Aquamarina Beach Club Albufeira

A silent drive to the train station. Frank drops me off, and I don't say a word as I grab my bag and close the car door. Now what? North or South? I could likely stay with Luis again in Lisbon, but I hate backtracking. Its 6:30 in the morning, and the first train arrives at 7:00, heading North. I ponder for the 30 minutes, then when the train does arrive, I let it pass. I'll head South, to Faro. I'm not sure when this ...

... the kingdom of Dom Manuel I, the headland already had a beacon kept lit all night by the Capuchin friars. With a range of 95 kilometers, the present-day lighthouse is one of the most powerful in Europe. From the fortress of Sagres a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean is unforgettable.<br><br>Night show at Hotel Algarve Casino was spectacular. The dancers and the light show were truly unforgettable.<br><br><br>

... it was pretty tame until one of the toreadors almost got trampled by one of the bulls, the dude was lucky they dulled the tip of the bulls horns. <br><br><br>http://picasaweb.google.com /Jonny.D.Lawrence/20091016Albufeira?aut hkey=Gv1sRgCImA4oCXitDO5AE&amp;feat=dir ectlink<br>

... tons of mussels on the bottom, also not fun. The road to get to this lagoon was really sketchy, there's a video in the link below so you can see for yourself.<br><br>http://picasaweb.googl e.com/Jonny.D.Lawrence/20091012Alvor?au thkey=Gv1sRgCN_Jy47QxsiTwAE&amp;feat=di rectlink

... not "surfers" but we we&#8217;re much less scared of getting tossed by the big waves this time. We also came to the conclusion that it maybe wasn&#8217;t us that, but that it&#8217;s the size of the board that was hindering our performance....<br> <br>http://picasaweb.google.com/Jonny.D .Lawrence/20091011Sagres?authkey=Gv1sRg CMmMtI7egbGKvAE&amp;feat=directlink

Well it's been almost 28 hours since we left a cold, wet and windy Melbourne on Monday and we are here at last! The flights were generally OK with no major issues, aside from a plane load of children on the BA flight from London to Faro (we were prepared for this since July/Aug is the summer holiday season in Europe) and BA deciding to split us apart in the seating but were not able to seat us together cos the plane was full - very odd). <br><br>The flight connections were ...

... was our first choice for somewhere to appreciate said coastline, possibly as we'd been drinking the local brew for the last few weeks and it's noted for its 'end of world feel' (the town not the beer) and inaccessibility (again, the town not...). It was the inaccessibility combined with our lack of time and a gentle reminder that we were on holiday not travelling, that made our mind up for us and we were soon on a high speed tilting train ...

Bussed to Faro, a small seaside town with not a hell of a lot really!!<br><br>Our room had no window, but faked the appearance by having a curtain anyway... nothing like a little bit of closet sleeping!!<br><br>Went for a swim at the beach/lagoon with our 1.60 euro bottle of red ...

... and a good bar area (everyone just stands out on the street in front of the bars drinking and talking) made us sad to leave Lisbon, but it was time to move on, and so we boarded a bus and headed south 3 hours (its a small country) to the Mediterranean Coast to a smallish town called Albufeira. Albu is a nice city, but it's really set up for British and Scottish people on holiday, or who live there for the winter, or who come down to ...

... here in the Algarve. I stuck with the olives. Our fabulous dinner was comprised of fresh salad, a shrimp bisque/stew, steak "portugese style" (which means steak topped with ham and egg), Veal chops, and a grilled white fish. The owner brought us a beerstein-shaped shot glass of port for dessert, and I cannot for the life of me figure out what Chelsea loves about that stuff. **Blech!** ps. pics will come soon, but i'm payin for this connection... so i'm not takin the time right now