As you may notice from the photo above, I really wasn’t dressed for the tasks. I’m sure I had some walking boots for the day up the mountains, but on one jolly sightseeing trip to a winery (that’s more like it) I wore fetching blue tracksuit bottoms and cream stiletto sandals. Yes, really! Have a closer look. That’s me posing like a complete eejit on the right with my friend Helen, who managed to bag herself a Portuguese waiter during the week, so that was a plus.
My second visit to Portugal was in 1986 when my boyfriend and I made up a foursome with another couple, Sarah and Mark. A very pleasant week in a villa in Armacao de Pera. But I was summarily dumped a few months later so I’d rather not talk about it.
So I’m returning, en famille, to the beautiful Algarve and, fingers crossed, this time it will be memorable for all the right reasons. My only reservation is that, although I knew that as we were staying in the most southwesterly point in mainland Europe, dubbed by the Portuguese ‘Fim do mundo’ (the end of the world) centuries ago, I didn’t quite anticipate how windy it’s likely to be. Apparently the last few weeks the wind has been so strong, diners have been given blankets to wrap up in on restaurant terraces. I should have known, for heaven’s sake, I’m a geographer, I can read a map…ish. Though maybe the fact that the national windsurfing championships are taking place on our beach this weekend should have given me a clue….
Nothing wrong with being a 5 star addict…!
Spooky! You're the third person in as many days to talk about going to Portugal!
Was there some kind of mass discount that I missed out on??
@Steve – Well I've stayed in some fleapits in my time and I have to say I much prefer not having to rough it 🙂
@Macy – maybe we all thought we would get a good deal with the Portuguese economy on the wobble, but it doesn't appear to be any cheaper!I wonder if I'll bump into anyone you know!
There is nothing cosier than being wrapped in a 'blankie' with a drink outside on the verandah/terrace/outside the back door and listening to the wind and watching the leaves dance about….trust me…if you have a throw or a shawl or a blankie it will be fab….. and we are off to Portugal in September…sorry Macy!
Ha, that photo took me back. We were living in Germany then and I did quite a bit of backpacking in my vacations, but never in cream stiletto sandals, I'm sorry to say.
I'm with you on the thread count, though.
I would take wind over rain any day, but especially right now, as we're in the middle of a 100-year flood in Seoul.(lucky us: we picked just the right time to move, didn't we?) Subways are flooded, the river's jumped its banks, and the rain just keeps on coming down…
It's funny how wet it often is on field trips. I did geography for A Level and have pictures of me sodden on a cliff in Dorset.
The Algarve holiday sounds much more the thing. Hope you have a lovely time.
@Libby – Do you know, I think you're right! Will get started on the packing and throw in some cosy stuff.
@MsCaroline – I don't think anyone would have worn my choice of footwear, particularly with jogging bottoms!
The rain where you are must be so frustrating: I shall be grateful I hopefully won't have that to contend with – we had a fair bit of rain in the Dordogne last summer and it does throw you, when you are expecting constant sunshine.
@Sarah – Trying to keep paper dry on a clipboard is most annoying. All our field trips were miserable!
Fingers crossed the Algarve will be good: wind or no wind it will at least be relaxing.
We went to the Algarve 8 years ago and had to be evacuated from our very 5* villa due to massive forrest fires started by some paper mills who were in some sort of financial melt down – scary as we were halfway up a hillside with windy roads to negotiate hurriedly as the fires were blown and fanned in the breeze towards us. I must do a post on it! Second time was 3 years agonand it poured and poured non stop for 4 days so we paid up for an early flight home where it was sunny!! Erm …. Sure neither will affect you though! 🙂
@Diney – Well you're a cheery bugger haha! We're right on the beach so if there's a fire I can run in there: pity I'm a rubbish swimmer. I have high hopes the rain may stay away but we were unlucky in Southern France last year so I'm keeping everything crossed.
I totally feel the same as you. I did years of backpacking. Funnily enough I did three weeks camping with my mate Sue G. Except we had no tent and no sleeping bag. We paid for our site each time (close to the amenities) and just lay down on the grass. It all sounds really bizarre now but somehow with the aid of Portugal bevvies made sense at the time. Love the addition of the heel with tracky pants. As you might know we Kiwi wahines love a good tracky pant too!
@About Last Weekend – I always thought I'd enjoy roughing it but I'm just hopeless and whinge all the time! So delighted you admire my stylish heels/tracky pant combo: it's class isn't it?
Nothing wrong with being dumped when you end up with a gorgeous SCOTTISH Husband!Last time I was in Portugal, I got heatstroke….but then I get heatstroke everywhere I go!Have fun. x
I do hope you kept that fantastic outfit to be worn again during your upcoming holiday!! Looking forward to reading all about it.
PS: love that Isla Bonita name for your kitchen island, sounds like it WAS worth putting it in!!
@Nana – you're so right, of course. If the previous boyfriend hadn't have jecked me in I would never have had my highland fling.
@Funky – Just doing the packing now: the high heels and fleece pants are definitely in!
Isla Bonita is my paradise, just like Madonna said…I think!
Fingers crossed it's not windy and it's far more relaxing than your first trip (loved the shoes – it's the kind of thing I would do!)… Have a great time! Emma 🙂
I've just come back from a week in an airfield in East Anglia. Flat. Very flat. And surrounded by an industrial estate. In a tent. Yes a tent. Did I mention the flatness and the East Anglian-ness? Ok NOW you can talk to me about WIND!!!
Have you got a wetsuit? You can join in with the competition. You'll love it! And with the wind you'll get wet and and dried off again all at the same time.
Yes take blankets….
I'm with you, if it's not luxurious it's just not worth all the hassle of travel these days. I love my home and only leave my nest if a much more glamourous luxurious one beckons.
@Emma and Madaem SG – reporting now I'm back, it was windy the first week but manageable. Second week very warm and at times I wished the wind would return to cool me off.
@Bourbon and pearls – exactly: no point in leaving one's own gaff in order to squeeze yourself into some poky hole.