Cuisine

One of the pleasures of traveling is experiencing the delightful variety of local cuisine. Portuguese cooking relies heavily on seafood. Dishes made with shrimp, octopus, lobster and cod are especially delicious. Portugal is also well-known for its breads and other baked goods as well as savory sausages. You might wish to sample local vintages of port wine, one of the nation’s most popular exports. Spain boasts a wide array of local specialties such as the typical dish of chicken, seafood and saffron rice known as paella. Dinner is less hearty than lunch and is served quite late— from 9 p.m. until midnight. North African cuisine consists of a unique blend of tastes, such as delicately spiced meat cooked with fruit. These dishes are often added to steamed semolina, known as couscous.