After nearly three months of nothing but Toledo (except for the delightful little day trip to Cuenca) I was starting to go a bit stir crazy. The only thing that kept sane was an upcoming trip, which my friend Noelia had organised: Three nights at her friend’s place in Badajoz, Extremadura, just a handful of miles from the Portuguese border. From there, we would invade the neighbouring country and stuff ourselves silly with all the glorious Portuguese food we could cram down our gullets. Then, it was onwards, across the entire country and down to Andalucía for a couple of days, following a kind invitation from one of Noelia’s workmates, who had bequeathed us a lovely flat overlooking the beach.
All you all ready and comfortable? Let’s get started 🙂
Badajoz has some picturesque public gardens…
…and glorious views. The town itself has a very southern Spanish flair, although it’s not much more south than Toledo. The Portuguese influence is keenly felt in the architecture, the colours and on restaurant menus. Salt cod and custard tarts galore!
Moving on to Portugal…
Évora’s party piece: A Roman temple from the 1st century
Lots of crumbling gems to discover…
…as well as some modern art.
Noelia (left), and our hosts Gracia (right) and Lua (centre).
One of Évora’s most glamorous residents turning his back on me
The Almendres Cromlech, a few miles from Évora city. A megalithic complex erected 8,000 years ago, and pretty well preserved. We just made it in time for sundown.
We’re in Elvas now, another historic town settled since the year dot.
Just don’t ask me what that thing in the middle is supposed to signify…
Like any Portuguese town worth its salt, Elvas has a castle…
…impossibly steep, cobbled streets…
…and plenty of tiles. Everywhere.
And, of course, FOOD! Here we are, waiting for ours. The desserts at that place were to die for.
For one last look at Portugal, how about this majestic cork oak? The souvenir shops are full of cork products. You can even send postcards made of cork.
Cádiz Province, Andalucía, here we come!
BEACH BEACH BEACH!!!
I was rather taken with that cheery parasol 🙂
Did I mention the beach…?
Noelia with our generous host and indefatigable tour guide, Paco
A cute frog fountain in Tarifa
Gibraltar, the third “country” visited on our trip. We spent a morning there, during which I made a beeline to M&S, heaping as many packs of hot cross buns as I could carry into my basket, as well as several boxes of walnut whip. None of which survives.
Now there’s just one thing missing, one VERY IMPORTANT thing:
Ravishing photos, from the spring blooms to the Roman temple and cromlech, to the beach and the… what is that last photo anyway? At first I thought it was a tortilla, but it looks like cake 🙂
You look so happy to be there! I can see why.
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Tarta de bolacha 🙂
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Having a terrible time finding anything in English about this. Google translates: cookie tart!
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Aw, who doesn’t like a cookie tart, especially if she’s a sweetie 😉
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Sweets to the sweet 🙂
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LOL the penny just dropped.
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I knew it would …
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What a great trip! And what flavour was that last cake??
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It was very, very sweet! A kind of biscuit and cream cake thing.
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Ah, too sweet for me then!
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Yes, I suspect it would have been…
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Oh, what a fabulous trip you’ve had. And some great shots in there.
What’s in the delicious dessert / cake at the end? Apart from cream!?
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Just answered that – everybody seems to fixate on this, I wonder why 😉
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Gorgeous photos. Glad you had a nice time! I’m a teeny bit jealous. I remember trying to navigate our camper through those streets in Portugal! We loved Evora and really loved Andalucia. Sigh…
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Oh yes, that trusty green camper! You must miss it… 😉
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I really was sad to see it go. It served us very well, apart from the heat in Spain in July. I hope we get a new one before the summer.
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That last tarta is such a tease!!! I love the Almendres Cromlech and that peacock perversely turning its back on you. Now.. just what mischief were you up to that prompted such behaviour?? Hmmm….?
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I… was wearing a shirt in HIS colours. That’s why he snubbed me. I’m convinced.
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Oh the audacity of you to do such a thing!! 😉
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Great photos as always. Hey, you were just down the road from me! 🙂
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I know! We were even planning to go to Jimena! Unfortunately, we ran out of time…
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Never mind WK, if you went to Marks you were literally five mins away from me. Assuming I wasn’t in Spain at the time. Evora struck me as weird. It was like a museum that closed at 5pm. And I took one look at those Atlantic beaches and thought … Tarifa!
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Aw, Marks, how I miss it! And it was the same cashier serving me as last year, LOL, Lorraine… I’m sure you know her 😉 The first couple of beach pics are from San Roque (or just as you come down from there), and the next few are indeed Tarifa 🙂
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Oh, and as for both Évora and Elvas, it was time time travel back to the 50’s. Very pretty and totally worth a visit, but the thought of having to live there would terrify me.
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Looks like a great trip!
Tarifa is on my to do list – along with a ferry across to Morocco. One day!
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Yes! I so want to go on that ferry!!! But we never seem to have enough time 😦
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I just love travelling with you. We always go somewhere beautiful and interesting.
… and you feed us well!! 🙂
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I’ve had three of your Dancing Dodo Donuts, just so you know…
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I’m glad you got to them before Husband! These are his favourites 🙂
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Mmm! My family refers to the cake as Bolo de bolacha. Delicious!
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That’s the one 🙂 We had it in Badajoz, where it’s tarta d.b. but if he had had it a mere 10km further to the east, it would have been bolo d.b. 🙂
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Reblogged this on L .OV. E. UNTITLED and commented:
Happy Easter Everyone! I just came across this blog post about Portugal from the blog Lady of the Cakes! A great story and beautiful photographs make me want to hear up and head to Portugal.. Check out the post and blog, its wonderful!
LoveUntitled @_@
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Oh, I am SO glad to see you back on here. I have missed
youyour cakes. That last one definitely makes up for it though – huge!! Lovely trip, and I want those beautiful pink floral tiles – how gorgeous are they?Jude xx
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Aw, thanks Jude 🙂
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Am I the only person not greedy for cake? Maybe I’m just stuffed full of Easter food already. Anyway, the photo that impressed me most was the one of the tree, hills and water. Where is that?
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Castellar, not far from Gibraltar. The lake is a reservoir, and the water we were drinking while we were staying at the apartment came from there.
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Terrific photos — the palm tree against the hills at sunset, marvelous! The horses on the beach — that’s the stuff dreams are made of. Looks like you had a nice break.
I didn’t realize there were such well preserved megaliths in Portugal. That was great to learn.
You did keep us in suspense until the very end…I was wondering when we would get to the cake!
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Portugal certainly has a lot of cool stuff… I look forward to exploring it a bit more in the coming years 🙂
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Three countries in five days – you are not waisting time! 🙂 Loved the pictures of the streets of Portugal, very nice. And what is the huge cake in the last picture? Wow:)
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Biscuits and cream 🙂
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Yummy:)
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And it was a rather generous slice 😉
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So happy to see you again! And anyway – yes, Karolyn, you are the ONLY one not interested in Lady’s cake …. (paint me Ravenous). Anyway, I loved the photos, but am most envious for that beautiful shiny brown horse on the beach. Hope you can keep getting out and around so you feel like sharing your photos and your wit with all of us.
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Aw, Kim, how kind… I wish my photos were half as exotic as yours 😉
May have another trip to Portugal coming up in May… fingers crossed 🙂
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All the photos are very beautiful. The peacock looks unreal in its beauty and angle that I have never seen from before.
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Thanks 🙂 The front is where the beak is. I tried to stay away from that 😉
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Horseback riding! Tiles! Magnificent sunset vistas!
I thought my travel bug has been cured last year, but you just brought it back 🙂
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I’m not sure how to tell you this… but… I think you have a right to know: TTB (The Travel Bug) is an incurable disease. And the worst thing about it is this: The only way to stop it from killing you is by travelling, which, in turn, makes the symptoms worse! We are doomed 😉
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Gorgeous photos. I do like Portuguese architecture.
So jealous of your M&S trip. I love Walnut Whips!! Jan went to Gibralter a few years ago and brought me back blackcurrant squash and Galaxy chocolate.
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I also prefer Galaxy to Cadbury – more creamy, less crumbly 😉 Aw, good old M&S!
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Exactly! Although I will take Cadbury if I’m offered it 😉
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…maybe… unless there’s a Ritter Sport Marzipan in the offing…
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Oh my gosh, I LOVE that beach! Horses and beach and waves and boats!!!!!! And cake….what IS that cake and how do I get some?!?!
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Find a Portuguese café 🙂
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Gosh I wish! What is that?
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Your project for 2015 🙂
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I’m on it!
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Badajoz has been on my list of places to see for a while now…
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Ist schon einen Besuch wert. Das Essen ist auch hervorragend 🙂
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Eat your own weight in cake? 🙂 🙂 Evora and Elvas are lovely memories for me. Never really thought about Badajoz- nice bridges! And superb peacock and palm tree shots 🙂
Happy Wednesday!
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I think I did… and in cheese, and in fish&seafood 😉 Go on, next time you’re in P, just slip across the border 🙂
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I’m there next week but it’s a long way up on a short visit and we have friends/commitments in place. Maybe when we next make it to the Douro 🙂
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Do they have Boots on Gibraltar as well? I miss that more than M&S 😉
I LOVE that shot of the flowers and suspect you put it first just for me 😉 Nah, I prefer the sunset on the rocks pic – flowers. Meh 😉
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I did! But I forgot to warn you about the trees, soz 😉
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Yeah, I got a terrible shock 😉
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I imagine… thank heavens it wasn’t…like…A WHOLE FOREST OF THEM!
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ARGH! (Runs) 😉
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Hello, thanks for posting all this, I love armchair travel. I had been to Evora and Elvas so your pics brought back good memories. You must get out more often! Cheers
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If only you weren’t stuck at the other side of the globe 😉
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Whew, I’m exhausted, but so worth it. Bet it was fun!
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It was 🙂 You’ve probably visited 30 countries in the meantime!!!
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Whaddya know, I’ve just come back from a week in Spain with a day in Gibraltar, most of which was also spent in M&S. I thought the lady emptying the shelf of hot cross buns looked familiar… I should have said hello 😉
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Oh my! Did she have a blissed-out look on her face? Like St P had just ushered her past the pearly gates…?
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Sounds like a wonderful trip, complete with wonderful photos, and wonderful cake at the end. I don’t know if you are a Lily Tomlin fan, but you might enjoy this routine of hers. Your cake fetish made me think of it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVApt_45Hiw)
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we like to bake our own cakes for when friends come by.
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LOL, we certainly don’t want any of that plain kinda cake 😉
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What a great post! The variety in each photo was so rich. And a cork postcard sounds interesting!
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Thank you 🙂
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