Portugal

It was recently the bank holiday weekend, and, like last year, I forgot that I should stay in London for the Notting Hill Carnival! I am so upset that I missed it for my second year running, and when am I going to be in London for it ever again? So stupid. Instead, I did something else very British…I went to the Algarve. This is an area on the south coast of Portugal, where lots of British tourists, and tourists from all over Europe, go for their holidays.

It was just a three day beach break for us, we didn't want anything too strenuous, just relaxing.
However, after three months of Crappo weather in London, which they call a summer, we left London on the nicest morning I have seen here, warm and blue skied. We arrived in Portugal to freezing rain. Fury. Luckily, the weather cleared up that afternoon, but it was a very bad couple of hours for me psychologically

I was a tiny bit worried about the area we were going to, the Algarve, as I had heard from some that it was very very cringe-worthy. The area we stayed was just like a British gold coast, or like if they picked up any English seaside town and put it on a decent beach with nice weather. Which is fine, but, without sounding mean, I don't like British food (or modern culture) at the best of times, and I was quite looking forward to some Vascos/Oporto/Nando's style Portuguese food…however, while there were Chinese restaurants, Indian, a Haagen Dazs restaurant and even an O'Neills, the Portuguese food was nowhere to be found. We finally settled on a restaurant that served mostly western things (Steak Dianne? Hamburger?), but pointed at this other table that looked like they were Portuguese people, and they were having this thing that looked like soupy Paella, with prawns and clams and fish all through it. Turns out that on the menu it was just called 'monk fish', which made me think there was a translation problem, and I didn't want anything called monkfish (which made me think of the Simpson's three eyed fish), but after pointing at the other table a couple more times, we thought they must know what we meant…and yes, it was the yummy soupy Paella.

That first day, the British tourist overload day, was in the Marina. Now, apart from being a lot more expensive obviously, I am beginning to suspect that 'Marina', is just the aquatic version of 'caravan park'…because apart from the bling on these people, they really looked like they were from the trailer park…oooh, is that horribly classist and mean?! I have done my time in caravan parks on holidays, I am not being a snob! I am just saying…Oh yeah, the other thing that the marina seemed to be full of was pubs with large red Englishmen watching soccer games…had to get away from the Marina...

Anyway, we should have known that the Marina would have been the refuge of the tourists, so the next day, we thought we would try something else, and walked down the beach for a while, past the shanty town/caravans, and ended up in the Quarteira, which had fish markets, no sun beds on the beach, and lots of Portuguese restaurants to choose from. We ate a couple of times at this one restaurant that was right over the sand, and which served the most amazing garlic and lemon prawns I have ever had. They were all in their shells still, so I made quite the mess, so much so that the waiter came to me with more napkins three times. I had them for entrée, and loved them so much I was going to have them for dessert too, but for some surprising reason could not fit in prawns+huge steak+potatoes and then more prawns for dessert. Very disappointed in myself.

Before I got there, I was also quite worried about my hotel. I had booked what I thought was a nice four star hotel, for our special weekend away, but then I read some online reviews and they were all terrible! However, it turns out that while it wasn't the Four Seasons, it had a pleasant 70's Dallas style feel about it, with massive rooms, two double beds, a balcony with table and chairs, huge breakfast buffet including chocolate cake, on the beach, beautiful gardens and pool…really I don't know what the complaints were about, they should really have been complaining about other things I think!

So anyway, would highly recommend Portugal, for weather, beach and food…however, would try and avoid the British tourist favourites. They don't like to leave England behind when they are on holiday, but if you, like me, desperately do, then find out where they like to go, and avoid avoid avoid (the bonus with this, is it will probably also be a lot cheaper).

Next trip....Italy....hooraaaaaayyy...