Program 587a: Cod in Portugal; Eating in Naples; Dingle Bells; Christmas Travels

Find out why cod fish is an important comfort food in Portugal — especially around the holidays.

Get a taste of the treats you'll find in Naples and the Campania region of Italy.

Hear how they're gearing up for the holidays in small-town Ireland.

And listeners share what they've enjoyed about traveling overseas during the Christmas season, on the next Travel with Rick Steves.

• Cristina Duarte, Portuguese tour guide based in Lisbon
• Robert Wright, tour guide to Portugal, based in Seville
• Alfredo Vitale and Marianna Iermano, tour guides from Naples
• Callout to Tim Collins, retired police chief in Dingle, Ireland

• Cristina Duarte's website includes information about visiting Lisbon, and her tour services.
• Robert Wright's website includes city guides to Lisbon and the restored monastery site of Mosteiro de Alcobaça in Portugal.
• Alfredo Vitale can be contacted through his LinkedIn page.
• Tim Collins and his son Mícheál provide archeological tours of Ireland's Dingle Peninsula.
• The Rick Steves online guide to enjoying Christmas Markets in Europe.

• "Our favorite day of our three-week trip to Italy was a day trip to Naples. We took the early train from Rome, and the circumvesuviana to Pompeii, where we had a private tour. We finished our day with pizza from L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele. Is this really where pizza was invented? We really enjoyed the margherita pizza. We finished our day with sfogliatella." (Elinda in Deerfield Beach, Florida)
• Caller spent last Christmas in Finland, "175 km from Helsinki. At dinner on Christmas Eve, a red hand tapped on the window at the end of dessert and it was Santa Claus (Jualapukki). We then did a Christmas Eve sauna — all the Finns have them at home. Then walk around barefoot in the freezing snow in your towels. For dinner they ate casseroles, fish, lingonberry sauce and lots of coffee, and a mulled wine drink. I realized spending Christmas in another country brought all the childhood magic back to Christmas since everything was brand new, plus we even had snow!" (Abigail in Moorestown, New Jersey)
• "I've taken two trips in December to Germany and Norway and loved them. In 2013 we visited 13 Christmas Markets in nine days in the former East Germany (several cities have more than one). In 2018 we met up with relatives in Bergen, Norway for a Christmas dinner in July. Ate a traditional dinner of pinochet (sheep ribs), boiled potato and mashed rutabaga. It was a big treat to see a preschool class process into their classroom, dressed in white, carrying lights and singing 'Santa Lucia.' We also visited the largest gingerbread village in the world in Bergen. Europe at Christmas time is pure magic!" (Janet in Manhattan Beach, California)
• "Please name a few cities in Europe you have visited that capture the Christmas spirit. Do they decorate early in December?" (e-mail from Becky in Fort Worth, Texas)
• "London is what I call 'the Cinderella Christmas sister' and doesn't take a backseat to any city. Their Norwegian holiday tree is still bare compared to New York. But the most wondrous lights and decorations are strung across the streets, angel wings spread from one side of the avenue to the other, and Christmas balls on steroids in Covent Garden market. Major streets are magic to look at. Christmas markets, on the other hand, are the same old same old, every year." (Lynn in Coral Springs, Florida)

• Kohala, "Home for the Holidays," Kohala Christmas / Palm Records
• Intro to Cesaria Evora, "Sodade," Trance Planet / Triloka
• Intro to Amália Rodrigues, "Fado Português," Fado Português / Columbia
• Mariza, "Transparente," Transparente / EMI Music Portugal
• Luis Bordón, "Boas festas," Noche de paz (various artists) / Warner Music Group-X5
• Erhard Bauschke, "At the Codfish Ball," Berliner Orchester (Der Deutschen Grammophon) (collection) / HDN
• * Erhard Bauschke, "At the Codfish Ball," Berliner Orchester (Der Deutschen Grammophon) (collection) / HDN
• Bad Examples, "Il Napoli," Slow Music / Ala Tak
• Thomas Beckman, "Napoli March," Charlie Chaplin / Jaro Record
• Instrumental intro to Enrico Caruso, "Addio a Napoli," 3 Legendary Tenors / Red Seal
• Sergio Franchi, "Buon Natale," The Heart of Christmas / RCA Victor
• Cherish the Ladies, "Old Apples in Winter," On Christmas Night / (self-released)
• Intro to Dale Warland Singers, "Wexford Carol," Christmas Echoes, vol. 2 / Gothic
• * Les Violins du Roy, Bernard Labadie, cond., "Noëls sur les instruments, H. 534 (Charpentier)," Simphonies des noëls / Dorian Recordings
• Leon Redbone, "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays," Christmas Island / Rounder 
• Ekimi, "The Next Noel," The Next Noel / Music-West
• The Real Group, "Sankta Lucia," En Riktig Jul / Gazell
• Yves Castagnet, organ, "Tambourin (Michel Corette)," Musique Sacrée à Notre-Dame de Paris / RCA Victor-BMG France
• The Ringmasters, William Ballard, director, "We'll dress this house," San Francisco Choral Artists: Star of Wonder / Reference Recordings
• New Mayfair Orchestra, "Savoy Christmas Medley," 1920s Christmas: Rhythm and Booze (collection) / Holiday Classic Records

* Indicates filler music used during internal breaks on the broadcast

• Program #587a includes a number of references anticipating the Christmas season, which increase as the hour progresses.
• At 24:56, Alfredo describes the Porto Nolana public market scene in Naples on Dec. 23, and the typical Christmas season desserts, starting at 30:16.
• Tim Collins describes Christmas traditions in Dingle, Ireland, starting at 34:22.
• At 45:00, caller Janet describes a Christmas dinner in July in Norway, and being there "this last year" for Santa Lucia Day (Dec. 13). She describes the "largest gingerbread village in the world" in Bergen, and adds that Dresden, Germany claims to host the oldest Christmas market, "for 584 years."
• In describing how London has added grander outdoor Christmas decorations in recent years, caller Lynn remarks that "New York doesn't hold a candle" to the decor in London. She adds that Madrid is also highly decorated, while Christmas decorations in Paris are more artistic and understated.