Hello from Portugal

[hannalovescats]

So glad we are out of the snow and I am not looking forward to returning to it. Had more snow on Wednesday but luckily Thursday was calm so nothing interfered with our departure from JFK. Worked a half a day on Thursday, then had lunch and eventually made our way down to JFK. We parked at one of the off airport lots since parking at JFK, even in the long term lot, is just insanely expensive now. Not that this was cheap but at least cheaper. Anyway, took their shuttle to the terminal, checked in and dropped our luggage off and made it through security. All went pretty smoothly and we had a good amount of time before the actual flight. The flight itself was super turbulent which didn't make me too happy. They didn't even do a drink service and skipped the dinner service altogether. Handed out sandwiches, which is fine, I wasn't really hungry anyway but more so just wasn't happy about the turbulence but is what it is. Arrived in Lisbon ahead of schedule and had a 5 hour layover there so quite some time to kill. Our connecting flight was on time and fine. Just a short hour long flight to Faro. Picked up our rental car there which took a bit longer than expected but all in all not a huge deal. Made it to our hotel in Lagoa a bit after 6pm I think. And ended up walking to a nearby tapas bar called Villa Garden. Had some delicious food and wine before eventually crashing at the hotel. A long day for sure.

Saturday (yesterday) we had a bit of a later start as Mike wasn't feeling too well in the morning but luckily he ended up feeling better by late morning. Walked around Lagoa for a bit before having lunch. In the afternoon we decided to take a ride to the coast (only 10-15 min) since the weather was nice and walked out to the sea along a boardwalk and back. (Praia dos Salgados) Walked around the town for a bit before heading back down near the water. They had a few bars/restaurants near a boardwalk by the water so we decided to have a snack (bread, butter, sardine pate, olives) and some wine before heading back to the hotel. For dinner we went to Al Paleta.Had grilled golden bream for dinner. Yum. 

And today (Sunday) we headed to Lagos for a 9.45am boat tour. They are small boats that take you along the coast line and through the grottos. Super pretty. The sea was a bit rough so it wasn't the smoothest of rides but super pretty views for sure. Were done about 11am and moved the car closer to the old town of Lagos so we could walk around there for a bit. Found a place to have lunch - delicious grilled sardines - and eventually continued on to Sagres where we took pictures at the Cabo de Sao Vicente lighthouse. The southwestern most point of Europe. Really pretty views by the cliffs. Been trying to take advantage of the nice weather. It's been in the mid 60ies and mostly sunny. 

Tomorrow we have an early start as we are driving to Spain to spend the day in Seville. Going to be a long day but I am looking forward to it. And on Tuesday we have a vineyard tour booked (with cheese and charcuterie) so that should be fun. Still have a few more days to go before we leave again on Thursday but I am already convinced I won't be ready to leave. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta.