The Last Supper

It was held in Andre’s (the host) beautifully and artistically decorated flat.

The other guests (about 10 in total) arrived shortly after me. Andre filled our glasses with wines from this region as we got aquainted with one another. Then we were presented with a generous platter of cured meats, local cheese and fresh bread.

Andre, a wine lover and distributor, prepared a slide show about the origins of portuguese wine and where it is placed globally in terms of production and consumption. Essentially what I took from this presentation was that portuguese wine is both old and underrated. And to not be intimidated by its vast varieties..you really just can’t go wrong with any of them.

With a greater platform of knowledge and understanding beneath us, we made our way to the dining room to experience these wines and ports with traditional dishes. The first and most typical traditional soup-caldo verde. A relatively light soup with shredded galician kale and slices of chorizo sausage.

Then-cod with bread, potatoes, garlic and greens. Served with wine from the Douro valley. Salted cod is as popular here as sardines.

And finally, a sweet cake made with yolks and orange rind-accompanied with ruby port.

We conversed with one another-our diversity linked by our common love for food and wine.

It was a lovely intimate evening.

Today is the final day of my adventure. As amazing as this journey has been, it’s time to go home. I miss my kids, I miss my dog, I miss popcorn seasoned in my special way. I’m never too melancholy when I wrap up a trip because I see it all as only a plane ticket away.

When I was a little girl, my mom said I was content just playing by myself. I created my own little world with my figurine smurfs wherever I went. Whenever I got a new one, I introduced it to the others. I built worlds and families.

And..I would often take out our globe and spin it around with my eyes closed and say “when I grown up I want to go here”. And when it stopped, I’d haul out the dusty encyclopedias that my mom got from a traveling salesman and look up the place where my finger landed.

I am still that little girl spinning her globe, telling stories, and collecting characters along the way.

Life is developmental..sure we grow and change but there’s something in our essence that I believe is there right from the start. We just need to hang on to it and not let it get lost under the layers of time.

If you are unsure what that essence is, haul out that tickle trunk of possibilities you had for yourself when you were younger and try a few on.

Life truly is too precious and magnificent to waste.

Thank you for joining me on my journey.