Today we went road tripping from Lisbon to Alvor, our first stop in the Algarve.  We got up, checked out of the hostel, and hit the road as early as we could – didn’t want to get screwed with traffic in the city. Once was enough of that.  

We hit the road and our first stop was the tiny little town of Alcácer do Sal. We drove through and managed to find a spot to park after we’d driven through the whole town and back around.  We found ourselves some breakfast – brownies and coffee for me, YUM! – and then wandered the town for a little bit. 

We found the obligatory church on a hill, and there was also the ruins of a pretty cool castle – it’s always neat to see remnants of the super old stuff.

Then, back in the car to our next stop, Vila Nova de Milfontes.  The beach there was super pretty, but it was cold enough that we just found a bar on it and had a drink while admiring it from afar.  The view was spectacular, but we couldn’t stay since their credit card machines were down and we didn’t quite have enough Euros to have lunch there…

We drove to town proper, and walked around until we found a suitable place for lunch there, which we made sure took credit cards.  After lunch, we wandered some more, found some coffee at a super cute coffee shop, and then continued our drive south.

We got to Alvor, found our bed and breakfast (Aparts & Suites Summer Cascade Alvor), and took off for the beach when we realized how close it was.  The beach is beautiful, with a nice long wooden boardwalk along its edge, which is lined with little bars and restaurants to stop at and have a drink, which we did…  

Then, grocery store sandwiches and bed.

…a few days later…

We’re taking a sunset cruise tonight, so we took it super easy today. We’re getting to the point in our trip where we just want to chill out, so we went to the beach most of the day.

We spent the afternoon chilling by the pool at our hotel, drinking the (FREE!) bottle of wine we’d gotten when we checked in.

When it was time for our sunset cruise, we drove over to the Marina de Portimao and got on our boat. It was a little boat, only six guests aboard. We headed out the river, and got to see some of the stacks and arches in the water from a different perspective. Along the way, they fed us wine and charcuterie, which was really nice. We got a beautiful sunset, and when it was over, we went back to the marina, grabbed the car, and headed back to Alvor.

We had decided to try to go to Casa de Mare, the seafood restaurant that was reasonably priced on the marina, and we actually got in without having to wait forever. We had a lovely fish dinner, and then hit Mourisco Bar, the oldest in Alvor, for a drink before heading back to the hotel and bed.

Here’s the video: