View from Convent Of Our Lady Of Arrábida

This convent has a rich history dating back to the 1530s-40s, depending upon which history you read/hear and believe. It is set on this incredible hillside that abuts Parque Natural da Arrábida, a protected park. As the story goes, the first Duke of Aveiro funded the creation of the convent after studying in Rome and meeting a Franciscan friar (the most strict of the monks/friars) named Martín de Santa Maria Benavides (name roughly translating to Martin, the son/servant of Saint Mary). The Duke gave Martín 25 hectares of land to build a convent solely devoted to Mary. The friars who came to the convent were vegans, eating only the occasional fish. They wore no shoes even in the harsh winter months and through building their buildings, they took vows of silence, and they barely had any clothes to keep them warm. Obvi there was no sex (or was there?) The Franciscans were strict!

The convent, the lands, and the views are magnificent. We were there on a gorgeous sunny day and it was still cold. Check out Carnet and dad, pre-tour, trying to warm themselves:

A few more images to get a sense of the majesty of the place:

After the convent and a seafood lunch in a seaside town below, we headed to a winery to do some touring and tasting. Here are some pics of the gorgeous grounds, our intrepid crew (our guide is on the left) and a cute pig we met:

What another glorious day rich in history, family, good wine and L-I-V-I-N.

Onto Nov. 22 (yep – I am woefully behind in my diary)! It was time to rest up prior to cooking for the Big Day (Thanksgiving). The six of us (Busaba, Cathy, Al, Maren, Carney and I) went to one of our new favorite restaurants in Ericeira called Petiscaria Âncora. Their seafood board, land board, octopus salad and sardine toasts were among our favorites.

The next 2 days were full of shopping and cooking (yes, we had Thanksgiving on Friday so that it could be a late night of fun for everyone). On Thanksgiving we hosted 19 people, including the Tynbergs who were in Portugal and kind enough to pop by and join us. I think our Portuguese friends think we are gluttons. Oh wait, we are. Here are the happy main chefs, one of two tables of people, and one of two places we cooked one of two turkeys:

And a blast from a way past Thanksgiving with Lani (who makes a Portugal appearance in late December!):

And so the day ended as it does usually, with everyone splendidly full and happy.