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| Portugal 2012 |
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| View from the hotel |
Saturday 23rd June 2012 - Bom Dia Portugal!
Getting to the airport was hassle free. We ordered a cab from our house to London bridge and the cab driver was so nice. We gave him £25 and said keep the change. He told us it was £18 and gave us the £5 back. He was so honest and lovely. :) From London Bridge we got the FCC train to gatwick airport which cost about £10 each. We dropped our bags and did a spot of shopping at duty free. It was then time to board the plane. As we had speedy boarding, it didn't take us long to board the plane at all. The plane was 3 seats on both sides. It was a change from the usual big plane I board to hong kong but it wasn't dirty or squishy. I chose to sit on the window because I love the sight of floating on the clouds. It's pretty awesome. :) We touched down at about 19.20pm and despite the annoying men sitting behind us ranting and raving it was a easy quick good flight. We got onto the shuttle bus which is like a small van that took us to our hotel. It took about an hour and it was lovely seeing the scenery. I had a laughing fit in the van. Once we arrived at the hotel, around 9pm, we went down to the restaurant and ate. It was alright and then we headed down to the beach. It was the best thing ever. Seeing the stars and having not a care in the world. It almost felt surreal. I still can't believe it. Lying under the stars even for a short while was amazing. Truly incredible. It was that beautiful. When we got back to the hotel we laughed and chilled some more and planned the days ahead.
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| Exploring |
We had some seafood and just spent a lot of the time on the beach and going for a dip in the sea! We also decided to see what was around Algarve by foot and ended up exploring Alvor and the stretch along the beach. We stopped off for refreshments and just enjoyed the heat and scenery around us.
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| Insonia Caves |
Monday 25th June 2012
Prior to our trip we had arranged a small boat ride to see the Insonia Caves in Alberferia. We headed down to Alberferia via a bus/coach that departed just outside our hotel. It was great fun. We managed to see dolphins swimming, the caves and really enjoy the experience on a small boat. We then did some chilling and had dinner by the beach which was delicious and very soothing.
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| Jeep! |
Tuesday 26th June 2012 -
We booked a Jeep Safari at the hotel and it was one we was a little unsure of because it meant we had to be in a small confined area with others that we did not know. But it turned out to be quite exciting and the other people we was with were quite friendly. There was two other couples, one was older and one was about our age. It was lovely. Both were from the UK too, I think.
The Algarve Jeep Safari was very fun. Our driver drove at ridiculous speeds through the sand and made the journey very exciting. It was like playing a real life game. We travelled on the Jeep leaving the coastal resorts and exploring the quite-washed villages, orange and lemon orchards and eucalyptus groves. You learn of the local flora and fauna, of the old traditions and customs still practiced in this area, of the secrets of harvesting the cork trees of their precious bark. You visit a small farm, sample some local honey and see where the “medronho” is distilled. Medronho is a very potent local drink made from the berries of the arbutus tree. It will apparently cure whatever ails you! The day includes a tasty lunch of chicken piri-piri in a local restaurant. It was all very nice!! I would recommend this trip!
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| Dinner, Drinks, Football |
Wednesday 27th June 2012 -
We spend Wednesday doing some shopping and a bit of down time. As we had travelled to Portugal during the Euro football, we decided that we had to watch some football. We went out for drinks and dinner and watched the football with the locals. It was a lovely experience!
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| Food demolished! |
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| Beach Fun |
Our last day in Portugal, so we decided to spend it catching some last minute sun, eating food and doing some souvenir shopping. It had been a lovely week in Portugal and a great first holiday with my sisters. Definitely a wonderful, relaxing country to visit. If we had longer, we would probably have taken a trip to Lisbon.
