Portugal - LOVED IT!

We spent our final week of Spring break having a much needed family vacation in southern Portugal - what is called the Algarve. I took a ton of pic's and have already deleted a ton - have to take a lot to get the good ones. And I love this one below except for the pink spot where there was obviously a spec on my lense! Arrrggghhhh! It was our last full day (Fri.) and everything was nearly perfect. Had a great time.

There are many things I would love to share about this trip and will probably do so over the next several days. Bart caught up on all the hours of sleep he lost during March, the weather was warm and - Ahhhh - I am looking at snow in my flower beds at home today but, hey, we got a little break. What I was not aware of is this fact: southern Portugal serves the UK somewhat like Florida does for the East Coast - it is the warm weather destination for those inclined to flock south. On the whole, I heard as much of the Queen's English spoken as Portuguese. To such an extent that I didn't really want to spend too much time in the coastal towns because I wanted to feel like I was in Portugal. No offense meant to fellow vacationers. However, I can't complain. As there is a huge British expatriate community there, language is of little problem for those of us who know nothing of Portuguese and only picked up Obrigado (Thank You) and Bom Dia (Good Day) during the course of a week.

We used our time share for this trip - may I just say they have a fabo facility there in Vilamourra. The time share for us, after 5 years, has paid for itself. It's not for everyone, but has fit the way we travel and where we travel due to locations/family situation.

I will leave you today with a little authentic Portuguese food:

The prawn kebab Bart ordered at lunch. Rachel's eyes popped out when she saw his plate. There were a dozen prawns on that kebab! The sole fillet I ordered "ala Jardin de Oliveras" style. I don't know that the pic does my dish justice. It was the biggest piece of fish I've ever received - stuffed with veggies and baked with local soft cheese on top + olives. Plus the baked potatoes with sauteed onions on the side. DEElightful!!! Yum!!! Would be happy to attempt eating it all again. No - I couldn't eat it all. But I tried. :)
The restaurant was great - hidden in the hills, olive groves, quiet, growing their own produce, a playground in the shade - we loved it.

More later...have laundry to do, Sigh.