Blogs from Lagos, Algarve, Portugal, Europe - page 3

Geo: 37.1019, -8.67324Bom-Dia à tous,Le déjeuné de ce matin sont les restes d'hier avec œufs. enfin quelques choses de différent. Nous allons voir 3-4 plages dans les environs. Elles sont spectaculaires vues de haut. Des falaises, la mer turquoise. Nous prenons un café sur la terrasse. Nous poursuivons vers Alvor. Petite ville mignonne avec une marina. Nous poursuivons vers Calda de Monchique et Monchique. Deux villes dans les montagnes (enfin une source on peu remplir les bouteilles). Calda semble être le rendez-vous des artistes car il y en a plein qui peigne dans la rue. Très petit mais jolie. On fait une petite balade sur un sentier. La deuxième un peu plus ordinaire mais moins touristique. L'Algarve est franchement défigurée. C'est tout pareille dans toute les villes que nous faisons. Boutiques e... read more

This is a young persons town, there are churches, and a castle but the draw here are the great beaches. We were a little worried when our GPS had us driving on a dirt road to our apartment. Both Mark and I thought, what kind of place have I booked us into. The apartment was just fine, a bedroom and bathroom downstairs with a patio off the bedroom. Upstairs was a kitchen, living room, TV and a balcony with table and chairs. The view from the balcony was of the beaches. We sat out on the balcony and enjoyed our port. After a good breakfast we headed to the beach called Dona Ana, we got a early start because there is not a lot of parking. We found street parking and rented sun covers and lounges. ... read more

My favorite place in the entire Algarve is Lagos, a small fishing port of about 32,000 near the western end of the province. It has been occupied over the centuries by Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Byzantines and Moors, whom the Portuguese expelled for good in 1241. Today it has a bit of everything – a sheltered marina, natural beauty, historical artifacts, good shopping, a leisurely lifestyle, and many sporting activities such as sailing, wind-surfing, fishing, para-sailing, scuba diving, ultra-light flights, and championship golf. Lagos has a long military and maritime history. In 1415 King Joāo I led an army to Morocco to capture Ceuta. Back in Lagos his son Prince Henry (“The Navigator”) established a navigation school at nearby Sagres, and when Henry’s naval architects designed the caravel, a fast, efficient ship, Lagos became a major ship-building ... read more

This is how I will blog this summer. Later, I'll do more detailed posts. But this is the best way for me to have experiences and share them with you. Day 1: Rome. Today I saw the Colosseum and pyramid. I hiked up to a great view of Rome. I saw the inside of an Irish pub (go Argentina!) and watched the USA lose in Venezia Piazza. I learned that restaurant owners who want pigeons to go away sprinkle chili flakes on the ground. Day 2: Rome. Today I walked forever. I saw the rest of Rome. I ate a lot of gelato (all of the gelato). I watched the sun set and I sat in a mostly-empty St. Peter's square until I got kicked out (who knew it closed?) Day 3: Rome. Today I went ... read more

Let’s be honest, the term ‘faded grandeur’ is decidedly cliché. Though, as much as it’s gift-wrapped to apply to the capital city of Portugal, Lisbon’s fadedness has a very definite edge. It’s a fadedness of cracks rather than corrosion. It is as human as it is physical, and it’s alive, manifest in the problems of a 21st century nation state: spray-painted on the wall of a 16th century merchant’s luxury home, a broken stained glass window, a strip of wallpaper torn from the wall. Older than London, Paris or even Rome, this westernmost capital city of Europe situated on the Atlantic Coast looks out over the once vast unknown. Portugal’s pioneering exploration of the New World once brought it staggering wealth. And, though it saw its heyday in generations past, this isn’t Rome, and nobody here ... read more