Albufeira and Lagos

Albufeira is a city in southern Portugal, about a three hour train ride from Lisbon. It is a main tourist destination, due to its coastal location. The city has a population of 22,000, a touristy "new strip", an "old town", and many beaches.  Our weather wasn't suitable for swimming but with a light jacket it was nice in the sunshine.  Our hotel was close to the newer part of town, which we didn't care for.  It was overrun by strange British people and bars/discos. We didn't go out to any of the bars or restaurants in Albufeira, not one.  We did however, eat a LOT of kebabs.  I've had a kebab before because they are all over Spain and extremely delicious.  My mom also loved the kebabs she ate in Sevilla and Granada.  Once I introduced Kyle to one...there was no going back! That's all he craved from then on. 

This is a kebab. They're huge, stuffed with veggies, chicken, garlic yogurt sauce and wrapped in pita bread

 



"A Turkish dish made of meat cooked on a vertical spit, normally veal or beef but also a mixture of these with lamb; a cheaper version of chicken is also found. The dish is also widely known by its Arabic name, shawarma, or in Greek as gyro".



Falesia Beach



Boats and fish = Kyle's happy place


 Since all we did was eat kebabs and walk around in Albufeira, we decided to catch a bus to another southern city in Portugal, Lagos.  Although it was only 20 or 30 kilometers away, it took longer to get there because we made a lot of stops along the way.  We quickly realized that Lagos was less touristy and more beautiful and went back again the following day.  All of the following pictures are of us in Lagos. We walked along the top of the cliffs to reach the famous point of Ponta da Piedade, ate lunch in Praia Dona Ana, visited a museum, the marina, and took lots of pictures (of course).


These are the most popular places to visit in Lagos according to tripadvisor

Lagos has a lot of caves and grottos

 

Yup thats me up there

Our last night in Albufeira just after sunset

The Saturday before Kyle left, we checked out of the hotel and headed back up to Lisbon for the night.  His flight left around noon so we stayed in a hotel near the airport.  We had a nice night and ate at a Brazilian restaurant similar to Texas de Brazil.  Sunday morning was just plain awful and sad :(  I had to get on my bus to leave him at 9am and he stayed behind waiting for his flight.  We had a great time together- the time went quickly! Now I'm looking forward to relaxing and enjoying my last two months in Spain before I'm off to travel again in June.  The day Kyle left, I booked my ticket home to the states.  June 25th will be the day! Exactly 9 months to the date of when I left :)