Gluten-Free Adventures in Portugal
Coffee, coffee…all I wanted was a simple cup of coffee! Apparently the Portuguese take their coffee drinking very seriously. The most popular coffee is an espresso, and there are many different ways of ordering it! ‘Carioca’ ‘Pingo’ ‘Pingado’ ‘Italiano’ ‘Garoto’ ‘Cortado’ ‘Cimbalinho’ ‘Café’ ‘Café Duplo’ ‘Bica’ ‘Abatanado’ ‘Tres- Quartas’ ‘Não Quente’ ‘Cheia’…you name it! But no matter what words you use, no two cups of coffee will ever be identical. I thought I might be safe ordering ‘Café Americano’ until I
Have you ever heard of the Tardis Effect? It’s when something looks small from the outside but is much larger inside. Well, I think the Portuguese invented the Tardis Effect! The first time we encountered it was when we were looking for some place to eat for dinner.
Remember that talk about toilets that we had? (Let's Talk
Toilets) Well in Portugal it certainly applied
:-) There was great debate among my
travel mates whether to flush or not to flush.
They all felt that I was mistaken…and I knew that I had done my
homework. So once we arrived at the
house we politely asked our hostess. In
Portugal you do not flush the toilet paper…instead you use the little buckets
provided in every, single bathroom or stall. It took us all a day or two to
get
into the habit, but we managed. And we all referred to them affectionately as
the ‘Poopy Buckets” for the remainder of our stay.
Restrooms were pretty easy to find in populated areas…learn how to ask ‘casa de banho? Or watch for WC (water closet) signs. You’ll see signs for Buondi Café’s, small Café’s and Pastelaria’s on just about every street corner, even in the
smaller villages…just look for the tables & chairs outside…and they
all have Restrooms available. The Portuguese
are some of the friendliest people alive so chances are you will never be
turned away, but it is considered courteous to purchase something before
leaving. My travel mates always thought
it was funny when they saw me walking towards them with some sort of carefully
wrapped glutenous goodie held at arm’s
length in front of me. And the bathrooms are clean, clean, clean…in
fact, they have the reputation of being the cleanest in the world. They may not always provide paper…so be
prepared…but they are clean. Out on the
roads it’s a bit more challenging to find Rest Stops. On single lane roads you
can drive an hour or two between villages with nothing but beautiful
countryside and mountain views to appreciate. On double lane, well-traveled
roads it’s much easier to find Rest Stops.
My favorites were the Tangerina’s…gas station, quick stop shop &
cafeteria with local foods all rolled into one with clean restrooms.
Restrooms were pretty easy to find in populated areas…learn how to ask ‘casa de banho? Or watch for WC (water closet) signs. You’ll see signs for Buondi Café’s, small Café’s and Pastelaria’s on just about every street corner, even in the
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