On Wednesday we had a leisurely start to the day, after breakfast we had a wander down to the Strip to see what it was like. We had a walk from one end to the other, pottering about the tourist shops, it was fairly quiet so probably a good time to head down there. We also made sure we could find Johnny Hoopers Saxophone bar in readiness for Sunday. It was a lovely warm morning, perfect for ambling! We stopped at a bar for a beer, such a great place to people watch. I think we were surprised at how many Irish holiday makers there were about! Its amazing how all the restaurants advertise English breakfasts etc. I'm in Portugal - bring me a Portuguese breakfast!!!
From the Strip we walked down to the beach, it was so lovely walking along the sand feeling the sun on you! We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Vivaldo's which overlooked the beach. What an amazing view we had from our table! Lunch was good, but the sangria was even better!! After a while it got so hot we moved to a shadier table, I could have spent all afternoon sitting there by the beach. While we were paying the bill, the waitress mentioned that they were having a traditional Portuguese night with Fado music (Fado is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, but probably has much earlier origins) We decided to book ourselves in for dinner to experience this.
After lunch we headed back to our hotel and had a bit of a rest. I had taken a book with me (The Choice by Samantha King) which I was really enjoying, so I was happy to sit on the balcony and read for a while.
In the evening we walked back to Vivaldo's for dinner. The food was lovely, complimented by a litre of sangria! After the main course a waitress came around to the table with a platter of desserts. A slice of everything they had on offer. All you had to do was point at whatever took your fancy. It all looked very appealing, but in the end I chose tiramisu. YUM!! The Fado started about 8pm, a lady singing accompanied by two gentlemen on classical guitars. It was really very pleasant and though we couldn't understand a word - who needs too! Its all in the atmosphere and emotion of the song. The restaurant was full, and everyone was in such a happy mood, chatting and laughing. Its one of the best evenings out we have had in ages.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel, seemed a long way but that could have something to do with all the dinner and drinks.
No comments:
Post a Comment