Travellers' Tales...

Albufeira, Portugal (Part 1)

After a very early flight (we left mine at 4am) Tasha and I arrived in sunny Portugal and were at our hotel by 12pm. The room was basic but clean and had everything we expected from budget accommodation. We had a nice little balcony, kitchenette and a bedroom which was separated from the main room by shutters, and had enough space to fit the pull out bed from the living room in, so all three of us could sleep in the same room (Lydia was joining us later that day).

Not wasting any time, Tasha and I promptly got changed and headed to the pool for our first spot of sunbathing. It was slightly cloudy, but still warm enough to lie just in a bikini comfortably, which is all we cared about. We went back to the room and got ready to go out at around 7pm, and found a cute little restaurant nearby that was opposite the supermarket - our next port of call.

We shared a chorizo starter (as well as complimentary bread, olives and pate - love being abroad!) and for main I had a chicken stroganoff whilst Tasha had grilled salmon, both with potatoes and vegetables. We shared a bottle of prosecco, and altogether it was 18 euro each, can't complain. We did a shop for some food and essentials and then went back to the room and had some wine whilst we waited for Lydia to arrive, although she actually got there at 1am once we were fast asleep!

The next day was another by the pool; the weather still wasn't amazing but enough to tan. In the evening we made tuna pasta for tea and then played some drinking games before going out to the main strip of bars. We got a taxi there which had we realised how close it was, wouldn't have been ordered as it literally took two minutes.

We walked for a while before choosing a bar that seemed fairly busy and had a cocktail and free shot. Afterwards we moved onto more of a club that was playing decent music, and a round of doubles was only 15 euro. We danced for a while and then moved on again to a swanky looking bar called Libertos, which seemed like the sort of place to overcharge for drinks, especially as it was free entry; so we were pleasantly surprised when it was only 4 euro per drink.

The next day we were all feeling a little ropey, but after a day of sleep by the pool we perked up, especially as the weather had vastly improved. We decided to take a cab that evening to the Old Town to eat there, as we had been told it was more chilled than the strip, and would have less Stag and Hen parties about!

We chose a really lovely Portuguese restaurant up a flight of stairs that overlooked the whole harbour, and I tried a traditional dish that was steak topped with pancetta and sliced potatoes then covered in gravy - amazing! I always like trying new things abroad and I've never seen anything like that before so was adventurous. Following the theme, I also opted for a Portuguese tart for dessert, that was similar to baklava but with orange flavoured treacle instead of honey. It was very sweet, but was only small so wasn't too sickly. We went to a bar afterwards where the outside was entirely covered in shells, where we had a 'champagne cocktail' for 4 euro - it was gross! Dark rum and cheap fizz with glace cherries and sugar stirred in - we all couldn't finish it.

We got a taxi home and were all asleep for 12.30pm, obviously saving ourselves for the next wild night!