| Beers and comparisons Roma is looking
beautiful these days with its classic fountain peeing into the pool every night. Iīm sure
there is a statue and an official plaque about this merry little fellow in Brussels -
Maneken Piss if I remember correctly. He is comforted by the presence of many statues
which now surround the pool giving the restaurant a rather distinguished look.
It was Sunday night and I wasnīt feeling like a drink at all, but a colleague
at the restaurant said that he would kindly take me down to the shop to get some badly
needed supplies. This was after work at 23h30 - we drove to the shop and then he suggested
"Just ONE beer, Nick". Naturally I said, "Okay, just ONE beer then"
with a little smile on my face - we had been through this rigmarole before and ended up
rolling out of the LSD Bar (actually called J Bar Barbara) at 04h30.
03h00 Monday morning and we rolled out of Officina Bar laughing our heads
off (or LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off). It was great to meet Paulo Bonga, the owner of
Officina. He apparently used to spin the sounds at a few clubs in Praia de Rocha and at
Bote Disco. He is a great guy, very friendly and a total entertainer. The Officina had
their first anniversary on Thursday night which naturally we couldnīt miss. The pic on
the right was taken then. A little before then at about 18h30 I had cycled down to the
Hotel Cristal for a quiet beer and a little writing that I have been asked to do for the
Golden Club - see the banner change at the top? I was shocked when the bill came and the
waiter just smiled at me and said 425 Esc! For one IMPERIAL!! I couldnīt believe that the
Hotel Almansor, which is far nicer, is way cheaper than that - I think it is around 300
Esc for an Imperial Cerveja - that's the beer in the picture, by the way.
So next Thursday I think I will return to the Almansor. In the meantime I am
constructing a comparison of standards of living around the world based on the price of
beer. I think that the McDonalds Hamburger comparison is probably a much better indicator
but mine is more fun - heehaw. So a case of beers (cheap beer) cost me 938 Escudos here -
maybe we should do this in Euro - it cost me 4.67Euros. In South Africa really good beer
(Windhoek Lager) costs R70.00 a case (for 24 beers). Wow this information is really
meaningless - would you guys like to help me with my comparison - I know that at least one
of you guys works in the Beer Industry - Iīm sure many others drink it. Lets construct a
country by country comparison of the local draught beers cost in a pub (500ml or a pint) -
it would be great to get your feedback.
One more thing - about six weeks ago I asked the question "What does
Carvoeiro mean". I got three replies letting me know that a carvoeiro is a
person who makes charcoal. It is pronounced Kar-vwai-rroh apparently, or
close to - thanks to Andrew Gould and Robert Jones for their feedback.
Until next week
Ate amanha
Nick - nick@carvoeiro.com
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