Have checked on and off during the evening...but they have finally called the caucus for Hillary.
In the blogosphere the hew and cry is loud...we need to breathe. Remember the long game. We still walk away with 14 delegates. And she didn't just walk in and do a caucus blow-out. It was pretty neck and neck all day. In short she fought for her win. And we would do well do remember in 2008 she also won Nevada...actually a larger win than this...and STILL lost the Nomination.
Breathe.
If we stand together...we can do this.
So, finishing up Spain and making preparations for March's Country in Frances Mayes Year in the World (Virtual Adventure) with Portugal.
And making a brief outline of the things I want to see, taste, try or buy.
Beginning in Lisbon...The Capitol.
I want to try ginjinha...a Portuguese drink made of distilled cherries.
I want to learn to make some authentic Portuguese cuisine.
I want to try/buy a cataplana of my own. The cataplana is a copper or stainless steel cooking pot with a clam-shell approach and is generally used for steaming meats/veggies and seafood.
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| Cataplana |
I want to check out the azulejos (hand-painted tiles) and perhaps even get one as a souvenir.
I want to see the Moorish architecture that dominates the country.
I want learn to make Pasteis de Belem and Sonho, both Portuguese desserts.
I want to see Lisbon's Port Entry and the Maritime Museum.
I want to read Chauncer's : A Treatise on the Astrolabe.
I want to make Portuguese Almond Tarts, and learn to make some of their breads (which Mayes describes as exquisite) and try Bica. Portugal's equivalent of Espresso.
I want to see the Fiera da Ladra (Thief’s Fair) and the Alfama (Old Arab Part of the City)
I want to experience Fado (rhymes with hair-do...not dough) and the Fadistas.
I want to earn to make Rissoles and taste Almonds suspended in good honey.
I want to explore Alentjo and the surrounding country-side. See the marble-yards and flocks of sheep with tiny bells attached to collars. A tinkling winding river of fleece.
I want to see the Cork Groves and harvests.
I want to learn to make some of the Acordas (dry bread-filled soups) of the area.
And see the woven rugs of Estremoz. The by-product of all that fleece.
I want to see the Castle at Obidos.
And try a Portuguese recipe for spicy goat-meat.
Maybe purchase an ex-voto or a bracelet with lapis lazuli to ward off the evil eye.
I want to see The Gypsies.
And try Portuguese Chocolate, all varieties!
I want to discover Sintra...and read the words of Lord Byron who once travelled through this small town and thought it worth mentioning. And the town is forever grateful.
A hearty itinerary for such a small country.
And to think, I almost bypassed it as
"Not Interesting Enough" to bother with...
More Anon...
Starting Portugal on March 1st.
