Ok its been a few hours since we posted, and in order to not get Richard to expecting too much, we thought about holding off for a while, but changed our mind. Yesterday was a big day for Andrew. We found and went to a Pizza Hut. Andrew ate 11 pieces of pizza. Not small pieces mind you. Probably a pizza and a half. I myself only had somewhere in the neighborhood of 6-8 pieces. It was fantastic, and by far the most "American" meal we've had since we left. And yes, it was necessary. We've eaten several pizzas, but in France, for example, they use "Emmental" cheese, which is NOT made for pizzas, trust us. Anyhow, so when we saw we could eat a good ol' fashioned pizza buffet, we seized the oppurtunity. Afterall, Italy is still a few days away...
Speaking of Italy, the resident Italian in our flat, Valentina, volunteered to top our pizza day off with an authentic Italian dessert, Tiramisu. Andrew hadn't had tiramisu before, but we both liked it quite a bit. Kind of like fancy cookies covered in fancy pudding. Half way through the second bite, Valentina rushed into the dining room laughing, claiming that we were not actually eating tiramisu. "Then what is it..." we wondered with fear. But actually, she admitted that she had simply forgotten to dip the cookies in coffee before pouring in the cream. Apparently, this is what makes it tiramisu, and not fancy pudding cookies. But it also is supposed to make the dessert soggy, which we would not have appreciated, so we were happy to have our "unauthentic" tiramisu.
As our earlier blogs have noted, the art of painting tiles is a big part of the Portuguese culture. In keeping with that, we decided that we would paint a set of tiles, known as "Azulejos," for our souveneir de Portugal. We went today and spent a few hours painting our design on a set of four. It was a lot of fun, and we got to learn a lot of the authentic techniques for tile painting. It is, by the way, MUCH harder than you think. The ceramic tiles are powdery and the paint soaks in instantly, which means each brushstroke could be stuck just the way you put it down the first time. Even with help from two of the veteran tile painters, we had some difficulty at times. So, if you get a chance to see our art when we get back, keep in mind how hard tiles are to paint, and that those brushstrokes are indeed on purpose.
Well, Conan O'Brien just came on, so we have to go and watch it (yes, we are "soooo" American). And let me just say before Spanky asks, no, we will not be bringing you back a penguin in a carriage holding Portuguese Pizza Hut pizza. That would just be asking too much.
