Chilly Weekend

    Easter Sunday saw a light covering of snow as the grandkids plucked candy eggs from the "Easter Tree" at my front walk. They were in fine form for our Easter lunch of roast lamb but the other family didn't make it as Lucy the dog was sick and had to pay a visit to the vet. They phoned in their apologies but we had already dived into the meal and there wasn't much in the way of leftovers. That said, I got two more meals out of the lamb leg and am going to make a Shepherd's Pie tonight with the last of the meat and some new vegetables.

    Today is still very chilly with rain and freezing rain forecast. In fact it will be a few miserable days but, thankfully, the temperature is going to rise into the low 'teens by the weekend.

   I calculated all my expenses for my Longstay in Portugal and it came out to just about the same as I have been paying for my 8 - 10 day trips with U of T Alumni. I probably did as much sight-seeing but interspersed with rest days which really suited me better than rushing around to a different place every day.

     One of my favourite excursions was a tour of Historic Algarve. We were on the road by 8:30 and visited four different towns. First stop was an old castle in Silves, then we climbed the mountains to Monchique at about 900 metres, where we had a lunch of Chicken Piri-Piri (a local speciality) after admiring the view. Next stop was Lagos on the coast - a quite attractive harbour and holiday spot where I saw a model of the ship Bartolemew Diaz, a 15th century Portuguese navigator, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope - it was tiny compared to the sailing vessels of today!

    Our last stop of the day was at Cape St. Vincent which is the most south-westerly point of Europe - a very windy spot with craggy cliffs and crashing waves. Then there was the long ride back to Albufeira, getting in around 7:30 after a very full, busy day. It was one of the better tours I had and only cost 17 Euro - a bargain because it is still off season.

Silves Castle - thought to have been founded in the 10th century.

 

One of the early kings of Portugal. His statue is outside the walls of the castle.

 

Lagos harbour

 

 

Me at Cape St. Vincent - looking rather windblown!

  

Easter Weekend

   Rather chilly today but the sun was shining so it was quite bearable. I was out early (8:15) today to try to beat the shopping crowds but the second store I hit was quite a zoo. I think it was because yesterday was the Good Friday holiday and tomorrow the stores will be closed as well. But I had everything purchased by 10:30 so am all set for the family arriving tomorrow for lunch.

   Another trip I took in Portugal was to Lisbon and Sintra. The palace at Sintra was the summer spot for the royal family for many years and is quite beautiful. A special treat there is to have a small sip of cherry brandy in a chocolate cup which you eat afterwards. I had two!

    We also stopped off at Capo de Roca which is the most westerly point in Europe and was an extremely cold and windy spot. On the way back to Lisbon we visited another holidaying town, Cascais, where people were swimming in the ocean! It was a shallow beach so I guess the water had warmed up a bit. That night in Lisbon we went out for a meal of Cataplana which is a fish speciality. It had lobster, shrimp (with the heads on), clams and other fishy delights which we shared. Its name derives from the dish in which it is cooked.

The Royal Palace at Sintra. It was used by the royal family until the late 19th century and there are many fascinating anecdotes about its occupants.

The beacon at Capo de Roca, the most westerly point in Europe.

A quaint little shop on the narrow, winding streets of Sintra.



Flowers in bloom in Cascais. This was a warm day in early March.

I am stuffing the chocolate Easter eggs as I wait for the photos to load and have been nibbling shamelessly! Supper will be hard to stomach so I will wait until later (much later). I plan to cook some brussell sprouts with bacon - a favourite treat of mine - to have with fish and quinoa. from yesterday.
 

Albufeira, the Algarve, Portugal

  I mentioned Albufeira in my last post so here are some photos around and about the town. It is a short drive from Faro, the regional capital and local airport. It is quite a small town built on a hill so there is much climbing up and down. It was originally a fishing village and there are still many of the old fisherman's cottages. Many names in the area have "al" in them, denoting the Moorish influence.

The beach is surrounded by these sandstone cliffs. Luckily there is an escalator to return you to the upper town.

 

The narrow streets in the old town are mostly pedestrian and hold many interesting shops and restaurants

 

An interesting formation in the middle of the beach.

 

 

Huge breakers make for excellent surfing but not at this time of year!

Finally Spring!

   A beautiful day today - I managed an hour in the garden, tidying up and then just sitting basking in the sun. It felt so warm on my face, I could almost believe I was back in Portugal! Some Spring flowering bulbs are beginning to push up but it will be some time until they are in flower.



Inside "The Angry Friar"



    One of my favourite tours while based in Albufeira was to Gibralter where I dined in true Brit fashion at the "Angry Friar". I had a sumptuous feast of Steak and Ale Pie with loads of "chips". I also shopped at Marks and Spencers for some traditional English goodies - battered fish and Rhubarb Crumble. Luckily we were heading back to Albufeira that day so I had it for dinner.

   We also visited St. Michael's Caves which has a magnificent display of stalactites and stalagmites. This is where the Barbary Apes hang out but they were in small numbers as the day was wet and windy. The grotto was quite spectacular with colourful displays. Gibralter itself is a quaint little town with windy pedestrian streets which we explored in the afternoon. 
 

This is a cross-section of a very large stalagmite showing the layers that formed over billions of years.