Hospedaria Frangaria Faro

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 ...

In Albufeira, we went to a Portugese bullfight, not the real deal as in they don't kill the bull, rather they stab them in the back with a bunch of arrows. I thought it was mean, especially the first bull because it was pretty much still a baby and looked scared instead of angry. Jon ...

The west and south coast of Portugal is pretty much a long stretch of beaches surrounded and separated by huge red cliffs and you can get from one beach to another by crawling through caves in the cliffs (I also think that's where the bums sleep at night...) We did some surfing at a small secluded beach that I had been to 4 years ago with my family. We’re ...

... shuttle bus to catch to Gatwick North terminal as the bus number and stop number printed on the ticket was completely different again to reality. Luckily, there were Network Express (bus company) on hand to save the day, but even then they didn't seem to know what was occuring and seemed to make things up as they went along anyway. We made the BA flight from Gatwick with plenty of time to spare so that's the main thing. <br><br>Another thing, I will also never again ...

No trip to Portugal would be complete without a trip to the Algarve. Its reputation as Portugal's Costa Del Sol does it no favours and we've been deliberating for ages to see if we can get some beach time without the socks and sandals brigade, Sky Sports, bacon and eggs and News of the World. That said, the Algarve offers mile upon mile of beautiful coastline dotted with countless beautiful beaches and this is tempting ,for one of us at least.<br> <br ...

... discovering a gem of a local restuarant with amazing bbq chicken. 6 euro for dinner!!<br><br>The next day to fill in time before departing we looked at the Chapel of Bones, which was built from the bones of the monks from the local cemetary. Over 1200 skulls. Definite goosebumps eh!

Nach dem mühsamen und nervenden Tag in Huelva sind wir endlich in Albufeira angekommen im dortigen Hapimag-Ressort. sehr schön gebaut,alles sauber, breite infrastruktur und selbst die angestellten im minimarkt sprechen deutsch oder gar schwiizerdütsch :-)...komisches gefühl all das ch-deutsch zu hören plötzlich.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>< br> Die beiden Cousins von Evi, Christoph und Thomas, machen ...

... some relics hanging about but it appears to be a very modern structure. After a while, I realize yep just did Tavira in a few hours. I go back to Faro via the 6:10 bus (2.88E). It was supposed to be an hour ride with multiple stops but somehow I get on the express bus and it only takes me 45 minutes. Bonus. I eat some dinner and go to Antonio's place for beer. He's not there.. hmm.. After about 30 minutes he shows up. He is so excited to see me. We end ...

... seafoods, peri peri chicken, etc). The nice thing about the Portuguese set menus is that they all finish with a black espresso. I am usually a 'white coffee with sugar' girl, but over here I have really gained an appreciation for their straight black caffeine-rich coffee shots. Now I couldn't think of any better way to wrap up the meal. Dining in Portugal also comes with insurance in the form of a fully functioning "complaints book". Almost every ...

... long to get out there. Not long after stepping off the bus from Lisbon I found myself on a mountain bike charging through the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa - a swathe of pine and cork forest, wetlands, salt marshes, sand bar islands and expansive beaches liberally sprinkled with Roman ruins that caps the southern most point in Portugal. The resulting ...