Blogs from Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal, Europe

Random pictures that may have been missed before. Au revoir to Albufeira, meaning I hope I return some day. And away we go again! Back to Faro airport to fly back to Lisbon. There’s a 5 hour wait before we board & leave for Toronto. By paying a little extra we have premium lounge privileges-free food and bar drinks . So I can charge my iPad and phone so it will last on the flight home. It’s busy in the lounge and it takes a while before we can get a more comfortable seat with a charging station. This is a whole new experience for me to go to a premium lounge and get food and drinks. Charging stations are in great demand so you have to watch diligently for someone to move and quickly take ... read more

I forgot to post my blog yesterday, sorry so you get two today. Dandelions and all sorts of weeds are in full bloom here. Almond trees abound everywhere - they grow in private yards but also are plentiful in the countryside growing wild. Can you image just walking out anywhere and picking your own almonds? There are plenty of other flowers showing off their blooms as well - bird of paradise, osteospermum, and so many that I can’t put a name on. This morning we drove to Portamao and while Peter and Daphne went to their church meeting, Anne and I walked the city. We were dropped off at the river and so we trod the cobblestone rehabilitation along the banks of the Arade River. Evenly spaced along the walkway were sculptures from local artists carved ... read more

Yesterday, I got up early and walked up the beach to catch the sunrise, but then later in the morning, it started raining. It rained off and on the majority of the day, so I had a lazy day on the couch with a book, and picked up some junk food for good measure. By sunset, the rain had stopped, so I took a short walk on the beach to see the sunset. Fortunately today, the sun was back. We headed east along the shoreline for awhile. There were a few nice trails up along the rocks, but then we got to a point that seemed difficult to pass, so we opted to find a spot on the beach and relax for awhile. At lunchtime, we made out way back to the apartment. The tide had ... read more

Yesterday, we were planning to do another ride share, to get from Seville to Albufeira, Portugal but the only one offered at a time we wanted had a 1 star review. Only 1 review, and it was from 6 years ago, commenting that the car didn't have a/c and that the driver was 40 min late. We decided to give him a try anyway, reasoning that 1 bad review isn't necessarily accurate. He communicated right away, so we thought that was a good start. Then the night before, he asked if we could move the departure time from 11 to 12:30. We agreed to that, but then yesterday morning, he said he'd be a bit late, and then said he was taking his car to the mechanic. We had him cancel the ride share, and took ... read more

Best Countries in the World Readers Choice Awards https://www-cntraveler-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cntraveler.com/gallery/are-these-the-best-countries-in-the-world/amp ------------------------------ I am organizing 174 pics in 4 blog posts which will be published in the next few days for my Lisbon/Belem/Sintra 4 day trip. I will want t return to Lisbon again and make a side trip to Cascais perhaps. Will be in FL approximately Dec 16 to Jan 13.... read more