Why Attend A Wine Tasting? For non drinkers, caterers and customers, event organizers.

 

Canary Wines at a themed wine tasting at Central London Wine Society, held at the Civil Service Club. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Why would you attend a wine tasting? Would you bother to go to one if you are an amateur or don't drink? What is the protocol?

Wine Tasting For Non Drinkers

You might attend a wine tasting if you run a restaurant, or work in a restaurant, shop, hotel, supermarket or other business selling wines. 

Identifying No Alcohol

You need to know about alcohol levels to identify the difference between no alcohol for drivers and people working with machinery. Low alcohol is not the same as no alcohol. 

Alcohol In Food

Alcohol is also used as a preservative in food such as Christmas pudding. This is traditionally made weeks or even months ahead. 

Red wine is used in Coq au vin and some casseroles. 

White wine is sometimes used in risottos and white fish sauces. 

Madeira is used in madeira sauce for meat dishes.

Vinegar

You might learn about vinegar, which is made when one particular bacteria converts wine into acetic acid. 

Some vinegars are made by malting. What does malting mean?  Grains allowed to sprout, as in malt whisky, converting starch into sugar. The best vinegars are from wine.

Alcohol Prices

You want to know about prices, so you can use cheaper alcohol in cooking and not waste expensive alcohol. When buying a gift, you might need to know about drinks you do not drink.

Protecting Your Health

As a teenager at college, having had no alcohol at home, with parents who drank little, I had no idea that fortified wines such as sherry served without food, would get me drunk quickly. Looking back, I am alarmed that I was in danger crossing roads drunk as a pedestrian, or as a young driver. 

I want to be aware that spirits are stronger. Also, how much is in each glass, to watch calories as well as alcohol content.

Nowadays, with cameras in streets everywhere, you want to be sure customers are not in danger. Not getting drunk themselves. Not in danger from other customers. And not getting drunk and aggressive and endangering others.

Reading Bottle Labels

It is helpful to read bottle labels. English bottle labels. French labels. German labels. Spanish. Italian. Portuguese. Japanese - sake, plum wine.

You want to know why a restaurant is charging more for one wine than another. How to compare prices online to see the restaurant markup. 

When ordering large quantities for a Christmas party, birthday, anniversary, or wedding, it helps to know the amounts to order and the cost. 

If you don't like wine, or only some wine, it helps to know which wines contain tannin which give you a headache. 

You will learn to identify sweet and dry, auslese and spatlese, sec and brut, rosada, Italian and Spanish Portuguese and German text on bottle labels.

Identify Sweet and Dry

Which wines are sweeter. Which are dry? What to buy or serve yourself and others. 

Avoiding Alcohol

You might want to know whether alcohol in food gets you drunk or is perfectly safe. Who likes which alcohol?

What should you provide at a party? 

General Knowledge  Updated

What is orange wine? 

Import regulations

If you are bringing back wine as souvenirs or gifts for others, how much wine is it legal to bring in? 

Knowing The Law

In which countries or states is it illegal to have opened wine on public transport, or in a car, or off the premises. 

Where can you buy wine? Which countries ban alcohol? What if you are in transit on a plane or car? 

Even online. Even if you do not visit another country where alcohol is banned or unpopular, but are a long distance consultant, your job interview on Zoom will go better, or you will feel more confident, if you do not have bottles of open or unopened alcohol in the room behind you.

Wine Tasting Protocol

Perfume Is Not Popular

You should not wear strong perfumes or aftershave to a wine tasting. Why? Because people are sniffing drinks to identify and describe the aroma. Strong perfumes interfere with other people's ability to detect aromas. This will apply to one day courses and exams as well as tastings.

Polite Listening

A wine tasting may include a lot of technical terms and facts. When a speaker is describing wines, or the other participants are giving their feedback publicly, those attending should not start private conversations with those seated alongside. If you are organizing, you may need to take action to prevent or stop noise. For example, tap a glass for silence, stand up and project your voice, wait for silence, use a microphone. Ask the audience, can you hear me. People who ae inebriated may lose inhibitions and talk loudly. 

Also beware of noise from people in doorways, or outside the doors and windows, or nearby at exhibitions, fairs and events. Passers-by to other events may not realise they are disturbing you. You may need to shut windows. and doors. Or turn off air conditioning, fans. Ask the venue to make the canned music quieter. 

Tell the adjacent stalls at an exhibition which times your or your guests are speaking. Conversely, let them know when, before or after your event, it is okay for them to play music and shout to their audience and passers-by.

Organizing Events

It is helpful to know about:

hire of glasses. Who gives loans or gives glasses free? Who sells glasses? Which glasses are unbreakable? What insurance do you need? What licensing permits are needed? Which venues, such as churches and temples and their rooms for hire will ban alcohol? 

Preparing For Non Drinking People, Locations and Events

When are drinks banned or expected? Some religions ban alcohol. Others allow drinking in moderation. Others have celebrations where a glass of wine is expected. What should you provide for children and non drinkers?

Glasses and Decanters

Even if you are not interested in wine, you might be interested in the use and value of antique and modern decanters. And selling or buying drinking glasses. Unbreakable glassware for serving soft drinks. Unbreakable glassware or lookalikes for bars near swimming pools. How to clean a decanter. 

Gifts 

Visiting large wine venues and shops may provide gifts for people who drink wine and don't. You might see books. Aprons and tea towels. Bottle openers. Discount vouchers. Hampers. 

Other Food and Drink

Water. Jams. Olive oils.

Networking

You might meet people in other businesses. 

The local tourist board, to help you plan a holiday. 

Rich investors, who can advise you on investing, on your business or theirs, or travel, or life in general. 

People who are accompanying their spouse or boss and actually prefer whisky, beer, non-alcoholic drinks, food.

The organizers, may be able to recommend  local restaurants and advise on visitor attractions.

The PR company for this event might invite you to other food and wine exhibitions, restaurant openings, or national events.

What Is Free?

A free tasting is free. Although you might feel obliged or happy to buy something in a shop or at the venue.

Free tastings often take place alongside the month's promotion of wine and food.

Tastings often end with discounts on wines or products at the venue. Sometimes you get a free large or small sample, useful leaflets, an opportunity to buy a signed book, or a free goodie bag to take home with information and gifts for yourself or a friend or colleague.

You can buy a wine tasting as a surprise or novelty for family and friends, as a gift for a birthday.

What's For Non Drinkers And Children?

Occasionally you will find other events or exhibitions alongside. For example, in the Canary islands, the large wine museum centre had a room on the architecture of the building and the history of the area. Another exhibition was about bees and honey.

The Wow wine theme park in Portugal had provision for children with non alcoholic drinks and cartoon character glasses.

Two wine museums in Spain and Portugal had aroma exhibits, with the aromas or different herbs and other ingredients. Their shops sold

Wine museums often sell tee-shirts and caps advertising the local winery and/or the local area.

Wine And Food

Wine tastings for the trade sometimes have only wine to taste and spit into a spitoon. Other events have water. Some have savoury water biscuits. Others have national food alongside, or a buffet afterwards, or canapes. You might get invited back to a Christmas, end of year, national day, or summer party with food.

If the event is at a restaurant, you might wish to stay on later, paying for a meal, if that is an option. 

Some organizations served food with wine or spirits. Two which I know about in England are a food and wine club in London and a whisky dinner group in Pinner in north west London.

The Wine Society

The Wine Society in Stevenage has a programme of lunches and dinner with matched wines, not all in Stevenage, some in London and elsewhere.  If you join the society, just £40 for life, no further annual fee, you can buy from their huge premises in person or online and get invited to events.

Many wine shops and warehouses hold regular events.

Useful Websites

Free wine tasting forms you can print, save or photograph

https://www.delongwine.com/products/wine-tasting-note-form

Sign up to get this form

https://www.bbcmaestro.com/free-wine-tasting-template

Wine Tasting Descriptors

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_tasting_descriptors

Wine Events

https://www.thewinesociety.com/buy/tastings-and-events/

Central London Wine Society

On Meetup 

Majestic

https://www.majestic.co.uk/events

Information

https://www.wine-tastings-guide.com/

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Pour A Poor Port Cocktail Or A Rich Port Shot

The Portuguese national flag is green and red with a shield in the middle.
 

I have been invited to a fine wine lunch where all the food is matched to alcohol.  That is good for me. I don't like drinking wine on an empty stomach. 

I asked what the drinks would be. The meal ends with dessert and a glass of port. 

As most wine lovers and visitors to Portugal know, and others might guess, Port comes from the port city of Oporto in Portugal.

Strong Port

But Port is a strong wine. too strong for me. Most strong alcohol is made into cocktails, or just mixed with water, like whisky or tonic water, like gin and tonic. That lowers the alcohol content, making a mixed drink which it safer and more digestible, also cheaper and larger, a long drink, instead of a tiny shot.

I searched online for cocktail recipes with port.  Port can be drunk as part of several cocktails. Ignoring those described as dry, sour or needing too many ingredients, I chose from a list on the website below

 1 Port Coffee Martini

 Port + espresso + Baileys

 2 Sangria

Port + sparkling water + chopped fruit

 

3 Port And Tonic

Port, tonic, rosemary (take from home) and an orange slice

The Portuguese for health is saude, (accent on the U for emphasis).

I am sticking to viva, because that is easier to type and say.

More Portuguese  speakers live in Brazil than in Portugal.

From Wikipedia.

My husband claimed that his bottle of precious port was too expensive and delicious to be diluted. Cocktails should only use poorer quality port. 

However, he discovered a bottle of tonic water lurking in our fridge at home and gave it to me to mix with my helping of port.

Useful Website On Port Cocktails

www.insanelygoodrecipes.com/port-cocktails 

Portuguese Words for saying cheers

https://portugueselearn.com/archives/3145

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Angela's Seasonal Xmas Quiz for travellers

 Where will you find a black cake at Christmas? What does Feliz Navidad mean? 

Do the quiz and check the answers to compare the number you get right with other members of your friends and family.  Learn the answers, and get all completely right by doing the quiz again.

See how many points you get. I hope it is not pointless.

 A The word croissant means

1 Crescent, in French

2 Cooked, in French

3 Cross shaped in French

4 Crescent in Italian 

B Spumante means

1 Sparkling in Italian

2 Sparkling in French

3 Spilled in Spanish

C Rosé means

1 Rose coloured in French

2 Rose shaped in Spanish

3 Rose perfumed in Italian

D Whiskey

1 Comes from Scotland

2 Comes from Ireland and America

3 Comes from Native Indians

E Whisky

1 Comes from Scotland

2 Comes from Ireland

3 Comes from Antarctica

F Christmas Pudding

1 Traditionally contains only a silver sixpence

2 Traditionally contains a three penny bit, sixpence, pea, bean or thimble

3 Traditionally contains a gold coin or gold foil wrapped fruit

Xmas crackers

G Christmas Crackers

1 Are named after the sound they make when pulled

2 Are named after the two creases

3 Are named after their appearance when pulled apart

H Christmas Crackers were invented by 

1 Tom Smith

2 Tom Jones

3 Billy Bunter

I In England at Christmas at tea time you eat

1 Christmas cake

2 Mince Pies

3 Christmas cake or mince pies

J The Yule Log comes from

1 England

2 Scotland

2 France

K Stollen comes from

1 Germany

2 Russia

3 Canada

L Panettone comes from

1 Spain and Italy

2 France and Portugal

3 Australia and New Zealand

M At Christmas in Belize they eat

1 White cake

2 Black cake, sometimes with Yellow cake

3 Green cake 

N Champagne comes from

1 France

2 Spain

3 Italy

4 France, and the USA under license

O Cava comes from

1 France

2 Spain

3 Italy

P Prosecco comes from

1 Spain

2 Italy

3 Portugal

Q Sherry comes from

1 France

2 Spain

3 Madeira

R Madeira comes from

1 Spain

2 Madeira which is Portuguese

3 Italy

S Christmas Day is Dec 25

1 In the lunar calendar

2 In the Gregorian Calendar

3 In the Julian Calendar

T Dec 26 Is

1 Boxing Day only

2 St Stephen's Day only

3 Both Boxing Day and St Stephen's Day in different countries

U A hanukiah is

1 The same as the menorah - 7 branches, for 7 days of the week

2 Has only 8 branches, for the 8 day festival

3 Has 9 branches, 8 plus the helper candle to light the others

V

Champagne is 

1 The shape of the bottle

2 A region of France and name of the drink

3 The name of the man who invented the bubbly drink

4 The name of a grape

W The Star of David (Jewish star, also called the seal of Solomon by Moslems)_

1 Has 5 points

2 Has 8 points

3 Has six points

4 Has any number of points

X Feliz Navidad is Spanish for

1 Happy Birthday

2 Congratulations

3 Happy New Year

4 Happy Christmas

Y Traditionally in the UK you kiss under

1 Holly

2 Mistletoe

3 The Christmas tree

Z What is the official name of the UK royal broadcast on Christmas Day

1 The Queen's Speech or the King's Speech

2 The Christmas message because the Queen's Speech or King's Speech opens Parliament

Answers

A1 B1 C1 D2 E1 F1 G1 H1 I3 J2 K1 l  L1 M2 N1

O2 P2 Q2 R2 S2 T3 U3 V2 W3 X4 Y2 Z2

-ends-

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Wine Museums Worldwide - WOW - which ones to visit?

WoW stands for World of Wine, also the exlamation, wow! It is a huge wine complex in Portugal, on the hillside overlooking the river. The city is called Oporto, Oporto, on a hillside above the port in Portugal, easy to remember. But that's not the only place to find a wine museum.

After the London Wine Fair, where I saw the stand of Georgia, which claims to be the birthplace of wine, I started thinking about wine museums. Some have supermarket size shops and restaurants. Others have cellar doors offering tastings, sometimes free food, other times platters of food if you have a group and book and pay - and mini-shops, and vineyard visits, with self-guided or guided tours.

I have visited Vineyards all over the world, and I have been to the memorable wine museums in Cyprus and Italy. 

Italy

Italy has huge mosaic floors from Roman villas, showing the Gods of wine, and the Romans reclining and drinking.

The one in Torgiano, Italy is in Umbria, next door to and west of Tuscany, not far from Florence. 

France 

Paris has a wine museum. 

Beyond Paris is Rheims in the Champagne area. There numerous Champagne houses offer tours and tastings.

In France, the port of Marseilles was established for the ships carrying wine. 

Bordeaux has a huge modern museum of wine. The name Bordeaux means border or edge of the water, meaning waterway. Wine drinking and export dates back to the time before air travel and even proper passable roads. Then travel was mainly by boats down rivers and in ships across seas.

Portugal

In Europe the biggest range of museums and gifts such as wine stoppers and socks was in WOW in Portugal. A series of museums on a hillside, like Disney, kept us busy all day.Videos, tastings, and a plastic tumbler to take home included in the price.

The Douro museum, along the river Douro, included a sniff section. The large ground floor shop entertained me with wine soaps and novelties.

Museu do Douro, Portugal. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

USA

California has many wineries, vineyards and shops attached. We drove along, up north from San Francisco. As we got further from the big city, the price of a corkscrew got lower and lower. One of the vineyards had a train tour, but we arrived too late. 

I saw lots of great gifts. In addition to wines, corkscrews, wine racks, bottle covers. Books for keeping a record of wine you've tried and liked. Books for storing bottle labels. 

Websites of Wine Museums: 

• Vino Versum Poysdorf, Austria
• Wine Museum (Pleven), Bulgaria
• Wine Museum, Ehnen, Luxembourg
• Wine Museum and Enoteca, Brazil
• Cyprus Wine Museum, Limassol District, Cyprus
• Macau Wine Museum, Macau, SAR China
• Musée du Vin (Wine Museum of Paris), France
• https://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/cultural-heritage/wine-trade-museum.html#:~:text=Discover%20the%20history%20of%20the,better%20understanding%20of%20Bordeaux%20wines. Bordeaux, France
• Museo del vino (Torgiano), Italy
• Douro Museum, Portugal
• WOW (World of Wine), Porto, Portugal
• Drăgășani Wine Museum, Romania
• Yilan Distillery Chia Chi Lan Wine Museum, Taiwan
• https://www.wineinvestment.com/learn/magazine/2021/05/seven-wine-museums-to-put-on-your-travel-bucket-list/
• Other wine museums are in Georgia, and South Africa.
• https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/travel/best-winemaking-history-musuems/?srsltid=AfmBOoqzqokP-8sps2EpFXIhSY0DOMgXWFRycZtFFHAO1WKp6bNWtsJy
• California Wine Museum Antique Shop, USA

Napa Valley wine train (lunches and day tours)

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Favourite Portuguese wine and corks

 These were the two favourite Portuguese wines out of 10 from the Tejo region presented to the Central London Wine Society.

Both were my favourites. I am a fan of sweet and off dry wines. Remember the days of Mateus Rose, a great hit with the British. Another  previous favourite from Portugal was Port.

Obelisco means obelisk. Obelisco wine from Portugal, not to be confused with the American Obelisco.

Obelisco, Frisante Gasificado, Rose, Adega de Almeirem NV (non vintage, ie no year of production bottling), 10.5% alcohol which is not too strong. 50% Aragonez (also called Tempranillo), mixed with 50% Castelao.

We tried the white. They also sell a rose.

Even better, in the opinion of myself and the group, was the Bridao, late harvest, Adega Cooperative do Cartaxo 2022, DOC Tejo, 13%, grape variety Fernao Pires, Arinto. Sweet, but not over-sweet. 

Useful Websites

https://adegaalmeirim.pt/en/store/obelisco-1-white/

Singers' wines - Bradd And Angelina In France, and Cliff Richards In Portugal

 FRENCH WINE WITH WORLD FAMOUS SINGING OWNER

You probably knew Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have a vineyard in Provence in France.

Chateau Miraval

It is open for tours, but you cannot just turn up. You must book in advance.

PORTUGUESE WINE WITH A FAMOUS SINGER OWNER

 But over in Portugal look out for Adega do Cantor, the farm of the singer, which belongs to Cliff Richards. 

Portuguese Language

Adega is actually wine cellar or winery in Portuguese. I have used Duolingo to learn Portuguese. You can also find translations on Translate Google, and Wikivoyage Phrasebook Portuguese.

Portuguese has a large number of words which are similar to Spanish. Portuguese is one of the romance laguages, based on Latin, languages which are all related. 

Often the consonant remains the same, but the vowels change. De is French for of. Do is Portuguese, as in Adega do Cantor. 

Cantor and Singer are both family names in the USA, UK and English speaking countries. 

I saw a website offering Adega Do Cantor as a destination for hen nights.

He has been granted an honour by the Portuguese government.

If you are in the UK, his portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery behind Traflagar Square. You can see Ciff Richard's hand prints in Wembley. 

Cliff Richards. More details in Wikipedia.

Useful Websites

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1237624-d195827-Reviews-Chateau_Miraval-Correns_Var_Provence_Alpes_Cote_d_Azur.html

CLOCKS GO BACK? WHEN? What to do, UK, USA and Co-ordinating

 In the UK British summer time ends the last Sunday in October. In 2024 that is October 27th.

SUMMER TIME SATURDAY

The clocks change after midnight on Saturday, so if you are in bed before 2 a,m, no problem.

Two in the morning is the change over TIME

WINTER TIME SUNDAY

When you get up in the morning some of your clocks may have updated themselves. In the UK my family's computers, laptops, mobile phones, and clocks on radio links had adjusted

 themselves.

. 

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Old fashioned watches with the four teeny wheels had to be checked by hand. You might want to check your car clocks. Also we had to do the cooker and the microwave.

Portugal

Portugal, which is on the west of Europe, keeps the same time as the UK, including the British summer time changed forward and back on the same dates. 

EUROPE

The rest of Europe also keeps summer time and changes their clocks. However, France, Spain and the rest of Europe, being geographically further east, are an hour different.

Memory Aid

A good memory for when you change times and in which direction, is in American English. It is Spring forward, Fall back.

The clocks change over the weekend to minimize disruption to the working week.

How does this change affect your Sunday.? In the morning, if you went to bed at midnight nd got up at 8 am, you had eight hours sleep, but the clocks are re-set to seven so you have an extra hour in the morning. 

However, in the evening, when your body clocks says it is midnight, the clocks are telling you it is only 11 pm. If you  go to bed at your body clock time you will be tired if you get up at the clock time on Monday morning.

If it gets dark at 7 pm, yesterday (Saturday) in London or Lisbon, today Sunday the clocks are saying it is only 6 pm when it is getting dark in the UK and Europe from now on it gets light earlier in the morning (supposedly helping farmers) but dark earlier in the evening so we need the Xmas lights to brighten the streets for shoppers and drivers from November.

USA

America observes daylight saving time, except for the states of Arizona and Hawaii.

AUSTRALIA

The seasons are reversed. Clocks change on different days.

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The Douro Wine Museum, Regua, Portugal

Photo by Angela Lansbury.
 

The Douro Museum is by the Douro river in Portugal. Wines are taken down this river to the big Port city of Oporto, from where ships carry Port to England.

The Douro Museum is a large building and te museum is on two floor with a large shop below.

The display I enjoyed the most was the aromatic display. Lots of bottles filled with aromas.. You lift the lid, lean down and sniff.. Heady delight. A wall of aromas. Rose. Lavender. Lemon. Mint. Ginger. Better than a perfume factory.

Down stairs in the shop you can try out testers, before buying perfumed soaps, hand creams and other perfumed items.

The Portuguese is Museu do Douro, Museum of Douro.

This was the second best and biggest wine attraction I found in Portugal, after WOW in Oporto.

PORTUGAL. Oporto and the WOW wine and food museums

 

The Disney World of wine for families, Oporto in Portugal was absolutel the top place I reecomend everyone whould visit. It ihas everything.

The Portuguese are keen on visitors, keen on the British. The Port wine facotries had many British founders and traded with England the the UK is still a prime market for Port and Portuguese wines. 

The WOW complex is on a steep hillside one one side of Oporto. The public car park is at the bottom of the hill and from the terrace you get a wonderful view over Oporto and the bridges over the river. Porto of course is the city grown up at the estuary. Wines grown on the steep hills inland could be sent by road or rail but the river route was directo and quicker. 

The river is wider than the perilous sheer drop roads which snake up and down the inland hillsides even today. You would not want your wines bouncing along the potholed and avalanche prone rock srewn roads road when the barrels could sail smoothly down the river.

The WOW complext has something for everyone including chidlren and non-drinkers. 

The shops sell hats, tee-shirts, aprons, socks, chocolates. 

You could start at the chocolate museum. Or the cork museum. 

The history  of wine is equally fasinating.

We booked a gourmet lunch with matching wines. 

Outside on the terrace you can order cheaper snacks such as chocolates.  Watch the peacocks parade past and display their feathers.

Budget Hotels in Spain and Portugal which help you to buy their popular mattresses

 I was looking through the exhibitors at the World Travel market in London, England, next November. 

I probably won't be able to attend. But why not check out who will be exhibiting, as the list is online, and anybody can see it.

B & B Hotels

I discovered a company called B & B hotel, a budget hotel group. I followed the link to their hotels for more information.

They have hotels in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, also

• Spain
• Portugal
• Czech Republic
• Switzerland
• Austria
• Slovenia
• Brazil
• Poland
• Netherlands
• Hungary
• Denmark

 In Spain and Portugal, you can ask the hotel to put you in touch with the seller of their mattresses. Have the mattress delivered to your home in those countries.

Useful Websites

https://www.hotel-bb.com/en/services/portugal/buy-our-mattresses

https://www.wtm.com/london/en-gb/exhibitor-details.org-2edaf631-b5ff-4ef4-a712-5d21fb43b74b.html#/

Food & Drink to try on your travels, by country L-R Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal

(This post is being updated. come back for more later or send me suggestions.) 

Luxembourg

Malta

Mexico

Food savoury

tamale, seasoned meat

Caesar Salad

Drink

Tequila

Tequila is the premium drink and must be made only from the blue agave, a kind of cactus. 

Mezcal can be made from anything and could be a mixture. Therefore it is likely to be cheaper.

Moldova

Morocco

Pstilla - pigeon pie

Netherlands

Food - savoury

Cheeses, Edam, Gouda

Drink

Advocaat, made from eggs, sugar and brandy

New Zealand

Pavlova

Norway

Gravad lax is the national dish of Norway and Sweden. The salmon is treated with salt and sugar, added dill, or you can add your own dill sauce. Eat it plain with salad or on bagels with cream cheese.

Peru

Philippines

Chicken Adobo

Portugal

Food - sweet

Egg tarts

Drink

Port

s://www.wine-searcher.com/find/d+oliveira+bual+vintage+madeira+portugal/

Romania

Russia

Sweets

blini  - pancakes

Drink

Vodka

Useful websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_salad

2015 Àguas de março SANT ANDREU JAZZ BAND ALBA ARMENGOU RITA PAYES JOEL ... and The Girl From Ipanema, Portuguese language, Brazilian weather

This is the earliest and slowest of two recordings of this song, which my family found on the internet.

Portuguese language songs. I looked up the words in Portuguese of the band's song Triste, then translated it into English. 

the song doesn't really go anywhere. Many of this genre are just reptitions of the theme of love or unrequited love, romance, mood and the weather.

If you are not into Jazz, or think you are not, let me explain how my attitude has evolved.  As a teenager, I liked music with a pronounced beat which I and partners could dance to. I like ballads and songs which told a story, were affirmative rather than negative. I was happy with trad jazz songs, such as When the Saints go marching in.  But I was bored and confused by modern jazz. Now that has changed.

Jazz seemed a waste of time because it seems to lack what to me were the essential qualities of both the music and the words.  My husband is a jazz fan and enlightened me about modern jazz. 

Let's start with one of the most recorded songs which you probably know, or should know, which is a Brazilian popular song and jazz and bossa nova..

'The Girl from Ipanema" (Portuguese title "Garota de Ipanema") is one of the most recorded songs of all time, allegedly only second to The Beatles' "Yesterday," as well as one of the most famous bossa nova jazz songs ever.' Frank Sinatra, Madonna and Amy Winehouse have sung versions of it.

Bossa nova means new trend or new wave.  Nova, new. The adjective new comes after the noun in Portuguese.  Bossa nova was derived from samba, with more added.

Samba had lots of percussion and flambuoyant costumes, reminiscent of Rio's carnival.

Samba started in the early 1900s. Bossa Nova took over in the 1950s and 1960s. The Girl from Ipanema was created in 1962 by a song-writing pair, a musical partnership. Composer Tom Jobin. Lyrics (words) by Vinicius de Moraes. 

The girl who inspired the song can be seen in Wikipedia and various articles about the song and her.

If you ever visit Brazil, Madeira or Portugal, these words from maps, signs and songs will be useful.

 Handy English- Portuguese translations

Portuguese - English

aguas - waters/rainfall

amor - love

avenida - avenue

casa - house

castelo - castle

de - of

eu - I

Eu te amo - I love you (literally I you love, subject, object, verb)

jardim - garden

Marca - March (noun, the month)

meu - me/mine

nova - new

pinheiro - pine tree, pine tree forest (Place name)

ponte - bridge

porto - harbour

rio - river

rua - street

torre -  tower

triste - sad 

English - Portuguese

avenida - avenue

bridge - ponte

castle - castelo

garden - jardim

harbour - porto

house - casa

I - eu

love - amor

me/mine - meu

new - nova

of - de

old - velha (feminine) velho (masculine)

pine tree/pine tree forest - pinheiro

rain - aguas

river - rio

sad - triste (the same word in French)

street - rua

tower - torre

Useful Websites

https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/what-is-bossa-nova-music/

https://kidadl.com/baby-names/inspiration/portuguese-last-names-with-meanings-and-history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helo%C3%ADsa_Pinheiro

https://www.houseofnames.com/pinheiro-family-crest

The girl from Ipanama, in Brazil. Helo Pinheiro.

Where to see statues of Portugal's Poet Pessoa And Sit Beside A Statue For A Fun Photo

 

Lisbon, capital of Portugal, is the place to go to see a statue of Portuguese Poet Pessoa. Take a hat to wear to match his.

The poet had a poor start in life. Lost his parent and a sibling whilst still a child. Not quite right physically. 

As an adult he started a business which failed. Died relatively young. 

Yet so much of his life is exciting, unusual and uplifting. He translated many English books into Portuguese. He wrote under pen names. He left many unfinished works.

He wrote:

Literature is the pleasantest way of ignoring life.

I am a keeper of sheep. The sheep are my thoughts.

Eat your chocolates, little girl,
Eat your chocolates!
Believe me, there's no metaphysics on earth like chocolates.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fernando_Pessoa

Why Try The Steak Sandwich at The Lodge Hotel In Putney? And Maids Of Honour Custard Tarts in Kew?

The library lounge at The Lodge Hotel in Putney, South London, UK. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
 

The Lodge Hotel in Putney, south London, is a sandwich building, a modern section linking two traditional parts, two houses. The arrival was welcomingly easy. Free parking at the front and more free parking at the back. 

The Lodge Hotel's Delightful Decor

Reception is a bit dull. The best part is the library style lounge at the back. A row of bookshelves, floor to ceiling, on your right, represented cosy almost cluttered indoors. On the opposite wall it faces a giant wallpaper mural of trees and scenery. The great outdoors and spaciousness. Very restful. So, whatever your mood, cosy indoors or countryside, the setting is suitable.

The barman was friendly and had a selection of so-called sandwiches. But not sandwich snacks. More like meals. 

We wanted a quick sandwich. I was the passenger and standby driver for my husband who was booked into a wine tasting. 

Downstairs in a modern private room, the array of red wines were accompanied by a few slices of salami and crackers. My husband needed proper protein to set himself up for the evening of liquid, and the subsequent drive home.

Up at the bar, the sandwich options, all at over ten pounds, included shellfish or tuna or vegetables. The real meaty protein was the steak sandwich. 

I was outraged. A bar with no simple sandwich for five pounds. Any pub, or newsagent or Deli, Starbucks or Boots, anywhere, could sell me a simple sandwich for two pounds fifty and a a fancy sandwich of smoked salmon and cream cheese for a fiver.

We had to wait ten to fifteen minutes. The sandwich came accompanied by chips. Hm. Steak sandwich is odd. Steak and chips is more like it. My hungry, grumpy mood was modified.

Steak Sandwich Success

I had never had a steak sandwich. I was suspicious. What was it? 

To my amazement, the steak sandwich was a great success. Not just a one off success. Not just a success for one evening. A life-changing success.  An introduction to a new dish. 

The steak was thin. The bread was 'buttered' with caramelised onion, sweet like mango chutney. I loved it. Not just good enough, but never enough! More-ish! Yummy. Lip-smacking good! 

I am now addicted to caramelised onion. I shall dream of it sunk into the brown bread. Luscious. 

Is it similar to Branston pickle? Was this like the first sandwich, steak served to Lord Sandwich, who demanded not just meat on bread, which served as a platter as well as an absorber of meat juiced or gravy. Lord Sandwich wanted a piece of bread on top to keep his hands clean as he played cards. He gave his grand, double-syllabled name to the humble, quick snack, made from meat in not one but two slides of bread. 

I remember vividly my first Indian meal. My first yogurt. I can now eat pickled cucumber (gherkins), and olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. I add to my palate of delights caramelised onion spread on bread around a flat steak, sliced into strips. Delicious.

I shall always think fondly of The Lodge Hotel, dark black upstairs, grey in the basement (with a surprise high level window viewing a green slope like a cliff). 

The ladies toilets were also good. Moisturizer always makes me happy. Especially if it is a good brand with a distinctive aroma. 

In case my husband and I were both too tired to drive, I asked the price of a room. The price I was quoted was over 150, wor a basic room, with another up to thirty pounds more for the better rooms, larger with amenities such as coffee makers. The day of the week and number of rooms already sold affects the price. That explains why, when I looked on a sales website next day, I found a third party offering rooms at a lower price than what was available at the front desk.

Where is this hotel? We drove back into London across the Kew bridge. 

Maids Of Honour

We reminisced about buying /maids of honour' custard tarts from the original shop. Those custard tarts came from Portugal, made for the Portuguese Queen of England by her maids of honour when she was homesick for the cuisine of her homeland. I was introduced to them by a Portuguese au pair girl who came to stay with us in London. I was astonished to find the story about the Portuguese queen was authentic. If you travel to Portugal you will find custard tarts are still a local food. 

Wikipedia attributes the name to Maids of Honour at the court of Henry VIII, but the name coming from Anne Boleyn or Henry VIII himself.

Custard tarts sounds pretty basic, as well as easy to make. Maids of honour, much grander and more complicated. 

How delightful it is to add a new dish to one's repertoire. Mine is steak sandwich. Thank you to the Lodge Hotel in Putney.

The Inventor of The Sandwich

Incidentally, the supposed inventor of the Sandwich, was the 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montague. His name was also given to the Sandwich islands by explorer Cook in honour of his sponsor, Sandwich, who was First Lord of the Admiralty.

This painting of the sandwich man is by Gainsborough and is in London's Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London SE10. The picture is from Wikipedia and is in the public domain. 

The Marititme Museum is a place to visit if you are staying at The Lodge Hotel in Putney. So are Kew Gardens and the Maids of Honour tea shop.

You can buy custard tarts at all the major supermarkets in the UK such as Aldi, Marks and Spencers and Tesco.  In Lisbon and Portugal you can buy the Portugese version of custard tarts. Or visit the shop rebuilt in mock-Tudor style after WW2 bombing. The premises now has a a take away selling hot cakes and a daytime restaurant or tea shop, open 8.30 am to 6 pm. They deliver within five miles.

Over in America the Americans have their own versions of the steak sandwich, and a steak sandwich with cheese. The Lodge hotel serves steak with both bread and chips. The Americans double the ingredients, the calorie count and no doubt the price. I never said anything was healthy. I will say that steak sandwiches and custard tarts are filling and delicious.

Useful Websites

The Hotel

Nearest station, East Putney tube station.

52-54 Upper Richmond Road, Wandsworth, London SW15 2RN.

Tel:

https://www.thelodgehotellondon.com/

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/bestwesternlodge.en-gb

The Sandwich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Montagu,_4th_Earl_of_Sandwich#The_sandwich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_sandwich

English Maids of Honour Tarts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maids_of_honour_tart

https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/maids-of-honour

http://www.theoriginalmaidsofhonour.co.uk/cateringservices/occasion-cakes/

Portuguese Custard Tarts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel_de_nata

The Portuguese flag and Portuguese words for colours

Lockdown is lifting. Get ready for your next trip to Portugal, Madeira, Brazil, or to reading about trips to these places and more news on Praia da Luz and Madeleine McCann.


Portuguese flag

Portuguese - English

English - Portuguese

Do you have
a Portuguese flag

Português - inglês
Inglês - português
Você tem
uma bandeira portuguesa

red
orange
yellow
green
blue

vermelho - red (like vermilion)
laranja (like orange)
amarelo
verde (like verdant)
azul

navy blue/dark blue
violet
purple
pink
black - white

Português - inglês Inglês - português Você tem azul marinho / azul escuro (like marine, like obscure) tolet (violet and tolet both end with et) roxa Rosa (like rose pink) Preto - black; branco - white (like blank white paper)

grey
not grey

striped
patterned

no striped
polka dots

coloured
multi coloured

bright colours
pale colours

cinzento
não cinza
listrado (striped like lines crossing out a shopping list)
estampado (pattern stamped on it)
não listrado
bolinhas
colori - coloured
multi colorido - multi coloured
cores brilhantes - brilliant colours

cores pálidas - pale colours

I like
I want
small
bigger

how much
cheaper

Perfect
I'll buy it

Thank you
Goodbye

Eu gosto
eu quero
pequeno
Maior (big or major)

quanto
mais barato (m for much or more)
Perfeito - perfect PERFE .T in both words
Vou comprar
Obrigado - obliged/much obliged/ thanks
Adeus - like mixing Spanish adios with French adieu

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a trave writer and phtographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.
Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a langauge evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and other language clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced, meeting every Wednesday, on zoom the first Wednesday of the month but the other Wednesdays are workshops on app learncool.sg
Or quicker to type and easier to remember:  tinyurl.com/BHACOOL

Useful Websites
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogs
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-say-thank-you-in-several.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/05/introducing-yourself-in-english-spanish.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/01/second-set-of-portuguese-words.html Please share links to your favourite posts
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8384769/Major-breakthrough-hunt-Madeleine-McCann-police-identify-German-suspect.html
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_de_patrim%C3%B3nio_edificado_no_distrito_de_Faro
translate.google.com
duolingo.com

A few words of Portuguese

Flag of Portugal

I was reading a news article about the good news that the German police had a new suspect in the case of the kidnapping and disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal. A photo of a house was labelled with the Portugese words escola velho, translated as old school.

I was struck by how easy it was to recognize and remember Portuguese words.

Portuguese - English
escola vehla - old school (old school building)

Notice that both words, the noun and the adjective end in the letter a, matching.
I copied the Portuguese for old and mistyped it twice. The first time I noticed I had typed vehlo, seeing the o in the middle of the word school.

The second time I typed velha instead of vehla, transposing the h and the l. I then remembered the Yiddish, oy veh! VEH.

Finally I had the words right, escola, vehla. hl pronounced y -l like vey -lya

Later I went into Translate google and put into the English side old school and up came the translation

English - Portuguese
old school (old style, or old fashioned) - moda antigua

That reminds me of the French a la mode, at (translates into in) the fashion.

(Pie a la mode in the USA is with ice cream.)

Antigua in Portuguese reminds me of the English word antique, as in antiques shop.

Where can you use Portuguese? Over on the American continent in South America in Brazil. In Europe in Portugal. Offshore from Portugal in the Atlantic in the island of Madeira. Or as I did when reading news articles about places in Portuguese speaking countries.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a trave writer and phtographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.

Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a langauge evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and other language clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced, meeting every Wednesday, on zoom the first Wednesday of the month but the other Wednesdays are workshops on app learncool.sg
Or quicker to type and easier to remember:  tinyurl.com/BHACOOL

useful Websites
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogs
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-say-thank-you-in-several.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/05/introducing-yourself-in-english-spanish.html
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/01/second-set-of-portuguese-words.html Please share links to your favourite posts
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8384769/Major-breakthrough-hunt-Madeleine-McCann-police-identify-German-suspect.html

Cristiano Ronaldo Footballer's Statue and My Favourite Sites in Portugal, Madeira and Portuguese Speaking Brazil

Portugal
First stop
is Lisbon.


Lisbon's Belem tower, a symbol of the city.

Monument to Henry the Navigator
At a distance the figures are very small. You need a zoom lens. You may prefer to read up about the statue people shown in advance of your visit, using Wikipedia or a guidebook.

The Algarve sandy beaches and rock formations.
See the Punta da Piedade (Point of mercy).

On one occasion we flew direct to Faro airport and did fly-drive, picking up a hire car.
On another holiday we enjoyed the drive south through cork trees down the west coast of Portugal.

Portugal Travel Highlights -
Lisbon, the capital city

Port and Douro Wine Route, Portugal
Algarve beaches via Faro airport

Madeira
In the capital Funchal you will find two or more Madeira wine locations. We booked from home in advance for all of our hiking group. A centrally located shop where you can book a Madeira tasting and talk for a group is Pereiro D'Oliveriras. We had previously met their rep when they were giving a tasting of Madeira wines in a wine shop in Eton in the UK.

Company Pereira D`Oliveiras, Funchal

Karelj - Own work. Wikipedia.

MADEIRA
Known for Madeira wine, switchback road, walks along the levadas, and the visual appeal of the little triangular houses, one of which we saw was a flower shop where I bought fruit seeds.

Cristiano Ronaldo, football player, statue by Madeiran sculptor Ricardo Velosa in Funchal, Madeira. Photo by TeWeBs in Wikipedia.
The airport was renamed Cristiano Ronaldo. A bust of the player was controversial as some people did not think it was a likeness or that it was not flattering. So the full size sculpture was commissioned.

You can also visit a museum all about the football player and an adjacent hotel.

Vineyard growing among other cultures in the tropical influenced climate near Santana, Madeira.

Karel Vízner, GEUM - Self-photographed

wine fields near town Santana, Madeira.

BRAZIL
Brazilian Tourist Board
https://www.visitbrasil.com/
See Rio, the beach, and the modern city of Brasilia.




Useful Websites

Travel

Portuguese Tourist Board

https://www.visitportugal.com/en

Pousadas

https://www.pousadasportugal.com/

Language

http://duolingo.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language
https://translate.google.com/

earwormslearning.com

Madeira
https://www.visitportugal.com/en/destinos/madeira
Story of vintage Madeira wind discovered in the USA
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/madeira-wine-two-hundred-year-old-found-fortified-cellar-new-jersey-liberty-hall-union-a7835881.html
http://www.kean.edu/libertyhall/about/history
Football Museum
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museu_CR7
duolingo.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeira

TOURIST BOARDS GROUPED TOGETHER

visitportugal.com

visitbrasil.com

http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/homepage

ANGELA LANSBURY BLOG POSTS

http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/port-and-portuguese-wine-labels-and.
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/how-to-ask-for-food-and-drink-in.
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/learn-your-first-ten-words-in.
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/how-do-you-say-please-in-portuguese-is.

http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2017/03/madeira-madeira-wine-portugal-and.html

About The Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, blogger, author of 20 books including an ebook on Improve Your English, from Amazon, and teacher of English and Business English and other languages to individuals, colleges and companies. For more information on learning languages see the previous posts. For information on sites to see in Spain and Portugal see the next post. Please bookmark your favourite posts and share the links with your family, friends and colleagues.