Phil Gold

Secret Jews and Crypto-Cuisine

Portugal’s relationship with Judaism is long and complicated, with some unexpected twists and turns to it. One of my favorite aspects to the story turns out to not only be interesting, but delicious as well! How long have there been Jews here? At least since the Romans, who made note of Jewish settlements in theirContinue reading “Secret Jews and Crypto-Cuisine”

O Mundo Fantástico da Conservas Portuguesa

It’s time to talk about one of the most delicious delicacies of Portuguese cuisine – fish in a can. Now, some of you will be thinking, “What, like tuna? Weird sardines or anchovies? Eww …” The fact is, canned fish – collectively known as conservas – are an important Portuguese heritage. There is an incredibleContinue reading “O Mundo Fantástico da Conservas Portuguesa”

Medical Milestones

I was going to have a food article today, but I thought it might be more interesting to talk about what it’s like to navigate the health care system here in Portugal. Healthcare was a major factor in our decision to move. It has actually colored most of our thinking about retiring out of theContinue reading “Medical Milestones”

Getting back to work

I’ve been a little quiet on this blog, and I apologize for that. I have a couple of valid excuses – at least, semi-valid. First of all, I’ve been busy working. We’ve been in the apartment for just under four months, and not only have I got the studio completely set up, but I’ve alsoContinue reading “Getting back to work”

Adventures in food shopping

Marketing in Portugal is an entirely different experience. One of the things we take for granted in the US, especially in cities, is the availability of stuff at the grocery store. Here, there is a wide variety of things, and they’re overall fresher, tastier, and substantially less expensive. However, there are some interesting gaps –Continue reading “Adventures in food shopping”

Speaking Portuguese

My old friend Howard Grabois made a comment after my last post – “I notice that you often comment on folk’s ability or lack thereof in English. How’s it going with your Portuguese?” I’ve been trying to speak Portuguese as much as I can. I used a combination of software, online sites, and audio booksContinue reading “Speaking Portuguese”

Me as a Portuguese businessman

This is going to be another one of those articles where I expose uncertainties, so it’s going to be a little hard to write. I like to think of myself as a great planner. I do lots of research, and I try to take my time with important decisions – plus, I always have atContinue reading “Me as a Portuguese businessman”

The arrival of the furry duo

One of the biggest deals in this whole moving operation revolved around getting Keiko and Lexie to Portugal, as described in Episode #5. They finally made it here on 7 August, an almost three-week break from when we saw them last. As you can imagine, Kristie and I were eagerly looking forward to being togetherContinue reading “The arrival of the furry duo”

Unexpected complications for finance

I was aware at some level that the European Union had different rules around privacy and security than the US. I’ve been reading news articles for years that talked about how the EU was introducing this measure to protect users from data mining, or that new requirement to prevent access to their personal or financialContinue reading “Unexpected complications for finance”

First week in Porto, Part II

When we last saw our plucky protagonists, they had passed out back at the hotel after an overly busy, overly ambitious day of trying to do everything at once. WEDNESDAY, we set some simpler goals for ourselves. Our biggest mission for the day was to take the metro from our stop (Marquês, pronounced “MARKsh”) downContinue reading “First week in Porto, Part II”