Happy Saint John!

Last night was the longest and happiest night in Porto, my dear hometown! It's was Saint John's eve, when hundreds of people invade the streets to have fun, to dance, to laugh and to watch the midnight fireworks.

Like any portuguese event, popular festivity or celebration there's always a typical dish to go along with! For Saint John's it's the sardine the "royal" meal. And we can say really "royal" because the sardine's price go up, up and up!
Sardines are grilled, and they go great with red or green peppers and boiled potatoes. You can eat them on a plate, or, my favourite, to eat the sardines on a slice of "broa" (a typical portuguese cornbread)
There is one typical soup that's very popular this day, the "caldo verde" (or green soup).
And to drink? Red wine, of course!

Besides gastronomy, there are cultural events like the "rusgas" (a popular march), the Rabelos boat race (typical boats once used to navigate on the Douro River) and the "cascatas" (typical outdoor decoration).

Ah, there's also the traditional "manjericos" (a plant) and I couldn't finish this long list without mentioning the very popular and very typical "martelo de São João", the plastic toy hammers which people use to friendly hit each other :-)

I wasn't in Porto this night, but I had to prepare the typical meal! ;-)

ps: how many times did I write "typical" today? eheh