I know where you thought that title was heading you dirty minded rascals, but sorry to disappoint, this just isn’t that sort of blog! I thought I’d kickstart my blog with an adventure that took place last summer, at the beginning of August.
As I’ve gotten older, my parents have become more reliant on me when trying to book a holiday online. They know how to use the internet themselves (well, they can get onto it and use google) but because they are so used to visiting a travel hypermarket, playing around with dates to find a bargain etc. is slightly beyond their level. So one afternoon I sat down with my Mom, went onto the Thomson website and asked her,
“So, where was it you had in mind?”
To which I, obviously because parents are so frustrating at times (sorry Mom), received the response:
“I have no idea. Somewhere we haven’t been before.”
I had no idea where to start, but I knew that it would need to be somewhere within reason, as my Dad HATES flying (yet we’re going to Florida in April.. logic?). We’ve done all the usual holiday destinations like Majorca, Menorca, even Zante and Corfu. A lightbulb went off in my head, and I thought about Portugal, a country I had never been to before, but had only ever heard good things about! Long story short, after a little while searching, we managed to find a beautiful 4* hotel just outside of Albufeira, called Hotel Salgados Palm Village for an extremely reasonable price. It was ideal for my family as the room was a suite, which meant my 16 year old brother got out of sharing a room with me- although I had the last laugh when he ended up on the sofa bed.
The hotel was like nothing I had ever stayed in before, especially for the price that we paid. The suite we stayed in had 2 double bedrooms, and a double sofa bed as well as 2 bathrooms. The hotel itself boasts 6 pools, which have a gold effect making them really unusual, and the beach is not a far walk at all- but the hotel runs a shuttle bus for those of you (like me) who are too lazy to walk in the heat! There were also 3 buffet restaurants to choose from, but you could go and get food from all 3 regardless of which one you were seated in.
When on holiday, my family like to relax… and by relax I mean lie by the pool all day, eat dinner, then have a drink in the hotel bar at night. This used to be ideal when I was younger, as my brother and I would just play catch in the pool until we were worn out and would fall asleep on the sunlounger. But now we are a bit older, we wanted to explore. The staff at the hotel were excellent when we enquired about how to get into Albufeira old town, and it turns out the sightseeing tour bus (which I’m sure you have seen in other cities around Europe) had a stop right outside our hotel, so we could easily hop on and travel to the town.
There is plenty to do once you are in the centre. The bus took us along a long road which was bustling with bars, market stalls and restaurants. We didn’t have time to go back to this street during our holiday, but it looked beautiful just to walk along. We decided to get off at a stop further along the route, which was by the beach. The photo above was the view from a bar, perched right on the walkway to the sea. What a gorgeous place to relax with a cocktail! Even along the beach there is activities to keep you occupied if you’re restless, with watersports such as wind surfing and paragliding. Unfortunately it was too windy to go paragliding when we visited, but it gives me an excuse to try it elsewhere! On the walk back to the bus stop, my typical British-ness came out when I spotted a McDonalds over the road, and I couldn’t resist a box of their chicken nuggets… just as good in any country!
Overall, I would highly recommend visiting old town Albufeira, and I wish we had been able to spend longer exploring the markets and town. Despite being slightly out of the way though, the hotel was incredible and I wouldn’t hesitate to return, especially because of the lovely weather. In fact, I’m going back to Portugal in May!
Fairy lights and aeroplanes ♥ 