Albufeira

We spent the weekend of April 8-9 at the coastal town of Albufeira in Portugal with the Cantillo family (Tony, Elma and son Ethan) to check it out since this is one of the popular tours offered by MWR. It's only about 2 1/2 hours away and quite easy to find. We left at 8:00 am, had a rest stop after Sevilla and then straightto Albufeira. Arrived at 11:00 and did a little bit of touring first (meaning lost) to find our hotel which we actually passed once.

Checked in at the hotel, crossed the street and then had Chinese for lunch. Went back to the room to rest for a couple of hours and then took the tram tour making one round trip first for a quick look around. No historical places noted but is a great tourist place with plenty of restaurants, shopping, beach area which are all within walking distance.








We got off the shopping area the 2nd time around and browsed around. Lots of souvenir items which are unique for the area. Also found a huge vending machine (almost like a mini-mart) which you'll normally find in Japan so Ethan had to try it out even if the items are a little pricey.

Check out the convertible Smart car (body by Swatch, engine by Mercedez) below. Pretty cool and very handy in tight places (two people can probably pick it up and put it in a corner). Mom wants one of course.

We pretty much spent the rest of the day just walking around and then had Potuguese dinner at one of the restaurants. We tried the famous Piri-piri chicken which was actually just grilled with a special/spicy sauce. Listened/watched karaoke peformers at the street corner while waiting for the last tram.

Got up around 8:00 the next day and had the free buffet breakfast at the hotel. They had plenty of selections which is almost comparable to Las Vegas except for the quantity so we had our fill to be ready for a full day of sightseeing. We checked out after breakfast, loaded our stuff and then had a groups shot at the parking lot hotel.

Since it was still early, we were able to get a parking spot on the hill just above the beach. Fee is only 2 euros for the whole day so it's quite cheap compared to the 200 yen for 30 minutes in Japan. Here's a picture of the beach from the hill.

Walked down the pier, observed the fishermen and enjoyed the scenery. It was a beautiful sunny day and there wasn't a big crowd yet so it was quiet.

Ethan had a little mishap though when he went down the concrete steps at the foot of the pier which had moss and was slippery. I took his picture while he was looking at the water and was taking pictures of a man playing with his dog when I just heard everyone laughing and saw Ethan climbing out of the water. He was laughing too so his injury was probably just the embarassment of the moment.

Checked out the souvenir stalls afterwards and then walked out to the beach to check the local scene. There were plenty of sunbathers now soaking up the rays and even saw some 'typical European beach sights'. Sorry, no pictures.

Had lunch at one of the outdoor restaurants and tried the local seafood. It was a nice set up: blue sky, good food with a nice cool breeze.

This is the sign just before you cross the bridge that spans the river border between Spain and Portugal and in response to the message 'We'll be back'. Great trip. (The smudges on the picture are smashed bugs on the windshield.)