Fair Faro

 The move from Lagos to Faro was an easy one.  A short walk from the apartment in Lagos to the train station, a 1-3/4 hour train ride to Faro and a few blocks walk to the next apartment and we were at our home for the next 4 nights.  We knew from our previous scoping out of the apartment that it was on an interesting street.  The apartment is in the nice building on the right, across the street, not so nice.

But once inside, there's the very modern, maybe overly white decor.

I am sure that it will serve us well.  After settling in, we went shopping for provisions.  We walked up to the central market passing interesting buildings and a wedding at the church.

Unfortunately, the vendor stalls were all closed by the time we arrived, so we went to the big grocery store downstairs for the basics.  We figured  we'd return in the morning for more goodies.  On the way back, we walked through a nicer part of the old town, passing many restaurants.  We picked one to have dinner, Centenario, where we indulged in the seafood rice that our friend Paulo had recommended.  It was quite something - loaded with all kinds of seafood.  Lobster, crab, shrimp, mussels, clams, monkfish, and the list goes on.  The waiter used a hammer to crack open some of the lobster and crab for us.  After that, we were on our own.  And it tasted good!

Today, Sunday, we started off with a walk back to the market.  It was alive.

We noticed that many of the vendors were selling what I believe were cockles, or berbigoes, in Portuguese.  Berbigoes by the bag full!

After enjoying our lunch of food bought at the market, we set off for a serious walk around the old town.  It was a nice walk around although I will say that it does not measure up to Lagos.

As we walked around Faro, we were particularly struck by 2 things - the many rundown buildings and the large amount of graffiti.

Oh yes, and then there is the unexplained sequence of pi embedded in the cobbles on one street.

As we continued our walk, we discovered a very touching photo exhibit showing Ukrainian families that had moved to Portugal.  Each photo had a link to a website where they told their story.  They all expressed great thanks to the Portuguese people for accepting them.

Before heading back to the apartment it was time for a refreshment break.  Now, many of you think that Linda and I are very alike and enjoy all of the same things.  But this pic will dispel that.  Can you guess whose snack was whose?

Tomorrow, May 1st, is the Labor Day holiday in Portugal.  It will be our second holiday celebration in just one week.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry

A Farewell to Lagos

This morning, Saturday, is our last day in Lagos as we prepare to move to Faro.  There are many reasons that we like staying in an apartment when we visit a city.  Among them is that we can do laundry and start with a clean slate in our next stop.

Yesterday, we thought about taking the train to Portimao for a visit there.  However, after looking at the Crazy Tourist website, it appeared that it offered nothing special over what we had right here in Lagos.  So, after a trip to the market to get golden kiwis, our new obsession . . .

. . . we headed off for another long walk.  This time we walked through another part of Lagos, a part that had some very nice, newer houses and some seemingly very upscale houses.

Eventually, we made it to the overlook for the Praia de Porto Mos.  Just another beautiful seascape!

After walking down to the beach, we headed back into town.  We made a stop at the Spar, a small grocery store, for some water.  The search for water took me past the wine section where I was quite shocked to see the pricey wine available there.

Can you imagine going to a Circle K in the US and finding a $1000 bottle of wine or an $1800 bottle of brandy?

For our last dinner in Lagos, we decided to return to the site of our first dinner - the restaurant Cantinho Algarvio.  It was as good as the first time.  I finally had some fish soup:

Linda had the fabulous hake in passion fruit sauce and really enjoyed her flaming fig cake.

We noticed that the restaurant was filled with predominately regular customers.  We certainly recommend it to anyone visiting Lagos.

And, so, our visit to Lagos is drawing to a close.  Some thoughts about Lagos.  Maybe first and foremost, Lagos is a pescatarian's dream come true.  Such a great selection of well prepared seafood.  With the exception of one fair tapas lunch of mussels and shrimp, every meal was memorable.  Second, Lagos is a terrific beach city - beautiful scenery, nice beaches, great walks, and lots to do.  We are here at a good time of the year - nice weather and not too crowded.  I understand that we wouldn't want to be here in July and August when it's hot and incredibly crowded.  Our apartment was in a great location - an easy walk from the train station, a block from the waterfront, and close to the old town.  Can you tell that we really loved Lagos?

And now on to Faro.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry