Birthday Dinner

I woke up in the night and went outside to look at the sky which was wonderfully covered with countless stars and the Milky Way was very visible. I love the dark sky here.

I slept very well considering it was a new bed and a new situation. It was quite hot to start with, but not unbearable. I had a small fan at the end of the bed and that was what saved it from being too hot.

Jeanette, Savannah, and I had the wonderful experience of a cold soak in the “Wine Vat Tub” which Mike has built in the garden. This also helped greatly with the heat.

We decided today was the day to celebrate Jeanette’s 60th birthday - the reason for our trip here to Portugal for her to celebrate with her sisters and daughter. Daveen chose a superb Spanish restaurant - Restaurante La Raya, https://maps.app.goo.gl/5vvUtrTQduYyPacGA?g_st=ipc for the birthday meal.

My favorite item was the Salmorejo soup we had as appetizers. It is a cold soup that is composed of just five ingredients: ripe tomatoes, bread, extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, and garlic.
It doesn’t sound like much, but it has an amazing flavor. I wondered if there were other herbs, but apparently the flavor mainly comes from the tomatoes, which are local and in season.

After a late “siesta” followed by cup of tea and more showers, we set off for our evening adventure to a Moorish city on a hill - Monsaraz to see the night sky as the sun goes down and it gets cooler.

It was incredible to see a long procession of satellites in the sky as we were looking at the stars.