Tucked away on a winding lane in the Alfama, the oldest part of Lisbon is a tiny restaurant with the best meal and fado we enjoyed in Portugal...Mesa de Frades. Pedro Castro is the Portuguese guitar player, charismatic host and has a side bit in the film Fados.
It is a converted chapel with azulejos on the walls and some fonts for holy water at the entrance. The meal is a multi-course treat....with abundant wine. The music is magical and goes on all night and into the wee hours. We stayed until 2...they were just starting to peter out, just.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
I do care a fig!
We are getting ready to take out a very sad dogwood tree in the front yard and replace it with a fig tree. I learned that I love figs and want to be able to harvest them, rather than pay an arm and leg at the New Seasons.
So now I'm on a mission to learn all about fig trees, so that I pick the right variety and treat it right (the poor dogwood was at the mercy of a clueless first time tree owner). After taking a single pruning workshop I went at it with a saw, and I don't think it ever fully recovered from that butchering. I promise never to do that again. I will leave the tree pruning to the experts.
Here is a link to a fig monograph (fancy word for a book, ok). Desert king is recommended from an initial Google search. Stay tuned for more fig wisdom.
So now I'm on a mission to learn all about fig trees, so that I pick the right variety and treat it right (the poor dogwood was at the mercy of a clueless first time tree owner). After taking a single pruning workshop I went at it with a saw, and I don't think it ever fully recovered from that butchering. I promise never to do that again. I will leave the tree pruning to the experts.
Here is a link to a fig monograph (fancy word for a book, ok). Desert king is recommended from an initial Google search. Stay tuned for more fig wisdom.
Movie recommendations
I love movies. The older I get the more picky I get, which means that the recommendations I make on this blog should be taken very seriously. I am getting older every day (so, might I add, are you). These are gems worth seeking out. You will have to hunt them down like the treasures they are.
So my 2 favorites right now are Fados by Carlos Saura and La leyenda de la nahuala, an animated scary one for kids rooted in Mexican legends and culture (but full of adult funny lines that you are only going to appreciate if you are a Spanish speaker, sorry). Gladys ADORED this movie, and we have watched it 3 times in 2 days at our house. Score.
Since I've been immersing myself in Portuguese culture these past few months, Fados is the ultimate. It's full of this dizzying mix of singers (some who aren't Portuguese, hello Lila Downs!) singing fados of all flavors, with beautiful choreography thrown in. Lila and Mariza sing my 2 favorite songs on there, but the whole movie is full of beautiful voices and songs. I watched it before I went, and then when I came back.
So my 2 favorites right now are Fados by Carlos Saura and La leyenda de la nahuala, an animated scary one for kids rooted in Mexican legends and culture (but full of adult funny lines that you are only going to appreciate if you are a Spanish speaker, sorry). Gladys ADORED this movie, and we have watched it 3 times in 2 days at our house. Score.
Since I've been immersing myself in Portuguese culture these past few months, Fados is the ultimate. It's full of this dizzying mix of singers (some who aren't Portuguese, hello Lila Downs!) singing fados of all flavors, with beautiful choreography thrown in. Lila and Mariza sing my 2 favorite songs on there, but the whole movie is full of beautiful voices and songs. I watched it before I went, and then when I came back.
Verbal snapshots
Portugal is Roman, Moor, Jew, topped off with a heavy, at times oppressive, blanket of Catholic. It is olives, wine, blue sky, and the sea.
Listening to Fado music in Evora was unexpectedly wonderful. A tiny club with 6 singers. There were moments when the audience was humming along as back-up for the singer. Lovely.
Porto was the kindness of strangers, when we arrived at 9 p.m. without a proverbial room at the inn. More music. This time fado was in a shiny fancy cafe Guarany, and then a fabulous Latin band (Corazon Espinado, La Ladrona, I will survive merengue style) on the street. A lot of port.
Sagres was a perfect cove of a beach, reading A God strolling in the cool of the evening (by Mario de Carvalho), the very edge of Europe before you drop into the deep blue sea (of which we had a divine view from our pristine room).
Listening to Fado music in Evora was unexpectedly wonderful. A tiny club with 6 singers. There were moments when the audience was humming along as back-up for the singer. Lovely.
Porto was the kindness of strangers, when we arrived at 9 p.m. without a proverbial room at the inn. More music. This time fado was in a shiny fancy cafe Guarany, and then a fabulous Latin band (Corazon Espinado, La Ladrona, I will survive merengue style) on the street. A lot of port.
Sagres was a perfect cove of a beach, reading A God strolling in the cool of the evening (by Mario de Carvalho), the very edge of Europe before you drop into the deep blue sea (of which we had a divine view from our pristine room).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
