop/iPad in your lap during takeoff or landing. I’ve been on flights that have been delayed while extra items are taken off the passenger part of the plane and checked in with the baggage.

 

Your solution? Have your friends/family mail the packages to you. It’s cheaper than you think.

 

Take a look at the photo at the beginning of this article. No matter how much Sheila wanted to bring the Santa, the books and the maracas onto the plane, they did not fit into her carry-on. The bag is the regulation size (12” ruler in front of the bag) that fits under the seat and will fit nicely next to a laptop case in that same space. BUT, it is not big enough for the Santa, etc. We had to ship them back to our house at a cost of about $25.

 

Connecting flights: Plan ahead for your trip. If you have connections, see if both planes are the same size. Generally, they are not. And the different sized planes have different overhead space and under the seat space. I flew on a plane that had NO overhead space at all. That’s where the life jackets and oxygen masks were kept. Ask ahead, so you won’t be surprised and can pack or ship accordingly.

 

True story: Back in the 90s, a guy tried to board a plane in the Caribbean with a car door in tow. He needed it as a replacement part. He was given the option to have it placed in the cargo hold. He wouldn’t agree, so he and the door stayed behind. The entire incident defied logic because the door didn’t fit into the seat rows and certainly not in the overhead compartments. Plus, it was heavy! LOL

 

Have a safe flight and be kind to your fellow passengers and flight attendants! 🙂 That way, the Air Marshals won’t have to get involved. (What does the TSA really do?)

 

 

*photo by Patti Phillips

 

 

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