This past Sunday and Monday, Fran and I spent two entire days on the beaches of southern Portugal, in the Algarve region, just outside the city of Albufeira at the Sheraton Algarve.Apparently, we were in the "tourist" area, where a lot of British, German and Portuguese vacation. We weren't really there to sitesee, but rather lie on the beach and bask in the sun. And that's exactly what we did. Especially after the nightmare of actually getting there.
I'll get to that in a bit.
But overall, I love Portugal. The people are really friendly and, incredibly, every last one of them seems to speak English. And get this: They actually like Americans. No kidding.
Portugal is known for its port, so we drank that every night, along with the local liqueur made of almonds, called amarquinha, as we sat in an outdoor bar on a platform overlooking the ocean and the beach. That was my favorite part of our little daily ritual. It was so peaceful watching the sun set - even more peaceful than living up here in the mountains. You couldn't even hear a single car, airplane, nothing. Just the wind and the waves crashing - and the smell of fresh ocean air. 
We'd wake up in the morning and head straight for the beach cafe to get some coffee and milk. I love the way Europeans do coffee. Starbucks doesn't even come close. 
Then, we would settle in to take a nap or read. One day, we even tried running, but I got a giant blister and Fran got a cramp in his groin, because the beach was so uneven. Oh well - we weren't exactly there to exercise.
Lunch, we'd feast again at the beach cafe, eating the super-healthy (think Mediterranean cuisine) buffet the first day, and the next day, sardines, another food for which this region of Portugal is known. Yum. Tons of seafood, fresh vegetables, you name it.
The first night, we ate at a touristy spot called La Cigale. The view would have been spectacular, but we were there after sunset. It's pretty touristy and most people go here for the view and the atmosphere. The food, however, was just okay. If you ever get to this part of Portugal, I wouldn't recommend this spot, unless you can go there at sunset; it's right on the beach, so it would have amazing scenery.
The next night, we went to this incredible little local spot, within walking distance of our hotel, in the city of Albufeira. It's called A Lagosteira, and I will definitely go there again, if I ever get back to Portugal. The food, service and atmosphere (more local and authentic) were amazing. We had a Portuguese dish called cataplana that I want to learn how to make. It's served in a traditional brass pan and is made of a mixture of clams, pork, spices, garlic, onions, tomatoes and white wine. My stomach growls just thinking about it. There, we also drank a delicious wine from a local vineyard, called Casa de Santar from the Dao region of Portugal. We bought a bottle (2003) and brought it home. Can't wait to crack it open in a while, as we reminisce about our trip.
All in all, a wonderful trip to a place I doubt I would have otherwise gone had Fran not needed to make an extra stop on his round-the-world trip. We got up at 3:30 a.m. to catch our cab - and then flights to Lisbon, then to Heathrow (for me) and Paris (for Fran). He's off to Tokyo today, and I won't get to see him until next Thursday, after I return from New York.
Okay - here's the side note on getting there.
Flying in was a little traumatic, since I flew from Denver to DC (Dulles) to London (Heathrow) to Lisbon to Faro - and then took a taxi to Albufeira. Yikes.
The Portuguese airline, TAP, is the worst airline on which I've ever flown. Avoid this airline at all costs, unless, of course, you'd like to pull your hair out and go crazy trying to get to your destination, all the while having supposed "customer service" people tell you how it's not their fault.
I can understand "not our fault" when it's an act of God, or even mechanical failure. And at least United Airlines keeps you apprised of the situation. TAP Airlines? Oh...you need to know what's going on and how long the delay will be so you can figure out how to get on the next flight out because you just missed the last flight (for reasons they never clarify, but usually involve just sitting around because staff hasn't shown up, or the ground crew is "unprofessional," something they literally said on my flight out of the country)? Their attitude is akin to the MAD Magaine guy: "What, me worry?"
Just for posterity's sake, I'll record my ordeal:
11 a.m. Friday. Leave Denver.
6 a.m. Saturday (London & Portugal time, from here on out) Arrive at Heathrow. Proceed directly to the terminal from which TAP flies out, just so I am sure to be there in plenty of time for my 11:30 a.m. flight.
6:30 a.m. (Heathrow is a mess - takes forever to get from one place to the next. Note to self, never fly out of Heathrow again.) Speaking with the people at the TAP counter, they told me they didn't know the gate yet (understandable) and would check me in at the counter, but that I would get my boarding pass at the gate. The woman there literally wrote my seat assignment on a piece of paper.
9:30 a.m. Go to TAP counter, just to make sure I'm on track; see if they know the gate number. They don't, but another flight that just departed from Heathrow to Lisbon had to turn around halfway through and come back to Heathrow. Overhear people saying that they were told nothing about what the reason was they turned around, what to do now, etc., etc.
11 a.m. Look up at monitor and see there's finally a gate for my flight. Head to gate. Get stuck in the hallway, because Heathrow is such a mess that they've set it up so people arriving and getting off planes block the people trying to get to their flights. There's even a glass wall, so people can only pretty much walk in one direction, meaning that if more people are going "to" than "from," there's nowhere to spread out. Feel like herded cattle, waiting for slaughter. Wait for an entire plane load to deplane. Getting antsy and irritated. Haven't slept for a long, long time. Should have heeded inner ominous feeling.
11:15 a.m. Line for boarding is horrendous. Seems like no one, inlcuding the people checking us in, knows what the hell is going on. People from earlier flight in line, too. Get up to gate, and they say, step aside, you don't have a boarding pass. Me: But the person at the TAP counter said you'd give that to me. Them: Ma'am step aside. Me: (slap my fist on the counter). Them: Ma'am, don't do this. Me: Tell the guy they gave me my seat assignment on a scrap of paper. No kidding. Them: Look me up, finally, and guess what, you're in the system.
11:30 a.m. Get on plane at the time we're supposed to be departing. Wait. Wait. Wait.
12:00 p.m. More waiting. Beginning to get a little panicked. Ask flight attendant what is going on and if I'll make connecting flight. She doesn't know anything.
12:30 p.m. Plane still hasn't taken off. No word whatsoever on why. Seems like we're waiting for people from the earlier flight. Really worried since I only had an hour layover in Lisbon to connect to my Faro flight. Ask two flight attendants (idiots) will I make my flight? Can they ask if I can move up, since I need to connect, or ask others to wait? They can't do this. They don't know anything. More of the same.
12:40 p.m. Finally, take off. An hour late. For no apparent reason, other than that we were waiting for passengers from the previous flight. But who cares about the people trying to connect?
1:30 p.m. Continue asking flight attendants for information. What do I do? Do they know if we'll get there on time? They have no freaking clue. Seriously, the least helpful people I've ever met.
3:20 p.m. Land in Lisbon. My flight for Faro leaves in five minutes. Ask the flight attendants for information. Where do we go? Them: Someone will tell you when you get off the plane. Get off the plane, ask someone else. Them: Someone will tell you inside the terminal. Get inside the terminal - mad dash to find customs, get through customs, get on another bus that sits and waits for what seems like hours. Finally, depart for other terminal. Get to the gate. Them: Plane has just departed five minutes ago. Us (now there are several of us...very, very angry): Why didn't you hold the flight? You held it for the people in London? No explanation, of course.
3:45 p.m. Go to "customer service" counter (using customer service very, very loosely). Woman barely speaks English (the only one in ALL of Portugal...what luck). She says there's nothing she can do. We go round and round (with six other people, all in the same predicament, all irritated as hell with TAP).
4:30 p.m. Finally get the manager. She says, there's nothing she can do. Then, she guarantees that we'll all get on the next flight out at 7:30 p.m. I go to call Fran, since he's arrive at 4:10 p.m., when I was supposed to get there. Can't get in touch with him. Try several times.
5:00 p.m. Get back to counter. Go to check in for the next flight. Me and another woman learn it's full. The idiot woman from before says she can put us on the wait list. The wait list? At this point, I am yelling - and in tears. I have LOST IT. We're on the wait list. THE WAIT LIST for the next flight. And it looks like we won't get on.
6:30 p.m. Go back to counter. Everyone has checked in - or is connecting from an earlier flight...hmmm...like we were.
7:00 p.m. Go to gate. People arriving. Everyone's there.
7:25 p.m. Flight is supposed to leave. They wait for five minutes, just to make sure everyone gets there (of course, they could not have done that for us). The other woman gets on. At the last minute, the last person shows up. I do not make this flight. Start to cry. Again.
8 p.m. Go back to counter. Get next ticket. Do not pass go, but collect 250 euro ($400), the only bright spot - if there was one - in the whole ordeal, because the EU has a passenger's bill of rights. Go back to gate. Sleep on bench in between crying.
11:30 p.m. Last flight out. Doesn't leave on time (surprise, surprise).
12:00 a.m. Arrive in Faro.
12:30 a.m. Arrive in Albufeira. Finally.
