After Sarah and I dropped off the glass-strewn rental car (and began the insurance claim process against Enterprise for the ABSURD amount we were charged for one broken window), we were determined to put this unfortunate chapter of the trip behind us. We had a drink at the airport and were off to warmer and sunnier Portugal in no time. Bad vibes must have followed us though because as we attempted to check in, we were told that the hotel we had booked had no availability and no record of our reservation. We had two confirmation emails from them so that didn't go over well. After speaking to various managers and being offered insincere apologies, we got our money back and booked the next closest hotel. Surely from here on, our troubles must be behind us, right? As far as we're concerned, yes. Portugal has been amazing during our first week here!
We woke up on Sunday to take care of some more insurance / getting-our-lives-back-on-track logistics, then set out to see some of Lisbon. The streets were beautiful, the food delicious and the people friendly - we are very happy to be coming back here after our time at the beach!
Restauradores Square. One of the best parts about Lisbon was that it wasn't too crowded!
Post-shopping, Sarah posed with her bags (and her recently acquired cold beverage) by the water in Lisbon. Doesn't that bridge look an awful lot like the Golden Gate???
On the recommendation of our friend Jill (who we met in Barcelona), we stopped at the Time Out Mercado da Ribeira for dinner. It's a great setting with delicious food.
I got the Classic Francesinha - basically toast with three kinds of meat inside with a fried egg and cheese on top...and delicious sauce all around. Loved it!
The view of the streets of Lisbon as we walked home.
We left on Monday morning for Lagos, one of Portugal's beach towns in the Algarve region. Sarah found this place by Googling the "Best Beaches in Portugal" and it worked out famously. It's still a developing area (lots of construction / renovation going on at the moment) but the natural scenery is amazing and the small-town feel was very relaxing after several weeks of hopping from big city to big city.
When we arrived, we were a little frustrated to learn there were no cabs available at the bus station so we had to walk to our guest house on the outskirts of town. Stretching our legs after a four-hour bus ride was not the worst thing in the world, but we were both pretty sweaty by the time we arrived! We dropped our bags in our room, then headed to the pool to relax and cool off for the rest of the afternoon.
Once the sun was a little lower in the sky, we walked to dinner nearby and stopped to snap some pictures of the amazing scenery on the way - we can see why many Europeans come here for vacation!
Lagos is famous for these cliff-like formations. Seeing them at dusk was a great way to kick off our time here.
Easy to forget we got robbed a few days ago while taking in this relaxing view.
Settled into our new environment, and much slower pace, we spent the next three days in Lagos at various beaches, at the pool at our guest house and wandering around the quiet streets of the town center. Our favorite place to eat was probably Bora and for post-beach drinks / snacks Bahia is the place to be. We get the impression that we were here just before things really get busy for the summer but that was just fine with us - we had no problem finding a quiet set of chairs on the beach or walking into any restaurant without a reservation. All of which is to say, we had a great, relaxing couple days.
Camilo Beach, one of the Algarve's most famous beaches.
It was so nice we got up early to see the sunrise from Camilo Beach.
Sunrise from a cave on the beach.
Another angle from the beach.
And one more right up by the water...spectacular from every angle!
We had the beach in town all to ourselves.
One of the many beautiful streets in downtown Lagos.
Back on Camilo Beach, during the day.
Apparently the "Dad Bod" is a thing back home. Good thing I've been (unintentionally) working on mine over the last year!
Sunset in Lagos Marina on our last night.