Monday ( I only know because someone told me)

 The sun was shining as I left the apartment to head down to the harbour, a huge relief as it meant that the 'shower in my kitchen' would not be  there when I got home. Rain water coming out of the light fitting in the kitchen had been a new feature since the rains started. Luckily I saw men on the roof!

Walking to the mini bus  stop, I managed to catch the illusive 'blue birds' jays or magpies is the question.

The mini bus took me down to the casino near the marina and I walked to the harbout. Close to the fish market was the museum which housed the Roman villa ( obviously built on the beach for a good source of fresh fish), my choice of morning entertainment. 

I was absolutely devastated when after my careful planning it turned out that despite the website saying other wise, it was closed!

I could (apparently) have gone yesterday ( website said not open Sunday, Museum door said other wise).

So if all else fails get coffee and cake.

And for  €3 I got a milky coffee and 'pine cone' cake

I decided to walk this off and get as few steps in, I was enjoying  the sunshine.

Down by the fish market the tiles on the walls were absolutely amazing

I walked a huge loop  about an hours walking, and ended back on the beach front.

 I had walked a way along the beach to find an empty bench when a lady sat down and spoke to me in Portuguese, I spoke to her in English and we both realised that we were not getting anywhere. I had bought a pastel de nata to take back to my apartment, I took it out and gestured to her to share it, she held up one finger and scurried across the road. She came back with 2 coffees and we shared the cake. Two old dears sitting on a bench overlooking the sea and  just being in company with each other.

Sometimes things like this fill your heart with joy. When I was ready to go, we smiled and shook hands and then she gave me a hug. Yep I was in tears on my way back to get a taxi.

As I was walking back I spotted this

and then round the corner from our complex I saw this

wowsers, who knew!!!!

I got back and headed to the complex next door for lunch ( and wine) and then spent the remainder of the afternoon around the pool and swimming, it was a tad chilly, but hey, once you get your shoulders under its fine ( so my Dad always said)

Sadly last evening was about stuffing everything back into my case and emptying the fridge, dinner was a mix of pate, tortilla chips and cheese and rye bread, with some soft cheese spread for good measure.

Alarm was set ready for a 7am transfer to the airport.

Rainy day

 Another dark and dingy day dawned, the noise of the cars heading up to the golf courses, splashing through puddles, brought me awake. I turned over and went back to sleep, not something that I normally do.

By 10am I was up and dressed and off out to go to the marina, however the hotel shuttle bus had broken down and I really didn't fancy that walk in the rain, I went back to the apartment, got changed and went swimming instead.

At 2pm I decided to go the Graces restaurant and have Sunday lunch, I very rarely have this at home so it was in some way a treat.

I decided to take a very long walk round to get there sand arrived at 3pm, not before passing some apartments which I felt were a little bit of Florida in Portugal.

Victor the Maitre'd was  as lovely as always and I was given a table by the window, a good view of the disappearing rain and incoming blue sky.

I am also not one who heads to 'English' pubs etc on holiday, however this restaurant serves a selection of English , Portuguese and fast food dishes, all well presented and very tasty. As I have previously said it is not a 'pub/bar' and so no one is lingering around drinking excessively, 

I had Sunday roast / Christmas dinner ( turkey) and it was just perfect, the cauliflower cheese was to die for and very much enjoyed.

I also had a 'Bee Happy' cocktail which was there own take on a Bees Knees and was very good.

I then was allowed to have another cocktail ( and a glass of vinho verde) on the terrace ( with my own heater) and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

I had planned to do a lot more today, but it is winter and it was Sunday and everything slowed right down.

The one thing that I have noticed up her by the golf, is that there are no church bells, something that I found very strange.

There ae lots of oranges and lemons!

I am still trying to catch the the 'blue bird ' on camera, I have googled it and it could be a Blue jay or it could be an azure winged magpie. to be honest it may not be either and I may never know as they are quick as a flash when the camera comes out.

After  a quick chat with Karl and Karen, I headed back to the apartment and started to pack my case, yes the holiday is nearly over so I made the most of a cold dark evening getting myself sorted,

Today I am hoping to get to the the marina, and as it is not raining, it is probably going to be on foot, I am finally off to the museum.

2-4-1

 

I was up ealy on Boxing day and had a swim before most of the other guests had hit breakfast, the weather was lloking good so I got changed and hopped on the hotel bus to the Harbour. I decided to have a wander and then hed to the Marina for lunch.

There were some super yachts ion the Marina ans was assome 'not 'super yachts, eveything seemed a little quiet,  so I jumped in a taxi and headed back up to the hotel.

I then walked down to 'Graces' restaurant, it is English owned and I would normally avoid these places when on holiday, however I thought I would pop in ,, see if they did cocktails and have an early cocktail hour.

I ended up having piri piri chicken which was  very good , and a Limoncello Spritz.

The Maitre'd  Victor was lovely and said that I was welcome to come back just for drinks anytime, (this actually being a restaurant and not  bar)

I give the cocktail a 9/10.

I wandered back along the road and heard someone shouting me, it was Karl and Karen ( not Carl and Carol as I had originally thought in the taxi to the hotel, I put that down to 'aeroplane ears')

I was heading to the shop so said that I would call in on my way back...................

2 bottles of Portuguese fizz, a couple of vodka tonics cheese and ham toasties later and it was 10pm and time for bed.. What a lovely evening with a very lovely couple.. We arranged to meet up the next day, I am saying next day as I have absolutely no idea what day it is .

The next day ( Saturday it seems) saw us hit by rain and quite a lot of it, I walked to the shop early and was soaked to the skin by the time I got back, this walk is max 5 mins in total.

After drying out and having some breakfast I decided that I would go and have a swim, obviously there was no one in the pool apart from the inflatables.

I messaged Karl and Karen and arranged to meet at Graces at 3pm, and settled down to watch a film, I was not really ready for another soaking.

By 3pm we had dodged the showers and  settled down for burgers and a Moscow mule. which is one of the best I have had.

 We were soaked again by the time we got back to the apartments and I decided to keep on walking and headed off in the direction of the 'Golf'. I walked until it was starting to get dark. This part of Vilamoura is quiet at this time of year, with the exception of the squawking of the parakeets which are everywhere, The rest of the  birds seem to be very tiny and there are some stunning blue birds which I keep trying to photograph but fail every time.

Tomorrow I am hopefully heading to a museum near the harbour to have a final day of geekiness.

Today it is raining again so I am about to go swimming and then see what happens after that.

Happy Sunday.

Christmas Day

 

Christmas day arrived with a very heavy dew and a slight nip in the air, but the thing that struck me the most was the silence, not even any church bells.

I decided to go for a walk around the complexes, about half an hours walk. I never saw a soul, nor heard a sound.

I picked some foliage to make a half hearted attempt at a floral arrangement.

I had already made the decision that Christmas day was  my one day of doing absolutely nothing. And that is what I did.

I had my traditional Christmas morning martini which was very enjoyable.

Lunch was made and eaten and I  drank some very good Vinho Verde, sunbathed for a few hours on the balcony and had a nap.

I caught up with friends and relatives and then had a soak in the bath and was in bed early.

The perfect day in my books.

However today I am off to explore more and try to find myself a museum.

Happy Boxing Day.

Day 1 in Portugal

 

I was awake very early and watched the sun rise from the balcony. There was a thin layer of frost on the lawns, and a distinct chill in the air, but the promise of sunshine later in the day.

I  jumped on the hotel shuttle bus and headed down to the harbour, I met Carl and Carol who had walked down, and were planning on spending the day there. I just wanted to have as mooch around, I plan  on spending a day there  over the weekend.

I did my usual holiday supermarket visit, I like to see what they have on offer and what is new and different to me. €32 later I think I had done enough .

I went to have a coffee and ended up having a chat with a young couple, James and Louise, they were in a hotel near the harbour but were trying to catch a bus out of Vilamoura to do some exploring, they were however worried that being Christmas eve they might not be able to get back. ( a lot of the buses were stopping early). 

I got the hotel bus back and had some lunch, The sun was out and very hot so I decided to do a spot of sunbathing on the balcony.

I spent an hour in the bar last night and chatted to various holiday makers, it seemed like a good evening until an ambulance arrived and a gentleman was taken to hospital, having collapsed  in the dining room.

Time for me to go back to the apartment.

Amazing moon as I walked back.

And today is going to be  very quiet and laid back, I have dinner planned and am just taking it as it comes.

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas

Off I go.....

 I was awoken by my phone alarm, that is a first in a hotel at an airport, I think it made me realise how much I needed this break.

So I wearily got myself over to the airport and should have been through security super quick except that my hand luggage wouldn't xray..........  3 times. So it was searched manually and everything was taken out and scrutinised  thoroughly. My heart tablets caused a sensation and I thought I was going to need them sooner than their allotted time.

I bypassed any duty free purchases and headed straight for champagne, well it is the law. I had 3  rather than 2 and didn't give a tinkers cuss.

We left a dark and dingy Newcastle on time and I was on the prosecco, (yuk) but I could not possibly have had a whole bottle of champers to myself and walked off the plane, and at thirty five thousand feet the metallic taste of prosecco was nearly palatable.

Unfortunately I was sat next to halitosis Harry which was very unfortunate as he kept talking to me whilst his wife went to sleep. 

We landed in Faro to rain, but I for one was not bothered, three glasses of champers and two bottles of prosecco can do that to you., I was in a mini bus with Carl and Carol from Liverpool in a jiffy, and was getting up close and  quite person with Carl even quicker, thanks to a huge amount of roundabouts and some serious stunt driving by our 'chauffeur. We were at our hotel in less than 25 minutes  and my holiday was beginning in earnest.

A quick trip to the supermarket (I am self catering) and I was in foodie heaven, why don't we have  plastic ham the colour of germalene with slices of olives in it in the UK? 

However just to get tomatoes which smell like tomatoes, actually which smell, is amazing.

You can see that you will be getting all the food details over the next week.

After having to lug my 20kg case up 2 flights of stairs, thanks to being moved to another area of the hotel with no lifts, due to lifts being fixed in the main part, I needed to have a lie down and had 40 winks.

Once I was back in the land of the living I unpacked and put up my cards and Christmas decoration!

I decided that I would have  dinner out and went to the next door hotel to eat, it was Ok nothing to write home about.

By this time I was seriously flagging so headed off to bed after watching 'Conclave'

And today I am heading down to the harbour and getting ready for Christmas.

Being a lone female traveller

 So this is me, and I travel alone about 99% of the time.

This is something that I have done since my late teens ( including time living in Marbella and Puerto Banus in the 80's).

In the 70's I travelled abroad with my 2 sisters regularly to North Africa, which was no where near as worrying as it is now. ( Having gone back in 2023 I have no intention of going back to Tunisia again)

I am asked a lot if I am ever frightened travelling alone, and the answer is no. I choose my destinations and also try to make sure that I do not put myself in any situation that might be dangerous. Easier said than done, but anywhere you travel to you need to get a 'feel' of the area quite quickly.

I for instance in Mijas have no worries wandering around the village at night, not early hours as I am usually tucked up in bed fast asleep at that time. The one thing that I always have with me is a a small torch. This was useful in Bratislava as I arrived at 10.30pm and needed to see the key lock code at the apartment that I was staying at. It was a dark street and the torch was a godsend.

Also handy in apartment hallways at night when you are struggling to find the light switch.

I usually also find a couple of different routes back to where I am staying so that I am never using the same route. This is not always possible, but its something I try to do.

Money, passport and valuables are obviously put into a safe ( if available ) and I never carry a large amount of money with me.

However, I  honestly think I just do what I do here in the UK to keep myself safe, which is just being vigilant and aware of your surrounding.

And I do not let this impact on my holiday.

After being hospitalised in Croatia, in October 2024, I carry a number of over counter medicines in my case, which up until I had my gall bladder removed included 'Buscopan', and painkillers. ( I needed these in Norway in April after a pretty horrid gall bladder attack). I found that buying Ibuprofen in Norway was 

1. VERY expensive

2. Like buying illegal substances, I had to pay at one point and collect them from a machine at the door! I joined the queue of people obviously in discomfort waiting for their turn to get their 'fix'.

 I always carried a medical card, and ALWAYS have travel insurance, which I have to say is the most important way to keep yourself safe.

When I went to Poland and Bratislava, I arrived late in the evening, and needed to get a taxi from the airport. My tip here is to take a pic ( discreetly) of the Reg number and also any taxi name, I then send this to a responsible adult, ( my aunt being this person, as I am not!). This could be done at any time of the day if you feel unsure.

Above all, remember, you chose the destination, so really just get on and enjoy it.

Happy Travels