Portugal - Part 1 - Algarve, Sintra and Evora
/Tapas and Port
When I think of Portugal these two things come to mind Tapas and Port. While I am not much of a drinker I do love some amazing cuisine. Living in the UK in winter can be quite drab and lack of sun can really ruin your mood. With a long weekend ahead in January I needed that my daughter and I should jump on a small trip. We knew we wanted south and began to look at sunny and warm places in January. We came across Faro, Portugal in the Algarve. With 300 plus days of sun in Portugal we were headed to the right place.
Benagil and Sagres
On arrival to Faro we picked up the rental car and headed straight into the city center to our quaint hotel for a good night’s rest. We headed out to Benagil to try and catch the first excursion to the famous caves. Due to a storm in the Med the waves were too high and it was deemed about 9am unsafe to begin our journey. We didn’t let this affect our day and decided to head down the Sagres Fort at the edge of the Algarve. The Algarve is quite easy to get around as the toll roads provide easy connections to all the smaller cities along the coast line. Based on some recommendations we headed to Restaurante O Telheiro Do Infante on the beach near the fort to have fresh fish and the largest tray of mussels we have ever seen. We enjoyed the day down on the beach taking photos of the honey colored sand and blue skies.
Sintra and Evora
As much as we were in love with the Algarve and what we were seeing the rough seas really affected our ability to see the caves which was a main attraction for me. So we decided we would head north to Lisbon for the day. We had been to Lisbon on two occasions already, but we really missed out on the city of Sintra. We got into Sintra about lunch time and headed straight over to the Quinta da Regaleira to see the famous unfinished well and the gorgeous castle that still existed on site. Words cannot describe how gorgeous and mysterious this place is. My daughter said she felt as if we were in a fairy-tale with the moss covered trees, hidden tunnels and gorgeous landscape. We headed for Sintra Castle for the afternoon on the way to lunch. This castle is at the top of the mountain making it quite the adventure in our car. Once at the top we were able to get some amazing photos of Lisbon from afar and the gorgeous castle and gardens.
After our adventure in Sintra we headed for Evora, known for its Greek theatre and wine. We stopped over in some of the wine shops in route, but many were closed for the season. Getting into Evora at dusk we headed straight for the theatre and town center. Evora was such a quaint town and I am sure in summer it is livelier, but there was not much to see in January.
Silves and Olhão
