I'll Never Be a Food Blogger

Carcavelos to Oeiras

We are trying to create a routine. Golf on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. A trip into the city (Lisboa) on Wednesdays and at least one nearby excursion (museum, castle, whatever) on either Monday or Friday of each week.

Another Trip to the Bank

I had made another appointment at our bank in Estoril for Monday morning. I learned that I could transfer money from our Vanguard account directly to our Abanca (Portuguese bank) account. Originally, I thought I had to first send it to Schwab…but I was mistaken. All I needed to do was complete a form on the Vanguard website, print it out, and then have Abanca bank personnel provide a Medallion Signature guarantee. Of course, everything seems simple. And in fact, as Portuguese banking transactions go, it was relatively painless.

First, I stopped at the branch where I worked with my personal advisor to establish a US Dollar account. This account would allow my Vanguard funds to be transferred in U.S. dollars and remain in dollars until I wanted to convert them to euros. Timing such conversions may provide a hedge from currency fluctuations. We then walked across town to the main Abanca branch where someone had the authority to provide a Medallion Signature. We completed this task shortly after 1100, and as we were just a few blocks from the Estoril train station, we decided to jump on the train to check out Carcavelos.

Oops, I think I should have pulled out my phone (camera) sooner.

No Fish on Mondays

Shortly after arriving in Portugal, we were told, “Never order fish at a restaurant on Monday!” You see the fishermen don’t work on Sunday…as such, the fish on Monday is a few days old. Keeping this in mind, we opted for Italian. During the four stops, 9 minutes, from Estoril to Carcavelos I researched the best Italian restaurants in Carcavelos and found Trecento Sessanta en route to the beach and highly recommended. We walked from the train station, arriving a few minutes after noon, ordered two beers, a mushroom pizza, and a salad. We were already halfway through our meal when Denise reminded me to pull out my camera…this is why I’ll never be a food blogger.

But I can report, the pizza was good… like Philly pizza with a thin crust, plenty of cheese, and a thin layer of olive oil on top. The salad of greens, celery root, beets, and grapefruit slices was tasty as well. A perfect 27,20 euro meal for the two of us.

Strolling along the beach. Should you eat ice cream just after you finished a pizza? Não.

Walk it Off

We then went about walking it off. Just a few blocks away we found the promenade that runs along the beach between Carcavelos and Oeiras. (Note, learning Portuguese is hard … but learning how to say a word that begins with three vowels is nearly impossible!) We were immediately struck by the length and depth of the beach. Unlike many of the beaches in Cascais that are more like coves that start and stop, this beach seemed to go on forever. Off in the distance, we saw what appeared to be a fort. Certain we would have the opportunity to visit a historic landmark that could become the topic for a fascinating post, we forged on. As it turns out, as we got closer we came upon a sign that read: “Area militar, Accesso Reservado…Military area, Restricted Access”.

But all was not lost. We enjoyed the sun which made it feel warmer than the recorded 20 degrees C/ 70 degrees F, and the breeze that made it feel cooler at times. We enjoyed watching dogs romp on the beach, a variety of scantily clad tanned bodies, and wondered how it was possible for so many surfing schools and shops to exist in a span of only 1.6km.

Certainly not the most exciting day…but I have come to enjoy the peace that engulfs my being in Portugal.

Our train approaching Cascais station.