Being retired means not having to work. Not having to work means doing pretty much what I damn well please. What I please often means traveling to see or do something I've never seen or done before. Sometimes, to taste something.
I love custard and seek it out wherever we go (click on each link to see what I am talking about): flan in Buenos Aires, tarts in San Francisco's Chinatown, crema catalana in Barcelona, crème aux oeufs in Paris, Boston's cream pie.
For a long time, however, I've longed for the ultimate in custard, the legendary pastel de nata of Portugal. As one writer observed, these custards are to Portugal what wine is to France. And of all the pasteis de nata, the greatest are from the Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon.
No longer able to resist the urge to gorge myself on these tasty little suckers, I decided it was time to go to Portugal. And so we are off, flying today to Madrid and then on tomorrow morning to Lisbon, where we'll spend eight days in an apartment in the Graça neighborhood.
If you think me silly for this, look at this photo and tell me that you do not want one. Open wide to take another bite.
I haven't posted any snaps because we're not there yet. Soon.
I love flan, too! Just yesterday, we split one at Trudy's here in Austin. I'm not sure how it would rate on your scale, but it satisfied my urge for the creamy goodness! Have a great time, my friends!
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