It’s definitely not as warm as last year although our first day last year had been wet. This morning we awoke to thunder and rain but by the time we were ready to go out the sun was also out although it was a bit chilly.
I wanted to go back to the market town of Loulé which we had visited before. I bought Colin two jars of the excellent marmalade from the market stand I follow on Facebook and Instagram and we had a coffee (and cake) and chat with the British owner. She and her husband have lived in Portugal for nearly twenty years and opened the stall backing 2021. I am very envious. Colin also bought another leather belt from the same lady as last year.
We wandered around and Colin spotted an interesting place for lunch just outside the market - Flor da Praça - with a good value ‘Plato del dia’. i enjoyed the pork steaks and Colin had the fish. I was worried about filling myself up to much before our meal this evening but it was very good and excellent value.
We drove onto to explore a little town called Alté. It was very quiet and easy to find parking but the thing I noticed the most was all the cats around the place. The local supermarket told us how they feed them, pay for them to be neutered and generally look after them - nice people.
Finally - the event of the day - what was supposed to be my birthday meal at Domino Cafe . I had read reviews of something called a ‘cataplana’ which has to be ordered at least 24 hours in advance and you have to pay a deposit. Wow.
Our table was ready and waiting and the chef opened the cataplana pan to reveal the biggest display of hot seafood I have seen. Huge langoustine/prawns arranged over a stack of mussels, clams, crab legs and claws. we had individual hammers and boards to tackle the crab claws and a lot of napkins. However, before we tacked that we had a whole dressed crab starter between us with fresh bread and lemon.
It was a messy job and not a dish for a first date - lucky we’re almost at the twentieth anniversary though! The food was amazing and there was so much of it. Despite this we still managed to force down dessert created by the chef and we were finally presented with not one but two complimentary almond liqueurs at the end. What a meal - definitely a very memorable ‘birthday boxing day’ meal.
