Faro - capital of the Algarve

Faro is the capital of the Algarve, it took the title away from Lagos when Lagos was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake.  Portugal and Faro in particular were ruled by the Romans, the Byzantines and the Moors. The walled town is very quaint with lots of cafes and stores running along the water.  It also has an international airport.  On one side of Faro are beautiful hills and valleys and the other is the Ocean with a beautiful Nature Park that is considered one of the 7 natural wonders of Faro.  

The boys waiting for their 1st glass of wine of the day.  Our lunch was in the lovely cafe in the square called Tertulia Algarvia. Amazing salads Jim had an octopus salad and Lindsey had shrimp, kiwi and yogurt. Doug and I stuck more to the basic salad - Doug a Mediterranean Salad and myself an Osonoba Salad (named after the original name of the region) - tomatoes,cheese, figs, olives and red onions.

Jim thinks he can be sneaky behind those glasses but I know he was checking out the beautiful ladies in the restaurant.  There we are  :)

Beautiful orange trees lined the town square, the smell was wonderful.  We eat a ton of oranges and I must say these were the best ever.  So much flavour, so juicy, my mouth is watering just thinking about them.

Beautiful churches in every town.  I was surprised at how few there were.  After being in Rome where every corner had a church.  These churches felt like people churches holding lots of family celebrations for generations and generations.

Faro, like Portugal is very quiet this time of year which makes it safe for the tourists above to stand in the middle of the streets lol.

If you look at the top of the building above, there are huge nests.  On the way to the Algarve along the highway are electrical towers, they were packed with these nests.  Some of the towers had 10+ nests on them.  They are the Algarve storks and are a protected species because of all the rodents and snakes they kill and the lovely folklore associated with them.

These little trains seem to be in every little town in Europe.  A great way to get around especially if it is busy and really hot.

A busy working and leisure harbour and I gather there is a ferry that runs you out to the Nature Park.  Next time we will check it out.

Back home, after 13000 steps, a shower and we were ready for dinner. Feeling a wee bit tired we ordered a driver who took us to the Cheeky Pup. A true British Bar, full of British tourists and lovely British servers. Doug and I had the best burger and sweet potatoes fries, while Jim and Lindsey had a prawn curry.