A mere hour from Lisbon is a portal where all who enter will be taken on a culinary journey around all of Portugal. Two weeks every October for the past 27 years, Santarém, a town choc-a-block with Gothic treasures, plays host to the National Gastronomy Festival, the country's main culinary event. On the grounds of the former Agricultural Fair where campinos or cowboys once flocked from all over the country, foodies now sample appetizer portions or sit down to a daily multi-course lunch representing cuisine from Portugal's 19 districts, including the Azores archipelago and Madeira Island. (Each booth is dedicated to one of the district's best restaurants.) Both adventurous diners and the more timid culinary connoisseurs enjoy offerings that may include: barnacles, wild rabbit with rosemary, mackerel in an escabeche sauce made of onions, vinegar and bay leaves, pork ear salad marinated in coriander and olive oil, cod fish casserole, and carne maronesa, a specialty meat that's simply grilled with salt.