Food & Wine Archives - Page 2 of 22 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

And even those who don’t normally take a dram do so at this time of the year so here I am ringing the bells in with these world whiskies.

Whisky, or whiskey as they call it in Americaland, Ireland and Japan and other places in between has long been synonymous with New Year revellers.

As a more traditional and earthy alternative to champagne.

Because of the warmth it gives those of us stuck on a pile of rocks just down from the North Pole.

And which is all part of the ritual of a tall dark stranger bringing in coal, fruit loaf and whisky for luck, happiness and cheer.

Which is an excuse we carry on in this Scottishland to carry on the party.

Now we’re not saying this is a definitive list but should you be raising a glass to hail 2026 then here are a few tipples to warm the spirits.

For peat’s sake

Laphroaig: Or the ‘beautiful hollow by the broad bay’ as it translates from the native Gaelic of the Inner Hebridean island of Islay.

Laphroaig (pronounced la-fro-aig) is, we’d all agree, an acquired taste.

Acquired by pouring water in an ashtray… yeah, it shouldn’t work.

But Laphroaig fans swear by this smoky, peaty whisky.

We’ll let the marketing people promote the ‘beautiful hollow by the broad bay’.

And the taste they get from the seaweedy water washing into the cellars and infusing the whiskies in the barrels.

Roll out the old barrel

Bushmills: The ‘mill on the river Bush’, and those lyrical Irish know how to make anything poetical,

The Antrim distillery, 50 miles north of Belfast. claims to be the oldest in the world.

Dating back to 1608, granted by King James VI of Scotland and James I of the -hen United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

And with whiskey notes of warmed raisins, oatmeal cookies, orange-slice candies, brown sugar, caramel sauce, cinnamon-roasted hazelnuts, and barrel spice.

Which we, of course, didn’t have to tell you as you’ll already know.

The Suntory story

Suntory: And because all imitation is flattery, the Japanese borrowed from the Scots.

When chemist Masataka Taketsuru came to Jockoland and Glasgow University to learn at the hand of distillers.

And took back not just the secret but a bride too, Rita Cowan.

Whiskey lovers will tell you that there are three aspects to whiskies, the nose, the palate and the finish.

And from each of those the drinker will get a kick of green apples, thyme honey and white pepper and ginger.

Bourbon on the shelf

Woodford Reserve: And we have Favourite Cousin Kath’s husband Kentucky Mark to thank.

For introducing us to Woodford Reserve which is now on shelves over here.

And not just any old Woodford Reserve (as if there was such a thing) but the Kentucky Derby special edition.

Don’t be put off by the Woodford Reserve site’s listing of 200 detectable flavour notes.

From bold grain and wood, to sweet aromatics, spice, and fruit and floral notes.

And the power of whiskies is that you can be transported to friends across the world with just one sip.

On the rocks

Ice Label: And, of course, whiskies travel with the Scots and the Irish.

But who would have expected it in the Ice Bar at the top of the Jungraujoch in Switzerland?

Ice Label is a Swiss Highland Single Malt.

With notes of currants, vanilla, sherry, cherry, and pecan brittle, developing into spices, orange, grapefruit, clove, and peppermint.

And just a piece of advice from one who has been there… go easy on it before you take on the curling rink.

SLAINTE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Asia, Countries, Food & Wine

Japan to a Scottish whisky isle for goodness Sake

22nd October 202522nd October 2025 funtime65

And as we increasingly start to run out of excuses to visit the Land of the Rising Sun a time when we brought Japan to a Scottish whisky isle for goodness Sake.

Now, of course, you need the perfect ingredients.

A Scots groom Stewart, a Japanese bride Hisayo, family and friends.

From the Scottish mainland and the bride’s family from France.

Mix with the Scottish whisky island, Islay, with its ten distilleries which is roughly one for every 300 of its inhabitants.

With the odds improving when you consider some of them will be children.

A humanist celebrant, a fine Islands day, the bridal party in kimonos and kilts.

And you have an occasion with which VisitScotland should surely have been on board.

The perfect mix

Now distilleries and breweries can be hit and miss, often slowed up by information overload on mashing and the like.

And folk asking overscientific questions.

Just when you want to get wired into the drink.

There are exceptions, of course, and Ardbeg Distillery on that day especially.

But any day really with its smoky, peaty tincture soothing your soul as well as your palate.

Same with the sake which was shared just like a quaich around the party after Stewart and Hisayo had broken the wooden box open.

Made in Scotland and Japan

Across continents: But Japanese and Scots is a perfect mix

The links between Scotland and Japan run deep.

With our Asian friends’ interest in our usca beatha, or water of life, pricked by a Japanese student in Glasgow University in 1918.

The future father of Japanese whisky Masataka Taketsuru enrolled in the West End of Glasgow.

To study chemistry and learn our distilling secrets.

And find himself a new wife, Rita, a doctor’s daughter from Dunbartonshire.

And a perfect fusion Scots and Japanese is with our friends Stewart and Hisayo having gone on to forge a new generation themselves.

Now apart from my imminent move into my sixties and a bout of nostalgia holiday providers Heaven Publicity have tipped us the wink.

On this special Sake experience in Japan.

Fuji sake

You’ll visit the Ide Sake Brewery in the northern part of Mount Fuji, near the southern shore of Lake Kawaguch.

Just like our whisky, sake’s secrets are in its water and yours is draw.

From an altitude of 1,150 metres, flowing to the town of Fujikawaguchiko.

Yes, you’ll get to listen to the experts for an hour before the tastings.

Of three distinct types of sake, plus a plum sake, and a whisky.

Offering a well-rounded appreciation of the brewery’s diverse offerings.

The tour and tasting are priced from ￥1500/£7.95pp.

Stay in a Glamping Hanz Pao, an igloo-like tent encircling a communal bar in the depth of the forest in the Hanz Outdoor Retreat.

Complete with modern and antique Japanese furnishings, bathrooms and outdoor dining areas.

Prices from ¥32,128 / £176 per Pao sleeping two people per night on a room only basis, breakfast can be added for ¥2,373 / £13pp.

Flights and transfers extra.

Countries, Food & Wine, Skiing, Sport

The Swiss skis Brienzer Breeze

10th October 202510th October 2025 funtime65

And for Bandanini and Bandanettes out there asking… Jocktails takes a deeper dive into the Swiss skis Brienzer Breeze.

The amethyst-coloured cocktail served up this week by our Interlaken amis with a little help from Scotts Kitchen in Edinburgh.

Now the BB as we’re now christening it is a twist on the old favourite, the Hawaiian Seabreeze.

Which, of course, was on your Bandanaman’s list of go-to drinks for our Saturday evening Jocktails ritual back in Ireland.

A twist on an old favourite

Of course, we’re always curious to find new drinks.

And we were further prompted by interest from Cocktail Apprentice, the Son and Heir.

And so this is what you’ll be needing and we know you have it lying around the house.

The perfect mix

Ingredients:

1 and a half ounces of vodka

1 oz blue curacao

Half an ounce of coconut cream

Half an ounce of white rum

Two ounces of pineapple juice

Ice

Pineapple slice

And sparkling water to top it off.

Whole lot of shaking

Table set: Interlaken after trotty bike ride

So for the magic:

Prepare a highball or hurricane glass with ice to chill it.

Shake in a cocktail shaker and combine the vodka, white rum, blue curacao, cream of coconut and pineapple juice.

Before adding a handful of ice to it.

Shaking it vigorously for about 15-20 seconds to mix and chill everything.

Strain the cocktail mixture into the glass over fresh ice and garnish.

With a slide of pineapple, a cherry or lemon slice.

Get Interlaken

Find a mate, book a raft or a hot tub to go out on Lake Brienzer, Interlaken… and enjoy.

And, of course, for details of how to get there, where to stay and what to do.

Follow your Swissophile swally-drinking pal here.

America, Countries, Food & Wine, Ireland

How to pour the perfect pint of Guinness

30th September 2025 funtime65

And you’d expect the owner of the company at least to know how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness, but alas not.

Edward Guinness’s cack-handed tilt is, of course, not the only inaccuracy in The House of Guinness, but it is the most serious.

Eddie makes a set piece of showing Fenian firebrand Ellen how to pour the stout out of a bottle in the Stephen Knight Netflix series.

Using the whole theatre of the moment in a posh Dublin hotel.

Tilting in wrong direction

To point out that patience is essential for the perfect Guinness.

And that the same ought to be applied to the fight for an Irish republic.

Only that he has the tilt all wrong and that the head is too thin.

Now, as with all matters, we always go the experts.

And in the absence of my Donegal hotelier grandpa or my four Irish publican uncles. I’ll settle on the next big thing.

The Guinness Storehouse at St James’s Gate in The Liberties, Dublin who advise.

The initial pour

Hold your glass at a 45-degree angle and aim the tap nozzle for the gold harp logo.

Pour until you reach the top of the harp, then stop.

Let it settle

Set the Guinness down and let it rest, which is called the ‘surge and settle’ phase.

The darker stout slowly sinks under the creamy, white foam.

Top off the pint

Settle your drink for about a minute beforeyou fill up the rest of the glass.

With the glass straight, fill until the foam forms a dome for the perfect Guinness head.

And all of which I learned first hand for myself in a little corner of Ireland.

They call Las Vegas and Rí Rá Irish Pub at The Shoppes at Mandalay Place.

America, Countries, Europe, Food & Wine, Sport

Long Island Iced Teas and Ryder Cup cocktails

19th September 202519th September 2025 funtime65

And back when I turned out my Jocktails I almost blinded the Scary One… and my Long Island Iced Teas and Ryder Cup cocktails will do the same for you.

Now the beauty of cocktails is their surprise element and the Iced Tea kicks like a mule.

Because it is devilishly misnamed as an innocent soft drink when it’s an excuse to knock your socks off.

A hole lot of fun

The famously raucous New York golf fans, of course, need no extra stimulant for next week’s biennial clash with Europe.

Golf tournaments have never been, nor would we want it to be, a booze-free haven.

With visitors to our own Open Golf Championship as likely to be seen in a Guinness tent or hospitality suites (guilty?)

All good when it doesn’t spill over to antisocial behaviour from the balconies, banks and grandstands.

We will, like many of you, be shouting at the television, glass in hand.

And not putting off any player.

Over to your bartender

Part of the team: On my travels in France

If you want to channel your own Long Islander then this is how to make Robert ‘Rosebud’ Butt’s Oak Beach Inn from 1972.l

Courtesy of our own go-to BBC site.

You will need 25ml of vodka, of tequila, of gin, of triple sec, of white rum, of lime juice and of lemon juice.

Fill with ice cubes and garnish with two lemon wedges and two mint sprigs.

Now with the Ryder Cup being played out and supported by dozens of nations, we can have even more fun with it.

And adapt a cocktail for all the different nationalities of players on show or the states from which they originate.

This year’s Ryder Cup cocktails

There is even an official Ryder Cup cocktail for this year’s Bethpage shoot-out.

Following on from the Elijah Craig Roma Old Fashioned from two years ago.

Check out the Elijah Craig bourbon and fix The Mulligan.

By pouring 2 oz. Green Tea Infused Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon.

With 4 oz lemonade, a splash of soda water and garnish with a mint and lemon wheel.

Just a little something to get your party started.

My Long Island Iced Teas and Ryder Cup cocktails.

And should the Ryder Cup whet your appetite for a visit to Long Island and it should.

The. we found a random Aer Lingus return flight to JFK from €603.81 from Dublin with pre-clearance.

Just don’t let me fly!

MEET YOU ON THE COURSE

Countries, Food & Wine, UK

Auld drinkie Edinburgh’s Rose Street Bar Crawl

30th July 202530th July 2025 funtime65

And being the dutiful host to Irish globetrotting Cuz we thought we’d go. For an Auld drinkie Edinburgh’s Rose Street Bar Crawl.

The Scottish capital is bathed in sunshine today, glistening off the Castle Rock.

And the buzz is about the upcoming Fringe and Festival.

And its citizens, as is their wont, are sat on the grass banks in Princes Street Gardens with their lattes and croissants.

There is, of course, another Edinburgh, Embra, if you will, of hostelries and revelry.

A parallel street of the arterial Princes Street, thoroughfare, namely Rose Street.

It’s certainly not what 18th-century New Town architect James Craig had imagined.

Hens and stags

But Rose Street has become synonymous with stag and hen and rugby parties on Rose Street 14 expeditions.

The challenge being to drink a pint in each of the street’s bars.

A Herculean task but one not beyond this party animal but only when he was a cub.

Slightly more grizzled, with snow under my bandana and on my beardie.

I’m breaking it up in numbers divisible of 14, only don’t ask me after the first couple of pubs.

Lining the stomach

Wiser now I’ve taken steps to allay the inevitable saur heid and gut by ensuring me and Eddie line our tummies first.

And that can only mean square sausage and fried egg rolls with sauce at Snax’ hole in the wall cafe.

Before hitting The Abbotsford, and we’re doing this backwards because it’s closer to our meeting point at Scott’s Monument on Princes Street.

And it’s a neat segue as the ornate island bar watering hole, dating back to 1907, is named for Scott’s Borders mansion.

You’ll find yourself at the back of the old Jenner’s department store amid the rigging of the refurb following the fire.

The Embra institution played a part commissioning famed brewery architect P.L. Henderson to design the new bar.

Give it a try

Rose Street, of course, has become a staple for rugby fans passing through for Six Nations matches at Murrayfield in the West End.

And Milne’s has been showing the British and Irish Lions matches, putting on the best Belhaven’s beer and hearty fare.

Cuz and myself partake the ale, all for research purposes you understand, and vow to return this Saturday for the final test.

Rock this city

Now because we’re old school, we skip the Great Grog Wine bar on account of it billing itself for its vino, that it shouldn’t be on a beer crawl.

And jump to the Black Rose Tavern which has made its name as a rock bar, and whose barkeeps are straight out of central casting.

Where we meet the first of our Irish bartenders, and they’re everywhere in the city.

And he points us away from the Portland brew and to the cheaper but none less tasty local IPA.

Hail to the Pale Ale

Something’s brewing: Rose Street Brewery

Now a little knowledge never goes amiss which is where this tour guide comes in.

And walk into any Scottish boozer and you’ll hear a punter at the bar asking for a pint of heavy which is similar to the English bitter.

Cuz has developed his tastes in the couple of months he has been here now, thankfully from the insipid Tennents.

And now imbibes McEwans 80/-, or shilling, which will do for now.

But it is my mission to introduce him to Scottish IPAs.

Or IPA, or Indian Pale Ale, a hoppy brew which was exported to the subcontinent in the mid-18th century.

And which has enjoyed a revival and a revolution, particularly across the States.

All of which we pass over as we sip Auld Reekie Ale in our next pit stop, the Rose Street Brewery’s own tipple.

One for the road

Near the midpoint of our crawl we find one of the original Rose Street bars, the Auld Hundred.

It started off life as a mission hall before being converted into an alehouse in 1800.

Confession time here, we forego the local Cold Town Beer for an old favourite.

The Staropramen Czech beer which with Urquell Pilsener is one of my fallbacks when I see it on tap.

Of course as is the way for any of us who go Walkabout we don’t get as far as we would like.

Before we get the hook from Mrs Cuz, who has been shopping in the nearby boutiques.

We get away with what the Cuzzes call a Juicy in their local, the Cumberland, further down the hill in the New Town.

Crawling home

Before I’m dropped back at Waverley Station and my train home to North Berwick.

Where I have only now emerged blinking into the daylight to share my thoughts on our first third of Rose Street.

We will be back to complete our mission, the Auld drinkie Edinburgh’s Rose Street Bar Crawl.

And maybe little wine drinker her, the Scary One, can take some of the pressure off by taking Mrs Cuz shopping.

And allow us to continue our research.

Countries, Europe, Food & Wine

All roads should lead to Champagne

25th July 202525th July 2025 funtime65

I always tease my Bandinini and Bandanettes that I never go back to a resort that tries to fob me off with Cava when I want the real stuff, and all roads should lead to Champagne.

While the whole year, or in fact any year, is a good time to visit the Champagne region, east of Paris, notre amis tell us that this weekend is tres bon.

With it being the 30th year of the Champagne Route Celebration which draws tens of thousands to Les Riceys.

Run by winegrowers who better it is the perfect gateway to the region and the greatest sparkling wine of them all.

En Route

Naturellement, you might ask how do you navigate then the quaffing et the driving.

Mais oui, our hosts offer a Champagne Route Kit made up of a Champagne flute and holder, a travel diary and a breathalyser, all for €4o.

You provide the designated driver.

We’ll focus on the central hub of the village of Les Ricey, your starting point.

In the far south of Champagne, on the border with Burgundy, in the heart of the Côte des Bar.

Lovely bubbly

Boasting 866 hectares of vines, Les Riceys stands out as the only commune to have 3 AOPs: Champagne, Coteaux Champenois and Rosé des Riceys.

Stretching along the Laigne wine valley, the three villages have their own listed Renaissance church, Ricey-Bas, Ricey-Haute Rive and Ricey-Haut, each classified as Historic Monuments.

Its architectural heritage is particularly rich and well-preserved, thanks to its history, the quality of the limestone used, its privileged location outside the war zones and the very specific style of these winegrowers’ houses.

The commune has no fewer than two castles, a dovecote, six chapels, seven wash houses and a market hall of imposing dimensions.

Not to mention the eighteen cadoles and countless winegrowers’ houses, all clad in white stone, the oldest of which date back to the Renaissance.

Of course, what we’re most interested in as you can see, and have followed all these years, is that we prefer the actual sipping to the studying.

So if you’re around Champagne, the region, because we’ll all surely be around the drink anyway, enjoy and Salute.

There will always be next year the 31st and the years to come because the bubbly never really goes flat and all roads should lead to Champagne, and all flights to Paris Charles De Gaulle.

America, Countries, Europe, Food & Wine, UK

Hungry and Thursday… National Ice Cream Month

24th July 2025 funtime65

You know how it goes, I scream, you scream, we all scream, and a reason presents itself now to revive our occasional series. Hungry and Thursday… National Ice Cream Month.

There are few foods which conjure up summer and holidays more than the frozen milk or cream dessert which crosses the social divide.

With King Charles (the first one who lost his head) gorging in ice cream which Marco Polo had brought from China, and was scooped up by European courts.

While the First Fathers were known to dig in with George Washington recorded as spending $200 on ice cream in the summer of 1790.

While Thomas Jefferson brought vanilla into the country and had an 18-step recipe for ice cream.

That ice cream kick

Of course one of the secret joys of ice cream has always been that it can carry an alcohol kick for curious kiddies.

And so it is with rum and raisin though we’re not always sure how much distilled molasses goes into your local scoop.

Unless that is you live in the Caribbean.

Where rum is laced through every breakfast, lunch or dinner, particularly over carnival.

And while we lap up every morsel of Bajan culture our favourite rum and raisin ice cream is in Tobago.

Sitting in the treetops bar at Castara Retreats with Porridge and Jeanelle.

Perhaps because we weren’t nursing a monster hangover from Bajan Foreday Morning, although the hair of the dog is always the best way to cure a sore head.

Il gelato

For many of us, of course, Italia, Il Bel Paese, is the home of the ice cream.

Il gelato conjures up the freshest fruits which brings all our senses alive.

Limone, frutti di bosco or even mandarino all have their takers but for us it has to be La Fragola.

After a day jostling through the alleyways of Venice, in the beating heat of the Roman Forum.

At the end of your Via Francigena into the Eternal City or at the foot of the funiculare in Bergamo.

Where for those who like their gelati extra milky.

Then La Marianna specialises in its signature milky scoop of ice cream heaven, stracciatella.

Our Scottish take with a little Italian

Now we all have our own variation to others’ ice cream.

In our own wee bit of Northern Europe, Italian influences are to the fore.

Because the story goes that when Italians were emigrating to America the ships would stop off in Glasgow for refuelling.

And the passengers who pre-Internet didn’t know what New York looked like got off thinking this was The Big Apple, and never got back on.

And so grew Scottish and Italian fusion with a particular favourite Irn-Bru, our vivid orange soft drink, ice cream a unique experience.

Now whatever, or wherever, you most like to be with your bowl, cone or wafer.

You’ll not be alone because somewhere in the world it’s Ice Cream O’Clock.

So just enjoy it, it’s Hungry and Thursday… National Ice Cream Month.

America, Countries, Food & Wine

The Grape Gatsby in Grapevine in Texas

3rd June 20253rd June 2025 funtime65

Bet you’re wondering how I knew, how I knew before you, but they’re championing The Grape Gatsby in Grapevine in Texas.

Our good old Southern compadres in the Lone Star State have borrowed a Yankee icon for this, the 39th Annual Grapefest, in September.

But anything goes in the name of wine, we say.

And we know that Texans and visitors will rise to the challenge to don DJs, Spatz and flapper dresses and coif out of goblets.

Grapevine, which runs four unforgettable days on Historic Main Street, September 11, 12, 13 and 14, is a veritable fest of fun.

Stomp of approval

Stage is set: For Grapefest in Grapevine, Texas

And we can just picture Jay, Nick, Tom, Daisy and Myrtle trampling away in the popular GrapeStomp.

Where teams of two against each other in a race against the clock to stomp about 18 pounds of grapes in a thrilling two-minute frenzy.

The stakes are high, culminating in the Grand Champion Stompoff.

Where the ultimate victors are awarded the coveted Purple Foot Award!

While for those with a steady hand and a celebratory spirit, the Champagne Cork Shoot-Off offers a unique test of skill.

Participants take aim at targets, with smaller targets yielding higher points.

All building to the Grand Shoot-Off finals on Sunday.

The best possible taste

Now the Grapevine Annual Grapefest is a showcase for Texan wine and the week when the Lone Star State challenges California’s riches.

Boasting the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic, the largest consumer-judged wine tasting competition in the states, exclusively featuring all Texas wines.

And you can meet Texas winemakers while sampling and judging more than a dozen varietal categories including sweet, dry and blush.

Elevate your wine knowledge with engaging pairing workshops.

Where experts will guide you in discovering the perfect harmonies between your favorite vinos and delectable cheese, chocolates and more!

All the fun of the fest

While the GrapeFest guys and gals helpfully tell us what else is on offer.

Live Music and Entertainment: Enjoy a vibrant soundtrack throughout the festival with performances across multiple stages.
Iconic Festival Food: Indulge in a diverse culinary scene with food options to complement the wine selections. And try a Texas corny dog or funnel cake!
Artisan Marketplace: Discover unique handcrafted goods and souvenirs made by Texas vendors.
Family-Friendly Fun: With activities for all ages, GrapeFest includes a KidZone, Carnival and Midway.
Historic Backdrop: Buildings on the National Register of Historic Places are repurposed as boutiques, international cafés and bistros, art galleries and winery tasting rooms.

Will you be mine?

Now, you’ll be glad after your jet lag from Europe to know that the Texas tipplers’ town is just beside Dallas Fort Worth.

For you to roll in and roll back to the airport after all the fun.

And is home to a range of world-class hotels.

From luxe resorts, including Gaylord Texan to the boutique Hotel Vin.

And family-friendly Great Wolf Lodge, visitors will find accommodations that suit their needs and preferences.

Grapevine is also home to the Urban Wine Trail, Historic Main Street, Historic Nash Farm, Grapevine Vintage Railroad.

And hosts many annual festivals and events including GrapeFest.

Super trample: And aim for that Purple Foot trophy

And Main Street Fest – A Timeless Texas Tradition.

While if you can’t get away until later in the year Grapevine is also the Christmas Capital of Texas.

With more than 1,400 Christmas events over 40 days.

And was voted Newsweek Reader’s Choice Best Christmas Town in the US in 2024.

And all year round too, and not just the four days of GrapeFest.

We can celebrate The Grape Gatsby in Grapevine in Texas.

Countries, Europe, Food & Wine

Our wee traveller’s tip if you’re going fishing

20th May 202520th May 2025 funtime65

Whether you think the EU deal is a whopper for Britain or we’ve been caught hook, line or sinker, here’s our wee traveller’s tip if you’re going fishing.

A mariner’s prime activity is, of course, riding the choppy waters to bring in a catch to feed his family.

But to supplement that unpredictable wage fishermen have long turned to us, the holidaymakers, to supplement their earnings.

By taking us out on their boats, for a fee, to channel our inner fisherman or woman.

Now you don’t have to have salt water in your veins to get the most out of the experience.

Because your guide will invariably hold your rod for you (ooh, behave!) and help you haul in a little fishy.

Something fishy

You’ll want too to check out the vessel before you take to the water to see what facilities it boasts.

Just in case you’re out on the Atlantic and that wine and coffee you took at lunch starts filling up your bladder.

As happened to a certain fisherman’s friend off the coast of Portugal back in the day.

Who halfway out asked where the rest room was.

And if not was there was an island where she could go.

With the choice being Madeira hundreds of miles south.

Or back to port we turned around and headed back to Cabanas in the Algarve.

Fruits of the sea

Portugal has, of course, been richly blessed with the fruits of the sea.

So we’d be surprised if they had need to haul their vessels up to our wee island.

And it might just be their neighbours and their Spanish Armada on the horizon.

It’s a fleet of a different sort that makes its way down to Portugal at this time of year, the Brits.

For the sun, sea, and vinho.

Every day is a shoal day

For us though our favourite thing to do in Portugal is kick back with a plate of sardines and a bottle of Vinho Verde.

Other fish, of course, are available, shoals and shoals of them.

And depending on how much Vinho Verde you’ve imbibed.

You might just imagine them smiling back at you.

The boating expeditions are of course optional as you’ll never have to catch your own.

It’s just our wee traveller’s tip if you’re going fishing.