Five Feet, Nine Inches Above Ground

Richard III, Wm. Shakespeare, Act I Sc 1.

My discontent with winter is in the process of being mollified by another Portuguese adventure accompanied by my small furry companion, Jackson. We both survived the trans Atlantic voyage in good form thanks to the kindness of strangers and the help of Air Transit staff. There were a lot of “firsts” for Jackson: air travel, hotel life, train travel, and completely new surroundings. He did it all with great patience and dignity. Moi, on the other hand…was a bit frazzled by the time we settled in Estoi on Tuesday January 10, 2023.

As Vehlas restaurant had opened at the traditional time in the evening (about 19H30) and I was one of the first guests to arrive. The staff were gathered around one large table finishing off their evening repast before embarking on a long busy evening of work. By 20H30, the restaurant was full and the staff were engaged in supplying fabulous service to their guests.

My first choice of the evening was freshly roasted chestnuts on a bed of spinach lightly sautéed in oil with garlic. The flavours were amazing and the chestnuts were an echo of the vendors in the streets selling bags of roasted chestnuts prepared on smoking braziers on request. It brought back memories of my teenage trips to downtown Toronto to Royal Conservatory. In the fall and early winter, there was one lone vendor selling roasted chestnuts on the street near the museum. They were delicious on a cold night. These ones were even better.

Followed by a main course of a traditional Portuguese cod in the oven followed by a scrumptious chocolate cake. Of course, there was red wine. It was an amazing first real meal in Portugal for this trip.

Tuesday morning, we were up bright and early for a walk on the Esplanade as the sun rose. Breakfast was quick and easy at a corner restaurant with an outdoor patio and then it was time to head for the train station for the three hour ride to Faro and then by car to Estoi. I will spare you the details. Suffice it to say, it went very smoothly, considering the train was 20 minutes behind schedule which is not customary.

And finally, our home away from home, in Estoi:

Konrad was there to welcome us and make sure that everything was okay and a large fire was roaring in the fireplace. Jackson quickly unpacked his favourite toy, a cherished plastic replica John Deere tractor that travelled with him in his crate. Then it was time for a walk.

And so, the days of this adventure begin to unfold with contentment.