Also joining Tom with his signs from around the world. Please check this link.
We arrived in Vilamoura in the early afternoon. My parents stayed with my sister Isabel and brother-in- law in the apartment they own there, while Jose, I, Karina, Thomas and my sister Luisa stayed in an Airbnb apartment, in the street just behind my sister's apartment.
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Top: Our apartment block, my sister's building, the tall one, can be seen behind. Bottom: view to the front of our apartment
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Our 2 bedroomed Airbnb apartment was comfortable, roomy and nicely furnished, with a pull-out couch in the lounge for my sister Luisa.
We enjoyed 8 days of family time going to the beach (only once) as we preferred the pool...having lunch and dinner together either at my sister's or in restaurants and meeting up with family and friends who live in the Algarve.
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First day at the beach
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The happy family out to dinner |
We had a fun evening at an English owned Karaoke bar - Parkys - where we went for a drink, to listen to music and dance. My two sisters and I tried our hand at singing (very badly) in public for the first time, but we had great fun.
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My mom, me, my sister Isabel and sister Luisa at the back, dancing at the Karaoke bar
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Parkys- always ready to kick off your Saturday
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A couple of nights we went to the Vilamoura Marina, to have an ice-cream and walk around. Too crowded as usually in the warm summer nights!
The whole family met up with our friends from Perth, who were also holidaying in the Algarve, in their apartment just across from the beach, in Armacao de Pera .
Then we all drove to the historical town of Silves, about 20min away, where we had lunch. Some had the "Cozido a Portuguesa" a heritage dish - a boiled stew with a variety of meats, potatoes, cabbage. I'm not a fan actually, so I ordered grilled squid with potatoes.
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Our friends and our group outside the restaurant
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The town of Silves was the old Moorish capital of the Algarve region. The castle on top of the hill overlooking the city, was occupied by the Moors between the 8th and 10th centuries.
Walking around the mains street facing the river, I found a lovely park with lots of statues, and I lots of murals too :)
The statues depicting scenes of daily life of Arabic people who lived in Silves during the 11th century reign of Al Mouhatamid Ibn Abbad, the governor of Xelb (Silves), who was also known as one of Andalusia's best poets.
The statues are carved in a local stone, standing on stainless steel islands and some islands are inscribed with Arabic texts.
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Park with statues inside a pond
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The castle above the town of Silves
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Praça Al Mouhatamid Ibn Abbad - this square where the statues were, serves as an entry into the city, and is named after the Governor of Silves in the 11th century, who also reigned in Seville (Spain) and died in Marrakech (Morroco).
After lunch, our friends returned home and we drove on until Praia da Rocha, (Rock Beach) 30 minutes away - known for the rock formations in the water and vast sandy area. Karina and Thomas still went for a quick swim, while we wandered around and sat at a cafe having a drink.
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Tourist train in Praia da Rocha, a snail shell "Love I want to move" (for a building company) and a Tapas and Wine bar with a double meaning - in Portuguese it means "bad of knife", but if you read it quickly you will get "motherf****) We had a good laugh when we read it twice :)
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On a different night, we picked up Jose's older brother and sister-in-law who live in Faro, the southernmost city in the Algarve, and took them to dinner in Olhao, a fishing town 10km away. They choose a Fish and Seafood restaurant, the food was superb, but again the portions were huge!
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I liked the boat shaped planters along the streets, and the sardine tin rubbish bins
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With Jose's oldest brother and sister-in-law
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One of my parent's oldest friends from Mozambique days, who after living in England retired in the Algarve, joined us for lunch at my sister's place, and one of Karina's and my niece's friend, joined us for dinner one of the evenings also at my sister's apartment.
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My sister Luisa, our friend, my parents, me and my sister Isabel
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My Dad, Luisa, Mom, Jose, Isabel, Karina, K's friend, Thomas and I
Jose and I had booked to renew our Portuguese passports and ID's - which had long expired but couldn't be renewed in Perth as we didn't have a Consul for a long time.... and we did those in Loule, an inland town about 20min drive from Vilamoura. We had to go there twice, once to do them and three days later to collect them, and of course we visited a few things around the town.
| The Municipal market was huge, but only operated on Saturday |
| Various statues around the town
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| There was a small castle but seemed to be surrounded by construction |
I was keen to visit an out of the way small town, and one of return trips from Loule we visited the inland village of Alte. It has a population of under 2000 people and is known as one of the Algarve's most typical and unspoilt villages. It was so charming, with its whitewashed houses and cobbled streets, I fell in love with it!
There is a waterway, which they call the Big Fountain and there were lots of people relaxing on the margins. It was a very hot day and after a long walk the bar at the end of the riverway was closed!
Along the walk there are plaques with poems by Cândido Guerreiro, a poet and lawyer who was born in Alte.
We then drove into the town centre, walked into a cafe which happened to have a beautiful view over part of the town, and we had a freshly squeezed orange juice and an almond pastry, which is typical of the Algarve where they have lots of almond trees.
Jose and Thomas flew out from Faro, a week before Karina and I left Portugal - Thomas flying via Marseille before returning to Cologne to celebrate his dad's birthday and Jose returning to Perth, via Frankfurt.
The day before, Karina and Thomas invited us all to lunch at the beach restaurant - Forte Novo - in Quarteira, the town next to Vilamoura, just 10km away, and we had the most amazing fresh fish.
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Fresh delicious fish at Forte Novo restaurant
The day after Jose and Thomas departed, the rest of the family drove back to Lisbon, as the following day, my niece, husband and 2 kids who live in San Francisco, would be arriving from Switzerland where they had been spending time with her in-laws and the following day my other niece and 2 kids would be arriving from Luanda, Angola. |
And I end this very, very long post with a last photo of my parents and their 3 daughters.
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My parents, my middle sister Isabel (back), my youngest sister Luisa and I (front)
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I still can’t understand why people prefer the pool to the ocean when they are in the Algarve!! : ))) Teasing…
ReplyDeleteMy summer holidays were spent at the beach when I lived there. Even now, when I go to Portugal, and after spending a few days in Lisbon, I go south to be able to go the beaches I know so well and to swim in the ocean. : )
We can tell you had a fantastic time with your family. Those were precious moments.
Only my sister, my Mom and my husband love the beach, the others preferred not to have to carry a whole lot of gear to the beach and get covered in sand. The pool was just down a few steps and we could sit on a deckchair under an umbrella and just go home or return anytime.
DeleteDearest Sami,
ReplyDeleteFor Parents there is no happier time than spending time with their family.
You once again made it for meeting together and enjoying lots of meals, walks and swimming time.
Hugs,
Mariette
Thanks Mariette, my parents loved having most of the family together, it was even better once the great-grandkids arrived :)
Delete💞
DeleteWhat a wonderful adventure. I love all the food the best. You know I always love the food.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and week, Sami. ♥
Thanks Sandee. Portuguese food is "the best" according to my French son in law, lol. There is so much variety, I didn't get to eat everything I wanted to eat. Next time...
DeleteIt was a very social and fun time by the sound of it.
ReplyDeleteThe castle seems to be in good condition.
Before we visited Portugal we looked at the Algarve area and I think there was the old town and a tourist area full of high rise accommodation. We didn't end up going south of Lisbon.
The Algarve coast stretches to about 150km, there's some lovely towns, a lot of them with marked Arab influence - Tavira being one of them (which we didn't get to visit this time). Of course some towns are just too touristic and full of high-rises in front of the beach, but a lot of them have castles and other interesting historical things. Thanks Andrew.
DeleteYou really have such a wonderful time abroad. Such a great range of food variety to enjoy too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Roentare, Portuguese food is great and has a lot of variety.
DeleteWhat a fun and lovely way to spend time with family! 😊 Thanks for sharing such wonderful pictures It makes me feel like I was right there. Sending lots of hugs. 🤗 RO
ReplyDeleteThank you RO, thanks for your visit :)
DeleteLooks like everyone had fun.
ReplyDeleteYou had a very nice family time all together!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marianne, it was a lovely time.
DeleteI would prefer the beaches without people. Sometimes they are so crowded I can't imagine how they can be pleasant. And I prefer to share my space with other creatures and the last thing I want to hear is someone else's radio. It is amazing that family from all parts of the world can get together in one country. I am sure that we are the last generation to have the funds to do this. There is something fundamentally wrong with humans, where we can eat well and join together in happiness, while entire countries are being obliterated and starvation, separation and privation are inflicted on its citizens.
ReplyDeletePortuguese beaches aren't usually crowded (at least from my experience), I remember going to the beach in Holland and oh my, we were sitting on top of each other almost! Totally true David, it makes me feel a bit guilty that we are able to enjoy ourselves while many others are suffering.
Delete...Sami. you sure packed a lot into your trip. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom. We had plans to do a lot more, but not always easy with so many people.
DeleteClever sign with the re-reading.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful beach! The other night I dreamed I was swimming!
Fun Beetle!
Such a great holiday you had - happy pics all over.
Looking forward to the murals.
What is it with the huge portions these days...
Now I really would love a fresh orange juice.
Wonderful last pic and amazing how you all manage to get together over those long distances!
I called my "little" Brother today, it´s his Birthday. He has no time for a meeting with us, even if we offered to drive the lumpy 60km...
Yay to your family!
Thanks Iris. That's sad your brother didn't have the time to meet up with the family on his birthday :(
DeleteFun with family brings new memories. Glad you had a great time. Thanks for sharing all those nice photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill, we had a great time.
DeleteUm sitio muito agradável para passar férias, gostei de ver estas belas fotografias.
ReplyDeleteUm abraço e continuação de uma boa semana.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
Livros-Autografados
Obrigada Francisco. Bom fim de semana.
DeleteUntil I saw your blog, I never really thought about Portugal as a travel destination (because there are so many!) But seeing all you share makes me rethink that. What a fabulous holiday you had!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanie. Portugal has become very, very popular with tourists in the last 5 years or so. And not only tourists...a lot of English, Americans, French, etc are also moving to Portugal, specially to the Algarve coast. People are friendly, a very safe country, cost of living is lower than most other European countries and the food is fantastic!
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