We are trying some of the new types of fish in the local grocery stores, and Wednesday was swordfish night. They have bins full of bagged frozen swordfish fillets in our local market, so Gerrit baked some up with some tomato pesto sauce and white wine, and they were quite good, a nice light white fish. At least he thought so; Pat was less impressed. There was a bad piece in the bag which may have tainted the rest and lent a stronger fishy odor than they should have had, so we'll give them another chance sometime.
We're in a kind of limbo now, not having Portuguese phone numbers yet. Many stores, online suppliers, utilities, and accounts require a Portuguese number so we're having to come up with work-arounds where we can. It may be another few weeks before we have official internet, TV, and cell phone numbers. We did get our TV on Friday and the work order for network installation should appear on Saturday, so we're hopeful it will all come together soon.
On Thursday, we took the afternoon off to drive through the countryside around the Porto rural area a bit, ending up at a scenic viewpoint called Monte de São Gens. It's about an hour from Gaia (where we live), taking the back roads. It's the highest point in the area, with beautiful panoramic views of the surrounding country and the nearby Douro river. The weather was nice, and the sky was dramatic. We got a close look at the more rural parts surrounding Porto, generally the area where we might settle, and liked it. The villages were quiet and appealing, and the country was lovely.
(As usual, you can click on any photo to enlarge it, scroll through them all, and click in the black area outside a photo when you're done.)
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 | | The Douro river from Monte de São Gens |
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 | | View from Monte de São Gens |
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 | | View from Monte de São Gens |
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 | | View from Monte de São Gens |
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Through most of the drive we were surrounded by what looked like a eucalyptus forest. The mature trees look and smell much like eucalyptus, and the young sprouts have beautiful silvery green leaves. It's a gorgeous combination.
(Thank you to our friend Ernie Hood who confirmed that these are indeed eucalyptus. Portugal apparently did like southern California and imported them as a firebreak. Now they are either an invasive nuisance if you're an environmentalist or a boon to business if you make pulp and paper.)
