Supper Out

Out for supper at the marina, we were the only patrons at the restaurant on a quiet Sunday evening. Service and the food was very good. The sangria (red and rose) was tasty too, double fisting on the last girls night out.

Then we moved onto a local nightclub for some live music and a shandy. They were very entertaining and we expanded our music repertoire. Then home for 2 hours sleep before taking Pam to the airport for the trip home (one day I am sure she would like to forget, not a great trip home to say the least; her luggage arrived 2 days after her). Hopefully it won't deter the next visit to Europe!

Falesia Beach

The last day of Pam's visit we spent at the beach, the weather was great and we went for a long walk along Falesia Beach, the scenery was amazing and there was a few activities going on, fishing, surfing and people walking.

Pam was not... quite... quick... enough to avoid the surf with her shoes on, oops! Wet socks?

It looked like there was some type of fishing derby on during our walk, there were about 20 people and they were all geared up to catch something...

It was a great day!

Lagos

On our way back from Cape Sagres, we stopped in the town of Lagos (pronounced L-a-g-o-s-h) to see some sites. The stopped in the old town which is defined by the old city walls, narrow streets and many shops and restaurants. The marina and beach is just across the road. A view down the main avenue between the old village and the marina. The town of Lagos is in the background.

An arch entrance into the old city at dusk.

Spa Day

After a busy week, we enjoyed an afternoon at the Seven Spa Vilamoura at the Hilton Hotel which is just a couple blocks from our apartment. We had a hot-stone massage and afterwards took advantage of the spa and pools at the facility. There was a Turkish bath which was a hot, moist sauna, several showers which utilized aroma, temperature and sound to create different experiences and the spa tubs which used jets and various faucets to spill water onto you for massage . We had lunch by the pools and indulged in the various spa experiences between relaxing on the loungers by the pool. We felt very spoilt and rejuvenated by the end of the afternoon.

Cabo St. Vincent

This is the Lighthouse at Cabo St. Vincent which is the actual most southwest tip of Portugal. You can tour the historic site at certain hours or outside the lighthouse, there are merchants that sell figs, almonds and seaworthy sweaters. They also had oranges when we were there, they are in season now and delicious.

Or you can indulge in the "Letzte Bratwurst vor Amerika" which means the last hotdog before America at the one and only concession van. The Portuguese fishermen and merchants were enjoying an afternoon espresso while we had a quick lunch.

This is a view back towards the Cape Sagres Fort. We were there, now we are here!

The End of the World

Pam and I took a day trip to the southwest tip of Portugal, Cape Sagres and Cabo St. Vincent (next blog). The Sagres Fort is located on a flat wind-swept point that extends into the Atlantic. In the days before Columbus this spot was known as the "end of the world" because the spot was closest to the edge of the Earth (flat in those days). Prince Henry the Navigator built a Navigator's School within the fortress to advance the thinking of Europe and sent sailors out to sea to explore and chart the unknown.

The Fortress is the more famous of the two capes with it's historic navigators school, old church, temporary art exhibits and spectacular views from within the walls.

The other point you can see on the left is Cabo St. Vincent.

There are also daredevil fishermen that come and try their luck casting off of the huge cliffs into the Atlantic. We saw some fishermen in some pretty precarious locations on our walk around the point. During the summer, apparently windsurfers can also be seen from the cliffs.

Girl's Week in Portugal

Pam and I had a great week while she was here visiting, we did what girls do best, we shopped, caught up on visiting and indulged in a few yummy goodies along the way. The weather was very good during her visit. It was a little cool the day she arrived but continued to get better throughout the week. Pam was giving me a hard time about my layers of cloths for how nice the weather felt, but in my defense, let's not forget she just came from minus 20ish and snow. This is on our deck at the apartment overlooking the Vilamoura marina. Shopping at the Faro Forum mall on day 1, are those new boots ?!

Shopping at the Quarteira Gypsy market on day 3. We had a blast shopping and checking out all the different vendors. You can purchase almost anything here from cloths and footwear to movies to hardware goods and even some snacks. We tried a deep fried dough dipped in sugar, just like elephant ears at the Edson Sidewalk Jamboree but I cannot remember what they were called in Portuguese. Why is Pam pulling a new suitcase?

At afternoon tea time, day 1, we enjoyed some crepes with ice cream and chocolate at the Vilamoura marina. I also introduced Pam to my new favorite beverage, the Shandy (beer and 7up).

Visiting

Lunch at the marina in Vilamoura

Testing the sand on the beach at Quarteira

It has been a great visit and the week has flown by, we have been site seeing and shopping at various locations in the Algarve and the weather has cooperated famously for us this week. More details and pics to follow.

Company in Portugal

I have company this week in Portugal! Pam came to visit for a week while Matt is at work. We had about 3 hours to visit between when Pam arrived on Sunday and when Matt flew out from the Faro airport back to work. It is great to see a familiar face. 36 hours travel time...

Faro

In Faro, we went to the "old town" known as the "Vila Adentro" which is the oldest part of the city and is completely surrounded by stone walls and has 3 different Arch entrances to the inner city. One of the gates is called the Arch of Rest and the most grande entrance is a two towered gate inaugurated in 1812 at an original Arab entrance to the town. The original fortification was built in 713 AD by the Arabs who occupied the area at that time. Cars are restricted to people that live and work within the walls. There was a police precinct, the town offices, museum, restaurants and residential dwellings in the walled city. How cool would it be to live in a place that was established in 713.

This fountain is outside the old town by the public parking lot.
This is a view of the walled city of Faro. The tiny little truck is pretty neat too!

This is Cathedral Square, said to be one of the most beautiful in Europe and a pic of the Cathedral tower.
Inside the Cathedral.
The chapel of bones inside the Cathedral grounds. Actual bones and skulls.

A small boat marina outside the walls of the old town. Not overly scenic.
One of the narrow streets inside the walls of the old town, "Vila Adentro".

On the cathedral tower overlooking the Faro marina and Cathedral Square.

The highlight of our afternoon of sight seeing was stopping for lunch at this quaint little restaurant inside the old town. The food was incredible and so... reasonably priced compared to dining out in the resort areas of Vilamoura. Our meal was 12 euros total and Matt said it reminded him of Grandma Donkin's cooking. We definitely want to go back again.

Well, off to the Faro Algarve Forum Mall to see a movie....

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Loule

We spent an afternoon in Loule doing some shopping and some site-seeing. This is the castle that we mentioned in our Christmas Eve blog. It is located at the town center and is part of the original protective walls of this historical town. The castle is used as town offices and the local library as well as having a small museum on the main level and a scene set up of the castle's historic kitchen upstairs. You can walk around it's exterior walls and into a tower room on one side to enjoy the views of Loule.

Some of the exterior stone walls of the original city are visible at certain locations and seem to blend into the existing structures. There are residential dwellings and shops intermingled throughout these few square blocks. The uneven sidewalks constructed of stone and tiles can make for some interesting walking at times but some of the sidewalks have very intricate designs and painted tiles, they are true works of art and very impressive.


This is a picture of Santa coming down from the top of the castle tower. There is a tradition that Santa replicas gradually make their ways up chimneys in the last few weeks and days leading up to Christmas Day.

These pics are inside the Loule castle museum. There were several displays of historical pieces used in the past such as pots, bowls, cups, food processing artifacts and weapons.

This stone wall and water spouts have been in existence since 1837. We suppose that the Portuguese inhabitants of Loule would have collected this spring fed water from the town center for their everyday needs. It is hard to believe that there is still water flowing out of those several spouts.

There is a large covered market in Loule that we had hoped to see but arrived too late in the afternoon to see it. It closes at 2pm daily so we will have to make it another day. We spent some time wondering around the little shops and surprisingly Matt even did some shopping. The leather products are amazing. We enjoyed strolling around this busy town center and narrow streets and I am quite sure there will be another shopping trip to Loule in my future.

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