Porto Palacio Hotel - A Summit Hotel

... of "pints" in a sports bar and watched the Brazil v England match. Luckily we were the only couple in there! We wandered around the walled town of Lagos utterly impressed by the consisten beauty and well kept buildings. Lots of tiling and prettily painted doors and window frames on top of the whitewashed buildings everywhere. We decided to eat takeaway pizza, washed down with more beer and a game of pool.<br><br>15 Nov<br>after a relatively ...

... hostel in town, and B) located next door to the other hostel. The choice was obvious, and I quickly ditched the kiwis to join Kirsten next door.<br><br>By another random coincidence, I ran into an older American traveler who was staying at the hostel in Faro with us, and who I had talked to earlier that morning. Over breakfast I had made an effort to score a free ride with him to Lagos, but had been unsuccessful. He was just ...

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 kiting in Alvor is supposedly one of the best spots in Portugal, because of a huge shallow lagoon, however the wind was in the opposite direction so we ended up kiting on the sea side in the waves. Exhausting, but very fun to launch off the waves. We met a wicked ...

... 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

... on the sea bass.   <br><br>  It was finally two, so we went back, checked in, showered (much needed), napped and headed over to Solar do Vinho do Porto - a Port wine tasting place overlooking the river - it was fantastic. The port was delicious and we learned Port is fortified wine, meaning it's 20% Brandy. It's also comes in different colors - white, ruby and tawny. Our favorite was the tawny and we got a couple of bottles.  <br ...

... t even say the niceties yet (need to find a phrase book and a map). The good news is that I HAVE CYCLING SHORTS! They have sorted out the chafing problem (but without going into too much detail) however the pressure problem (but we think that's the saddle) remains. Still, with a bit of wiggling about I seem to be managing. Some of the campsites we have stayed at have been excellent, clean (and I mean spotless because someone is permanently cleaning) and ...

... climbing aboard with the other six passengers. A one hour cruise was just ten euros each for Jess and I and the girls were free. Bonus! First the cruise headed up-river until it reached the first of the 'seven bridges' that connect one side of Porto with the other, across the Douro. What we saw was an area that may well be world heritage listed but is sadly neglected. Many of the riverfront properties lie derelict, their ...

... s washing swaying in the river breeze while the smell of coffee and garbage mixed in the air. After a long wrong turn somewhere caused by an elderly man's incorrect but enthusiastic directions, we reached the tourist information centre where we wanted to purchase the Porto Card. For just &euro;11.50 each we got discounts and free entrances ...

... gehad hebben om daar wat meer kennis van te nemen. Je moet minstens een paar dagen ergens zijn om een plaats te gaan waarderen en meer oog te krijgen dan waar is de bakker, de supermarkt, de telefooncel en het internet cafe. De wind is weer NO en soms NW net als gisteren, maar nu is de zee een toonbeeld van orde. Eens in de acht seconde een lichte oceaandeining en er valt slechts af en toe een kop om in schuim. Dit blijft de hele dag een strak blauwe hemel, gaan we nu echt naar het ...