Portugal Weekend

My friend Andre started a company in his hometown of Lagos, Portugal, and Paul and I donated to his fundraiser a few months ago. The amount we donated was good towards a stay in his family's hotel, a homemade dinner, and a tour of the area given by Andre while we were there.

We decided to take advantage of the benefits and come in June before the town gets crazy touristy in July and August, with a quick 3 days away. We left Julia behind with Paul's parents for the first time longer than overnight. Freedom! 

Soon after we arrived and checked into our hotel, Andre's girlfriend called to say they needed a "model" for her massage class to come and get a free swedish message. Was I interested? 10 minutes later I was on a table having the best 40 minute start to a vacation ever. :) They did some cool posture checking first to judge what needed to be worked on. 

After lunch in town we headed to the beach and relaxed all afternoon just glad to be outside surrounded by all the beauty. That evening, Andre's aunt prepared a fresh cooked dinner with three courses (plus wine and dessert) that really made us happy to be there. 

The next morning after a tasty breakfast at the hotel, we joined Andre's bike tour with another couple from Canada. They run an adventure travel company and were looking for more partners in the area, so this tour was a sort of try-out for them. We jumped on the beach cruisers and set off around the cliffs first to see the view up and down the coastline.

Then we headed down into town and through the old streets to a square near the water to hear about all the fascinating exploring history that the Portuguese are known for. 

The main fort that has guarded the bay for centuries is still standing and can be toured around, but we didn't have time.

We spent the second half of the tour following the beach through a nature preserve and then back before stopping for an all you can eat fish lunch. We had 5 or 6 different kinds of grilled fish with potatoes and veggies. 

After rolling ourselves back, Paul and I headed back to the beach to relax after all that hard work. Then we joined Andre and his girlfriend for a late dinner of grilled pork at their place. 

The next morning after packing up, we walked with them around the old town shopping and stopping for a huge yummy coffee cake. Then we went by the fish market and the local vegetable market (separate for some reason).

After a nice lunch (fish again!), we headed back to the airport to catch our flight back to Paris. We missed our little munchkin back home! We're looking forward to going back some day with her for longer.