The beach

It is only three and a half hours by train from Lisbon to the Algarve, but I decided to fly (only 45 mins), and my hotel had sent a driver to pick me up. Carmelo is from Venezuela but has lived here in Portugal for 34 years. He is so so sad about the situation in Venezuela he started to cry when we talked about it. To distract him I asked about the trees with white blossoms that are growing everywhere. ‘They are almond trees!’ he said, perking up a bit. ‘These are the first to flower, soon the whole valley will be full of blossoms it will look like snow’. On a roll, he then pointed out the olive, fig, orange and lemon trees to me, and his smile slowly reappeared. I had looked at travel blogs and recommendations online for the best place to stay in the Algarve. Some places are party central, but I was after somewhere quieter, and Albufeira is exactly that. And for only 35 euro a night I have a generous room with a private balcony looking over the beach in a 4 star hotel, breakfast included. Magic. I will be a happy girl here 🙂