starts with bread and ends with bread

Posted on November 6, 2006 Updated on July 9, 2013

In 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in the Portuguese town, Fatima. We chose to do a day tour to Fatima. We visited Aljustrel, where the 3 children lived. We also visited the basilica and chapel of apparitions. Lots of pilgrims visit and walk the last few hundred metres to the basilica on their knees.  This particular tour also took us to Batalha Monastery, 14th Century Gothic, where we saw the resting place of King John I of Portugal and his wife Queen Philippa.  On the way back to Lisbon, we visited:

 

1)  Nazare, a fishing village where we saw the older women drying sardines on the beach.

2) Obidos, a fortified village which was having their annual chocolate festival….. YUM!

Having only spent 3 days in Portugal, there is so much more to see…. we’ll just remember next time to order hamburgers more carefully! How so?! Well, here’s what happened to us:

We had learnt from being burnt from our first few weeks in Europe – bread sitting on the table is usually not free. From that point onwards, we always asked whether the bread was complimentary. This time was no different. After we sat down, bread in baskets were promptly served to us. To which we learnt was a couple of euros each, we didn’t need bread. We would just enjoy whatever it was we would order for our lunch.

So there we were sitting in this cafe with a very affordable menu. The hamburgers for 3 euros impressed us, so that is what we ordered. What came out was a meat pattie and some vegetables on the side. Scratching our heads, we thought it was quite unusual. Until it dawned on us that we had to use the table bread. As a matter of principle, we chose to down the pattie with a knife and fork. It was the first time and probably last that we would be eating  a hamburger without bread and with a knife and fork!

Just makes us think our 4 month European adventure has ended quite fittingly. All those months ago, we were on the quest for bread to no avail and once again, hamburger buns allude us!