|
Irish Times – Here and There We live in a tiny ‘edge of the
Wolds ‘village, surrounded by beautiful countryside and lead a
fairly quiet life. We don’t have any shops here, not even a post
office or a pub so contact with people is a bit limited and this is
where Carvoeiro.Com comes in!
To me this site is not only invaluable for information on everything
regarding Carvoeiro and the Algarve, its also a ‘lifeline’ to the
outside world, a place to make friends and I’ve lost count of the
number of friends that I have made here since I joined the site more
than three and a half years ago; my world would be a sad place
without it.
I was well into my recent holiday and enjoying the wonderful
weather, catching up with old friends and making some new ones and
eating out! This is one of the great pleasures of my holiday, for at
home I do all the cooking and to have something cooked and served to
me is a luxury indeed.
One day, after a very lazy morning and not bothering with much
lunch, by the time afternoon came I was feeling very hungry! I
suddenly had a vision of fish and chips in my head and thought ‘I
know, I’ll go and see Ann at the ‘Fish and Chix’ shop, which is next
to Safari bar and have me some of her delicious Cod and chips, along
with a pot of tea ( which is always a good one).
Freshening up, I first walked down to the square for my usual
deep breaths of sea air. On the way I passed the donkey who was
tethered near the small supermarket, and stopped to give him a
stroke. I had seen him earlier that week giving some kiddie a ride
around the streets and that took me back to my own childhood and
donkey rides at the seaside.
After a stroll on the sands, I made my way to Ann’s place, my tummy
now rumbling with hunger! To my dismay the whole of the inside
seemed to be covered with dust sheets and men were painting and
decorating; the place was closed ! Although I was very disappointed,
I guessed that Ann was just having the place spruced up and I’d have
to postpone my longed-for dinner.
|
A few days later I walked up to the Anteak bar to have me some
lunch, again I had in mind some of their delicious Broccoli and
Stilton quiche, which I had enjoyed a few times on my last visit but
once again I met with disappointment, as this bar too was closed.
However as Le Doce cafe is right next door, I opted for lunch there
instead. Feeling quite hungry I ordered a cheeseburger and a
milkshake, really fancying the Mango-flavoured one on the menu.
However they had run out of that and the only ones on offer that day
were Strawberry, Chocolate and a name I’d never heard before.
I didn’t want Strawberry or Chocolate, so I asked what was the other
flavour? Well, this started a conversation between 3 of the staff,
myself included. They kept saying the strange name to me but I was
completely puzzled! Each of the Senhoras was saying different
things. One was asking whether I was Dutch or German and when the
one serving me said ‘Inglese’, the other lady behind the counter
pulled a face (I hoped it was for the language and not my being
English!).
Meanwhile I was gasping for a drink (of anything) and would have
opted for a simple ‘agua sem gas’ simply to quench my thirst! Then I
had an idea. I pointed to a picture on the menu and the Senhora
behind the counter said ‘Ahh sim’, and beckoned me over. She pulled
out a tray which contained packets with different pictures on the
front and began to rifle through them, then pulled out one and held
it up to me. The mysterious milkshake flavour turned out to be
‘Passionfruit’ ! Please don’t ask me what the Portuguese word was as
I didn’t make a note of it and I can’t find it in my Portuguese
dictionary. But all I will say is, it was absolutely gorgeous. What
with that and the fab burger (a real big beefy one), it was lovely
grub (as they say in Peckham) and you’d never taste the like of it
in any McDonalds, that’s for sure.
On another occasion at Le Doce, I had a simple cheese and tomato
toasted sandwich, but it had a special flavour; very tasty! I opened
the sandwich and saw that the cheese contained herbs; once again it
was a very nice lunch and I would recommend this café to those who
haven’t been there.
It was an early Saturday evening, so I wandered down to Ann’s place;
I was ready and eager for my fish and chip supper. As I entered I
noticed a large board with the heading ‘Irish Times’ and although
slightly puzzled, I thought maybe Ann was having an Irish night, so
I sat myself down and looking around me I thought how nice it all
looked after its redecorating. A young lady came up to my table and
asked what she could get me? I said “Cod and chips please and a pot
of tea” with a smile, in anticipation of my ‘gourmet’ feast!
She smiled and said “ I’m sorry, we’re not doing that and there
isn’t any food until tomorrow. Can I get you a drink?”
Disappointment was not the word. For days Id thought of a fish and
chip dinner and now it seemed it was not to be, as I was told, at a
later date, that Ann had returned to England and the restaurant had
new owners and there would now be a wider variety of meals. I felt a
certain sadness at the thought of not having anymore cheery chats
with Ann and of course, no longer being able to have my fish and
chips.
However from what I witnessed, the Irish Times seemed to be doing
very well, with a variety of roast dinners on offer and a varied
lunchtime menu too. Some new found Lancashire friends that I met on
holiday, went along for a Sunday roast lunch and told me they really
enjoyed it. Although I never eat roast dinners whilst in Algarve
(preferring Portuguese food) I think I will have to sample a roast
dinner there on my next visit and I do wish them lots of luck with
their new venture.
As I said in my first paragraph, I have made so many friends during
my time on Carvoeiro.com, and to me that’s the best part of it; one
of those friends being Dalcassian, or as we know him, Joe.
I met Joe and his wife Nell on a visit to Carvoeiro last year, and
we got on so well. Well who wouldn’t, seeing as Irish people are
probably the most friendliest, easiest to talk to people that you
could wish to meet. On our first meeting, we had talked of ‘The
House on the Hill’.. the old derelict place on the cliff tops in
Carvoeiro, that Joe had dreams of refurbishing and owning one day.
Joe and Nell are Dubliners and Dublin is a place I’ve always
wanted to visit. We’ve never been to Ireland, so when I heard that
Ryan Air were flying there from Humberside, my mind started ticking
on a planned visit to the Emerald Isle.
Hub needed a break and soon I had the air tickets and a B&B booked
in Dublin’s City centre for three days in early May.
Joe kindly picked us up from Dublin airport and took us direct to
our B&B accommodation; this was close to O’Connell street and across
the road was the famous Irish writer’s museum. Of course this was of
great interest to me and both Hub and myself enjoyed every minute of
our 2 hour visit.
During that brief visit to Dublin we took in so much and walked a
good few miles too, through O’Connell street, over the river Liffey,
and then on to Trinity college where we saw the ancient Book of
Kells. Onto Grafton street which is a shopper’s paradise and with
some great street artists, buskers, playing everything from Irish
jigs to Beethoven.
After having our photo taken on the Molly Malone statue opposite
Trinity, and watching, listening to the small man that is in charge
of the statue play his special Bodhran drum, as he accompanied the
lively Irish music that played on his cassette-player, we then went
off to meet with Joe and Nell for a pub lunch and maybe a Guinness?
Then from there, Joe gave us a little tour of Dublin and we ended up
in Phoenix Park. What a wonderful park this is; it is huge! and you
could imagine yourself as being in the countryside. I think Joe told
me that it’s the biggest public park in Europe and I can well
believe that!
On both of our evenings, we were invited to supper by Nell and Joe
and a great time was had by all, as we ate great food, drank good
wine and had the best of company, with laughs all the way!
Without meeting Dalcassian/Joe and Nell, I don’t believe I would
have had the incentive to visit Dublin. I’m so glad that we did and
were able to enjoy the great Irish hospitality and places of
interest… but more importantly, without CARVOEIRO.COM, I wouldn’t
have met ‘Dalcassian’ and Nell ! |
