Portugal- Lisbon and Algarve

While everyone is always a little sad to leave a place, we all know that the next stop means we are that much closer to home. Our arrival in Portugal did not start off so great...a delayed flight meant our car rental was cancelled and we did not actually get into our place until close to midnight....a very tiny, but super cute Airbnb right in the centre of things. Waking up in the morning to awesome views of real Lisbon made the stress of the night before melt away, (check out the video of our view:
our view from our very narrow, steep building )

standing on our tiny balcony as the sun wakes up

our apartment was at the very top, the room with the peak, no elevator!

We only had 1 full day to explore (we were going to drive down the coast and loop around, hitting Sintra on the way back), so once again, the Lambers' hit the ground running. We had a million places we wanted to visit so we were up and at-em.  Walking into the old Quarter there seemed to be quite a festive atmosphere, I am not sure if this was just "Lisbon" or if there was actually something going on, (we could never quite figure it out).  With a beer in our hand, we made our way up to the Castle of St George, (the most visible landmark in Lisbon), and had our first real view of the beautiful city

a view of Alfama District

cool dudes

Making our way back into the Old Quarter, we walked around the Alfama district, enjoying all the sights the city has to offer, from the famous yellow tram line 28, to Rossio Square, to the waterfront and the Arch, and ending our day eating BBQ outside...

Our Little peanut dancing in the Square

I couldn't put my finger on it, but after Barcelona, Lisbon did not WOW me the way I thought it would ..that said I feel like this city did not get as much of our time as it should have. I have heard from many people, that Lisbon was one of their most favourite places, for me, after being in so many incredible cities, Lisbon fell a little short.

The next day, we got up and started the drive to the much anticipated Algarve. When I was in elementary school I lived in Leslieville, at the time, the neighbourhood was predominantly working class Portuguese families. Every September the kids would come back from the Algarve with their glorious tans and tales of this mystical place. The Algarve did not disappoint.

the drive down the coast had many beautiful look out points

If you peaked over the edge there was a nude beach in the bay...not really appropriate to take pics!

We decided to stay in Portimao, much less scenic then Lagos, but way cheaper and central to almost everything we wanted to explore along the coast...we were about a 10 minute walk to the beach and for the first time in a while, we stayed at a very lovely, actual hotel, the kids were thrilled.

our view from our balcony

Praia da Rocha...

...this beautiful beach was 10 minutes from our hotwl

The actual town of Portimaio is nothing special, a pretty square, a nice waterfront and thats about it...

Portimaio

Very close to our hotel was amazing looking small castle, called Fort of São João do Arade, sometimes referred to as the Castle of Arade, . We found out that despite the history, it is now privately owned and has one resident.

The best part of staying in Portimao was the proximity to all the beautiful places along the coast...

Praia Carvoeiro

Carvoeiro, Portugal

Carvoeiro was a beautiful little town

The next day we were up early and headed to Lagos (in my opinion,the crown jewel of Algarve). We took our car to Ponta da Piedade and could not believe the beauty- this was the Portugal I was waiting for!

We found a beach that was quite a difficult climb to get to (most arrive via Kayak), but we were up for the challenge and it turned out to be one of my favourites...the only downfall- the water was still quite chilly, which made the beach not as enjoyable as usual.

Praia Balanca (what a crazy hike to get to)

Back in the car to continue exploring Lagos- hitting all the best rated beaches along the coast. Praio De Camilo- was a spectacular beach- apparently everyone else thought so as well, we literally took the million steps down, then could not find a spot, (at least we got some pretty pics:)

Praio De Camilo

Praio De Camilo

the long set of stairs to get to Praio De Camilo

The town of Lagos is beautiful...a little disappointed we didnt just stay here the whole time- but it really was much more expensive so it wasnt even an option

the beach right in Lagos

Lagos

After visiting the coast from Lagos to Carvoeiro, we packed up and headed to Albufeira for a couple of days- a very touristytown that was party central- would have been a lot of fun had we not had the kids with us:)

The beach in Albufeira

The highlight of this part of the coast is to take a boat tour to visit the Benagil Cave, it was well worth the money and a great way to spend the afternoon.

There are plenty of water parks in the area, and as the sea was so cold the girls had not done much swimming, we decided to surprise them with a trip to a waterpark, called Zoomarine. It was awesome, and everyone had a great time.

From the Ferris Wheel at Zoomarine

We left Albufeira and headed to Spain, we would eventually be making our way back Portugal, but for now we said goodbye...I will miss you custard tarts:)