Monday, May 14, 2012

The Algarve, Portugal

The first night on our drive down to the Algarve area....we stayed in a cute little hotel called Colina Dos Mouros....in Silves.  Maria told us it means Columns of the Moors... and in the south of Portugal ...the Moorish influence is pretty evident in a lot of the architecture. TripAdvisor has this shot of it....I didn't get one as we arrived after dark and ...in the morning....I forgot.....

Photos of Colina dos Mouros, Silves


It was a great little hotel... very clean as was every single place we set foot in while in Portugal.  A big plus for us.  We have a big deal with cleanliness....















Every building has granites, marbles and tile incorporated into it....how I wish it was as reasonable to buy here.....sigh.... so easy to keep spotless...looks amazing....



















For a few euros...we got an upgrade to a castle view room...
why not?  It was only about 37 euros per night .... we probably should have gone to view the castle too..  here is what Wiki says about it.....  "Silves Castle was built between the 8th and the 13th century AD and is considered to be the best preserved of the Moorish castles of the country."  

Last year we did a lot of wandering through castles, cathedrals and ruins...but, this visit we were more concentrated on "doing the Algarve" ... and that meant seeing the amazing beaches... gawking at some pretty fancy yachts at one of the main marinas... feasting in a fancy restaurant later in the day (not that we didn't feast everywhere we went!) ...oh, man...the food! ...and moving on a bit further to more lovely beaches and another hotel... within walking distance from the beach I showed yesterday.















Feast your eyes on these views !!!















I love seeing and hearing the crashing waves and spent many a shot trying to capture just the right moment in a wave's life.... love this one.















Sure....I could live here.  I'll just take the one on the right...a bit higher up the hill, please...... in case of a very high tide.















Nobody around but us...how perfect.































Onward to another beach .... I have no clue exactly which beach this is...but, again it is probably Praia da Rocha.... means rocks.... they are all beautiful.  Love the colour of the rocks .... the wonderful feel of the sand ... I'm thinking colours like this for the house ....mmmmmm.... golden creamy cupboards ...  sea coloured walls. ....























Oh, yeh.....

















9 comments:

Sylvia said...

Hi Veronica,
Sorry to read in your previous post you got sick ...
I've never been in Portugal, but I'm enjoying your pictures, must be wonderful there !
Nice week,
Sylvia

...the yorkshire fox... said...

...amazing photo's! you have managed to capture the very essense of your wonderful time in Portugal...beautiful beach shots, loVe the way time has eroded holes through the rock...thankyou for sharing...Mel :)

Serena Lewis said...

Beautiful photos, Vee!

Anonymous said...

Vee- Lucky you, enjoy. Show off all you like!! Haha! Hugs Sue

Anonymous said...

Silly me ... I read this post before the previous one and thought you'd gone on holiday again. Now I'm confused! Hope yor enjoying your 'next' holiday. Sue

Susan said...

Oh they just get better and better Vee. Love your comments about the accommodation over there too - it's an important aspect isn't it.
Beaut shots... I especially love the footprints over the sand. I've just seen my villa too - it's in the second last photo. I was out that day but you should have popped in anyway ;D)

Shashi Nayagam said...

Beautiful shots. Thanks for sharing. We went up that castle and it was lovely up there. A bit breezy though

Catherine said...

Those beaches look absolutely wonderful! You don't see that in any of the prairie provinces. :(
xo Catherine

Maria V. said...

My favorite beach by far, second being Nazare. The pics are fantastic. Great time! Keep posting ... love to read your blog. Hugs ...