Going out as a family was a constant in my childhood and my teens as well. Being at home all week made the going out on Sunday something my mum looked forward to and never wanted to abdicate. I remember several time hell breaking loose in my house if my dad didn’t fell like going out on Sunday. The argument was always the same, my dad would say he had been out all week and wanted to stay home on Sunday, while my mum would say she had cooked and cleaned all week so she deserved a day off on Sunday! I never got involved but could see both points of view.
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| Costoletao |
Nevertheless we did go out for lunch almost every Sunday. My father had a few favourite restaurants most of them required a reservation as not to have to wait for hours. One of the favourites was O Fuso in Arruda dos Vinhos, a restaurant that specialized in Bacalhau na Braza (salted cod cooked live in ambers) and Costeletao (huge veal chop cooked in the same fashion). The restaurant was extremely rustic having at its centre a lagar (grape pressing weal) and huge wooden beams exhibiting all kinds of agricultural contraptions associated with wine making. That I found was quite curious as the name of the restaurant was o Fuso which meant “the Spindle” and therefore suggested textile connections. On the other hand the name of the town was Arruda dos Vinhos, meaning “Tree of the wines”. But now I have started to divert! The Important thing to mention here is that I have NEVER until today tasted Bacalhau as lovely and moist as the one cooked in O Fuso. No accident that people without table reservations would wait for as long as 3 or 4 hours for a table.
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cozido |
Another favourite restaurant of my parents especially in the winter months was O Abegao. This was really a café with a big room at the back where they cooked only one dish – Cozido a Portuguesa, the hallmark dish of the Portuguese constituted of a combination on diverse meats, sausages, pulses and vegetables boiled in a huge sauce pan. I really enjoyed going there because they had a room with flippers’ machines and after lunch while my parents drunk their coffee and chatted, I was given 25 escudos coins to play on them.
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| A Trindade |
Besides going out for lunch, many afternoons after school, my dad would arrive earlier home and take the all family for a late lanche in “A Trindade”. This was an amazing place with walls covered in tiles depicting legendary figures of gods and goddesses of nature. Their speciality was crab, which was lovely prepared and accompanied by little buttered toasts! They also made a scrumptious steak with this mouth watering creamy sauce, served in a clay dish with chips in a separate dish. I just loved everything about that place; the food, the drink and the ambience.
FAMILY PICNICS
In the summer we would often go for a picnic in the countryside. I liked going on picnics, particularly because I could invite my neighbour Nuno to come along most of the times. Now this was not a normal picnic as my dad was very peculiar on his ideas of picnic making. We had folding table and chairs and 2 hammocks. So far quite normal, right? Yes right! But now the strange things, my dad refused to eat on or with anything plastic, it affected his palate he said! So we had to take normal BREAKABLE plates and glasses and PROPER cutlery to our picnics. We also had to take house pillows (the foldable chairs as they were, were not fit for my dad’s bottom and , you guessed that would affect his palate), a table cloths and napkins made of material (paper would affect his palate), a glass contraption coffee maker (again very fragile) and a very thin whiskey glass which I would wrap up with cotton wool and carry with me for extra caution! Other things that affected dad’s palate was cold food or warm wine, so my mum had to make bifes de cebolada (steak with onions) at home and time it to perfection so 5 minutes before we leave the house she would take the pan of the fire, wrap it in a blanket and carry it on her lap in the car.
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| country road Sintra - a usual spot for our picnics |
The same procedure happened with the wine that would go in the ice box, again only put together at the last minute to ensure it kept cool until we got to our picnic spot! Upon arrival my dad would sit in the car reading the paper while I, Nuno, my mum and brother set up everything including the hammock which had to be the first thing out so my dad could lie down! He use to say he had done his part by driving as if he didn’t drive there would be no picnic! Now just in case you are thinking he drove 3 hours on bendy hard roads, let me just clarify it took max 45 minutes to get to our usual spot on straight easy roads!
After lunch, my dad would lie back on his hammock while my mum, Nuno and I played cards and my brother had a nap. Me and Nuno would also go for walks in the woods and pretend we were explorers! Around 6 pm me and my mum would pack up everything and then my poor dad had to drive another 45 min to take us home! I guess it is no surprise my mother didn’t really like picnics!
Those picnics were really no picnic for her! In fact if my parents kind of picnic had been taken into consideration when they coined the expression “this is no picnic” maybe they would have gone with the expression “this is a real picnic!”.
GOING TO THE BEACH
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| Praia da Macas |
Another frequent destination in the summer was of course the beach! My mum did enjoy those days more that picnics as my dad would rather eat on the beach restaurant than take sandwiches (the thought of eating in a sandy environment affected his palate!). We had 2 main destinations, Praia das Macas (apples’ beach), a beautiful beach about 2 hours away near Colares or this deserted private beach near Cascais just 40 minutes way from our home. During the summer holidays I also use to go to the beach with my neighbour Dona Mecilia. We would go to Costa da Caparica!
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| borded house in private beach |
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| private beach |
I always loved the beach! I loved making sand castles, playing in the water and collecting sea shells. My mum stayed well clear of the water as she couldn’t swim but my dad use to play with me and through me around in the water. Sometimes my uncle Antonio would join us with his children. That was even better because his daughter was close to my age and we use to play the all day long! The deserted beach was my favourite. I believed it was magical. In it, it stood a majestic stone mansion now boarded up and when the tide was high the water came all the way to its porch were me and my cousin would lie and pretend we were magical princesses imprisoned by an evil witch in an island castle.
THE MAGIC OF FADO
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| Amalia - Queen of Fado |
Often as well as going out on a Sunday, my father would take the all family to dinner on a Friday or Saturday night to watch Fado. Fado that means faith is the national song of Portugal. It is generally interpreted by a solo man or woman accompanied by a viola and a Portuguese guitar. The Portuguese language has a word, saudade, which doesn't translate into English. It roughly means "nostalgia" or "homesickness", but implies a bittersweet longing. This word, and its adjoining concept, forms the basis of the lyrical content of fado music. Songs are often about lost or unrequited love, death and general sadness. Although it has had a revival recently when I was growing up it was considered a dying art for mainly older people. I however, always been fascinated by its music and its feeling. There were 2 casas de fado (places where you can eat traditional food and listen to Fado sang live) that we use to visit often. One was the Painel do Fado and the other was Luso. Both these establishments are still opened to the public. Just to give you an idea of what fado talk about, I live here the lyrics of one of my favourites together with a translation
FOOTBALL DAYS
Another constant in my childhood was going to the football with my dad! Apparently he made me an associate when I was 1! We supported the Belenenses a team based in Belem Lisbon and during football season whenever they played at home me and my dad would go and watch. I loved the all atmosphere with the flags and the scarves and the chants! At the age of 5 I already understood the rules of the game and use to dress up all in blue (the team’s color) with my scarf and my flag on tole. My dad use to meet up with lots of friends in the stadium and I remember I was the only girl around! They were all very nice to me and I remember being carried around by all these men and sitting on different shoulders every 15 minutes. In the breaks the ice cream and sweet man would come around and I would always be treated. In 1989 Belenenses won the National cup, and following the game my dad took me to this in pronto party where everyone was singing and dancing and there were lots of food and drink!  |
| Figo in 1991 |
Sadly in 1991 Belenenses dropped to the 2nd division and I broke my dad’s heart by switching allegiances to Sporting, the club my granddad supported and the club where my hero Figo played. From then on I no longer went to the football with my dad. Instead I use to go and visit the lovely gardens and museums in Belem with my mum and brother. My dad tried to get David to go along with him but he never liked going out with my dad, they never had the same bond as I and my dad had.
