Portugal can be described as all of the above and was by the six of us whom left the dire summer of Dublin (Mel, Niall, Emma, Tim) and London (Kat and I) and headed to Quarteira, 20 kms outside Faro on the southwest coast of Portugal. Six days of 30 degrees blue sky and beach... No tourist traps this time, just good old fashioned lying in the sun, moving only to get food and drink. Rather than bore you with the how good the beach and swimming in the sea was every day we have pulled out the highlights:
1. The food - being on the coast it was fantastic to be able to eat proper fresh seafood again. One of the meals was monk fish and prawns (the biggest prawns i have eaten ever) it was truly Phenomenal. We also managed whole fish inclusive of head (yummm) and fish and chips on the beach...
1. The food - being on the coast it was fantastic to be able to eat proper fresh seafood again. One of the meals was monk fish and prawns (the biggest prawns i have eaten ever) it was truly Phenomenal. We also managed whole fish inclusive of head (yummm) and fish and chips on the beach...
2. The booze- chip as chips, we had a couple of good nights out and about. The Sunday we ended up in Villamoura - the town next to Quarteria. There are jaded memorys of rediculously overpriced Pimms and Lemonade, huge shots ot Tequilla a mexican bar at 3am and the Casino that we entered but did not play (that's a 1st). Other booze highlights included the 'Drunken Drunk' cocktail (Niall's idea) that tasted more like Paint thinner and a fantastic beer called Super Bock , that was served in 700ml pints....
3. The Grass Umbrella and deck chairs... not necessary but absolutely mint to capture some
shade and get off the sand for quality reading.
4. Beach Tennis - A game Tim and myself invented - probably the best game in the world but too hard to explain, happy to explain over a beer.
5. IceCream - a must in 30 degrees but the best part was the self service bit where you get what you want then they weigh it! - Well done to Tim who took out first place with a £6.50 icecream...
6. The Vibe - We both agree this was a holiday to relax and the local cutlure was awesome, flying back into london and dealing with the tube was awful.
7. A darker shade of white - I am perhaps the darkest white i have ever been, i also managed to avoid major sunburning , Kat is African American and can not possibly get any browner
8. Running - There is nothing quite like running down a beach to start each day and excluding one badly hungover day this is what we did - super amazing and hard
9. Bacon - At the buffet breakfast was A+, gutted when they served tiny little sausages one day instead
10. Catching up with friends - It was great to see the folk from Dublin and everybody was on good form - good times
