October 10, 2017
The Portuguese School of Equestrian Art, is based in the Gardens of the National Palace of Queluz, with a mission to conserve and promote the Lusitano horse and a unique Portuguese tradition of Haute École through the selection, training and exhibition of these Pure Blood Lusitano horses from the Alter Real Stud Farm. They stage performances and galas, which are held in facilities obtained from the Portuguese army in Belem.
So today we are going to such a presentation in Belem, easy access by bus and then a short walk to the Henrique Calado Riding Ring: pretty low-key performance of about 1 hour. As they do not permit flash photography, and the subjects do move, we were not able to get many decent pics…
The performance includes exercises with horse and rider(s) as well one where the rider leads the horse using long reins and has the horse perform certain actions e.g. jump and extend both rear legs, which obviously takes a tremendous amount of practise.
In any event a pleasant performance after which we made our way back, stopping near the Cais de Sodre Metro to visit the Time Out Market.
The Mercado da Ribeira is the oldest and largest food market in Lisbon, Portugal. The first references to its existence stretch back to approximately 1100, and over the centuries there have been earthquakes and fires and downturns in business. It moved to its current location in 1882 and in 2010, Time Out won a competition held by Lisbon’s city council for the right to take over and renovate the market space. In 2014 it opened for business > there is a traditional market selling the normal range of products, where many of the local leading chefs buy their produce/fish etc …
…. but what has made this a must see destination was the concept of gathering 35 leading restos to offer a range of cuisines, from traditional Portuguese fare to international foods….even cooking classes. It is kind of neat, but personally I found this to be a high-end food court where you pay a premium to sit cheek by jowl, eating this stuff……otherwise known as “wannabe’s”……if you can’t afford the real thing you do this….each to their own:
….another beauty of a day and we walked back the several kilometers to Alfama, along the river, stopping to enjoy the views and the brews…
We had tried to have dinner at a small (6 table) resto nearby the other night but they were full and the next sitting was at 21:30 >>> no way, so today we have a reservation at the Sal Grosso Taberna and arrive promptly at 20:00 > gated doors open and we are in. Very simple/very tight > large folks beware. The menu is on a wall chalkboard but we consult the waitress > so: pork cheeks w apple and celeriac puree, oxtail stew, homemade fries, orange salad with a 1/2 litre of white and an unknown but deelicious mousse. Suffice to say there was nothing left on our plates >>> down home Portuguese cooking. As luck would have it the chef was enjoying a busman’s holiday at the next table and we queried him on the oxtail preparation on which he expounded at length and at the end of the meal signalled to the #2 to bring a bottle of firewater (no other way to describe it > hot peppers were floating in the “carafe”), his English was not the best but the intention was clear, follow his example and do some shots > no problem !!! Left the bottle on the table and disappeared …a fun night.
And for this 35 Euros, sometimes you get it right, but more importantly you get the feeling this crew really liked what they were doing….we sure did!!
Then up the wicked hill and light’s out!!