Portugr-r-reat!

As much as 3-day holidays are really short, I'm still a big fan of them. Specifically, I spent the last weekend in Portugal, partly staying in the Algarve region (right on the southern coast) and partly driving across the country to get to the Algarve. It ended up being quite rainy, but there were parts with no rain and the last day was beautiful and sunny.

Yay for:
The Lisboa Metro. Modern, clean, and really beautiful (said as a person who loves subways). We only had a few hours in Lisboa, but parked at Vasco de Gama centre and took the metro down to the waterfront. The expo area of the city was amazing, especially the architecture. Or, at least I hope I'm not alone in liking that style.

Train station above, metro below, shopping centre behind.

Cheap, cheap coffee. It was incredible. 55 cents for an espresso, and you can get them anywhere. And everyone does. I saw so many people just walk into the bar and order an espresso. And the coffee was great! Plus it costs me 40 cents to make the same thing with Fran, so they've got to be doing something right.

Free parking. Faro city center is free parking. And a huge lot, right next to the historic centre of town... as so:

The gate leading out of the historic centre

On top of the cathedral tower. Beautiful view of the area for €2.

Looking south from the tower towards the Algarve Nature Reserve: Islands all along the coast of Portugal, covered with wildlife. Might be worth a trip next time.

Weather. yes, it rained most of the time, but it was warm and I can only imagine how nice it is in the summer. But it did get relatively nice on the last day

I can now say I've been in the Atlantic Ocean

The waterfront of Quarteira, where we stayed

Looking back at Quarteira's hotel district.

Boo-urns for:
Gasoleo is actually portugese for "Super Diesel". Now you tell me. Just a suggestion: if you're going to have two diesel and two gas pumps, at least put them next to each other, not with gas in the centre. I want those three hours of my life back.

Pictures that don't fit elsewhere:

This is the Radisson Wine Tower at Stansted. That white banner is actually an ad, being held up by a girl hanging from ropes. She spent about half an hour up there, just swinging around. I imagine she'd get wine down if someone ordered it...

There are definitely a lot of orange trees growing around Faro, these ones just outside the cathedral, in front of the museum.

This guy was actually painted onto tiles which were set into the wall and cut out around him. And he was the only decoration on the street, which sort of made him stand out even more.

I think I'll have to go back in the summer one of these years, when it's extremely hot and crowded, since this time was a bit too quiet. All in all, though: excellent, and highly recommended.