marchk's Qype profile

We like to come here for a good lunch of what you would call typical pub food. (Coming on New Year's Eve might get you a bit more than the usual visit, especially in terms of people and noise level.) Prices are good, and those of us who know Maine also know Gritty McDuff beer, so there's plenty of that here as well. People off all ages and sizes come here for the pub atmosphere since it became the first of its kind in Maine in 1988. There certainly is a variety of beers for different tastes.

Worth a stop if you are in downtown Portland - and anybody visiting Maine should ALWAYS come to the renovated downtown area.

Here's a link that gives some pretty good information on the pub and an inkling that Mainers really do like their beer - especially given the number of microbreweries that have sprung up in the last couple of decades:

http://www.ilovemainebeer.com/2008/04/gritty-mcduffs-port...

Haven's said much about the food, but that's because it's standard, well-priced and really customers focus more on the atmosphere and - have I mentioned? - the beer. Atmosphere may change a bit depending on time of yea. Tourists may be a different flavor than the locals.

It's a bear and a tree. I read somewhere it weighs about 20 tons. The motifs are on the escudo or coat of arms of Madrid, which was more recently established in 1967, although a blue and white design was approved in 2004. The tree might not be a madroño, but there seem to have been bears in the area centuries ago - as one might expect. Alfonso XI wrote: "Madrid, un buen lugar de puerco y oso".

http://albertolevin.wordpress.com/2007/02/17/historia-del...

I like the fact that it has also been decreed that the oso (male bear) is in fact an osa (female bear):

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/06/13/madrid/118174807...

Not sure where to go with that discussion except that if one goes to Madrid, a visit to the Puerta del Sol or point 0 of the city is pretty much obligatory. Sol has changed over the past 20+ years. Large buildings are getting bright coats of paint, and there are more and more languages being heard that are not just the French, English or German of decades ago.

When looking at this statue, don't forget there's one of Carlos III in the square as well. I personally prefer the oso since nobility on horseback are a dime a dozen in Spain and there are few bears and even fewer madroños (or whatever you suppose the tree to be). An adjective used to describe the center is "bustling". With all due respect, I'd call it crazy and rush across the main streets as quickly as possible to find some respite on a side alley from the noise pollution. It may be my imagination, but Madrid seems busier, a bit more polluted and dangerous than some other major European capitals. This is not meant to offend the gatos (natives of Madrid are called cats, yes) and may be a reflection of the traumatizing experience of being robbed in the Wendy's in Sol years ago. Never got over that, nor did I get over the fact that the police, when hearing about the robbery, said, yes, that's a ring operating here. Under their noses, but...

It’s a must-visit restaurant for those who would like to enjoy Galician home cooking, not pay a whole lot, and who have a car. A little over 30 minutes outside Santiago de Compostela, this nondescript restaurant is easily overlooked by tourists, but locals all know about it. They also take relatives visiting from places like Argentina, from what I could tell on my last visit. That mean they know they will get a good price, quality and quantity, and the devil with charm. But charm is what you make it, and over the years I’ve seen this family-run operation stay almost exactly the same, except waitpersons get a bit grayer.

Same is good. One can count on the menu to be as it was the year before and the year before, pretty much. There are several entrees, such as empanada and salpicón. There are meat dishes for those who need them, and the house stew (a rough translation but don’t expect anything Anglo-Saxon here) is always good. There is fish in a variety of ways, including a white fish (could be merluza or hake, but could be a different species) in a subtle oil, garlic and perhaps bay sauce. I like the garbanzos, even though they come with tripe. Just push the 'toalla’ or towel-like stuff aside, and concentrate on the cumin-y beans and sauce. And a side salad is always good to accompany the rest of the meal. Desserts are also fairly standard, but the flan with cheese, topped with a ton of whipped cream (nothing like the canned type) is irresistible. If you aren’t in need of driving, order the house wine, which usually comes in a couple of colors, and may not have a label, meaning it’s local in origin. When they request local at this restaurant, you get it!

Occasionally there will be some outsiders who look like they’ve dropped from the sky into the place, but they must have heard about it by word of mouth. You just won’t pick it out from the roadside. There’s a small sign and coming from Santiago, you will have just passed through the miniscule populations of Arcos de Furcos and Anllada. Look for a dirt parking lot, not very big, and use it. A few steps further on is the restaurant. Go with an eye to detail and no interest in the splashy. You will be welcomed, treated cordially, and will not go away hungry nor a lot poorer.

I still recall walking along this part of Lisboa and wondering what it must have been like to live here in the 16th century and later years, when Portugal was a forced to be reckoned on the seas. So much is written and known about Spain, but the Portuguese were out and about as well.

In the 15th c. King Joao II had the idea to build a defensive structure, but it would be Dom Manuel I who carried out the project, starting in the early 16th c. As its official web site notes, the tower is a motive of discussion and reflection. In 1983 it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Perhaps visiting with the intent to compare the real thing with what ones knows of its history will earn it a higher rating among non-Portuguese tourists. I am hung up on the stone thing and keep wanting to know how the stone-cutters and crafstpeople manage to manipulate that hard material into what sometimes looks like velvet brocade with silk loops and tassels. What if they made a mistake? Did they start over? Were they fired from the job... or worse? Luso style is definitely not Spanish. In some respects it resembles Galician.

As I think of the Torre de Belem, I also recall the first impression of the steps that led to and into the water in the port of Lisboa. Some went down them never to return, others returned immensely wealthy. The question always remains: Why go at all? What was out there calling to those adventurers? Did they leave nothing behind?

Portugal is full of surprises and fine details. Best advice: keep returning.

http://www.mosteirojeronimos.pt/web_torre_belem/frameset....

A nice, comfortable museum to visit when in the relaxing city of Portland, Maine. Portland is on the coast in Casco Bay, so gets a lot of tourists looking to escape from the hubbub of NY or Boston. They find what they’re looking for in this city. The museum is centrally located in the nicely renovated old port area. Main seems to like brick for construction materials, and this simple, no-frills building is set right on the street that leads to the section where one finds an abundance of souvenirs with lobsters, seagulls, buoys, lighthouses, loons - all “typical” of Maine.

Skip the cheap souvenirs, go to a place selling beer from a Maine microbrewery, and stop by the PMA. Its site says it has 18,000 works, including some by Picasso, Cassatt, Monet, Degas, Munch and Magritte as well as numerous others. An area name is that of the Wyeths, but there is probably something for every taste. I have been to a Rodin exhibit, and unfortunately missed Kollwitz. Currently, there is one on Georgia O’Keeffe and the camera.

Like many Maine institutions, this one likes doing community educational events, so you will always find something of that nature going on. Nearby there’s an art supply store and the Maine College of Art or MECA. Oh, and there are some good java shops a few short steps away, too.

Before anybody thinks I'm not paying attention, let it be known that the Oracle at Delphi is at Delphi (!!), and is not in Athens. However, I couldn't figure out how to get this place reviewed without putting in the name of Athens. If anybody can help correct this glaring inaccuracy, please let me know!

Going to the Oracle at Delphi is like walking into a textbook of ancient history, as trite as the description sounds. It's another one of those once-in-a-lifetime places you visit and know you will not have enough time to spend there, but also know it may be a challenge to ever return if you live far away.

I am not one given to new age or fantastic invention, but perhaps knowledge of the historical import of these site made the ground hum. Yes, I mean it. There was some sort of vibration, perhaps coming from the names of the different parts of the oracle. I could understand it being the omphalos (belly button, center) of the world at one time - and maybe it still is. Perhaps it is a different experience for women than for me? After all, if the name is possibly derived from the word for womb, it could be a gendered locus. Something to ponder, at least. Both sexes did go there in pilgrimage and I am known to my friends as a wanderer and a pilgrim, so this was a necessary visit.

It is easy enough to find information on sites with detailed history of Delphi. Of course there's the sanctuary of Apollo and the much-appreciated (by the heat-weary traveler) Castalian Spring. Wander around the stones (they all have centuries of history to explore), go to the museum if you wish or simply contemplate the incredible view. Find your connection to Delphi - as feminist, scholar of ancient history, mythologist, or hopeful imagination. My personal link is the figure of the Sibyl, whom I like to trace through geography but especially through literary works such as the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins and a novel or two (eg, Lagerqvist, 1956).

This isn't my video, but it's worth viewing, if one can get beyond the spooky, distracting music. There are more in the series: