This weekend I took a trip to Portugal! This was my first time in Portugal, and a friend and I were looking for a place to go for the weekend, that would be different than some of the other European countries we were planning to visit.
We arrived in Faro on Thursday, and spent the day relaxing at the beach! It was about 70 degrees, which was a much-needed difference from the current Irish weather (although it hasn’t been too bad here, not too much rain!).
We stayed at the most amazing hostel in downtown Faro, Hostelicious, and had the BEST time there. It was so beautiful, and my friend and I were able to have a room for just the two of us. The hotel was so helpful with recommendations. It was clean and located in a great spot.
We spent the whole first day lounging on the beach and reading, which is my ideal perfect day. We also walked along the beach and visited some of the local restaurants along the ocean side. That night, we ate at a local sushi restaurant and had an amazing meal, for much cheaper than you would find at home! To finish that night, we had to visit an Irish pub down the street from our hostel to see how it compared to the ones in Galway. It was a fun experience to see how other European countries bring Irish culture into their towns!
The next day, we shopped in the local markets and found beautiful hand- crafted goods. I bought a few pieces of jewelry, and some other items. After our shopping, we took a speed boat to an island off the coast, called Isla Deserta, where we swam in the ocean, read some more, and hung out for the day.
This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend, because we truly were so relaxed the whole day. We finished our last night trying authentic Portuguese tapas for dinner, including mackerel, açorda (a Portuguese fish and bread mixture), zucchini, and pork dishes. It was really cool to be able to have an authentic Portuguese dinner, and experience something new!
We had to leave on Saturday morning, but we both would have loved to stay longer. It was one of my favorite places that I’ve visited and I would love to return!
Annie