James' in the UK

Although it was a little delayed we finally got to enjoy a honeymoon and after being so busy before and after trhe wedding it was good to relax. Unfourtunatley our flight out was an early one and was very difficult on our still jetlagged bodies.

We were going to catch a bus from the airport to the hotel but it was raining very hard and we thought we saw a bus go past without stopping so we went for a taxi. Lucky we did because I think we may have ended up swimming to the hotel.

We had arrived during a bit of a storm and soon after getting to the hotel we experienced some flooding. First there was just water collecting in the drain but pretty soon you couldn't see any of the curbs or the roundabout and women were putting bags over their shoes to cross the road. While this seemed like what was required at the time we later learnt about the Portuguese fascination with footware.....

Flooded Streets of Faro

We couldn't check into the hotel straight away but we could leave our bags so we set out on foot to explore Faro. In general it wasn't an overly exciting city, but we managed to find enough to look at until we could check into the hotel.

Our hotel was really nice, very modern and had prime positions looking over the marina. The staff knew we were on our honeymoon so they gave us the room with the best view and brought a bottle of champagne to our room which was very sweet.

Due to our early start and jetlag we were feeling a bit tired so we thought we'd participate in a ciesta which is apparently observed in Portugal. We layed down for a nap at about 3pm.......and woke up at 3am the next morning. We didn't really know we were that tired but I'm pretty sure we had just created the worlds longest ciesta!

We had missed tea and were now STARVING and had no option for getting food until the breakfast buffet at 8am. It was a very long wait but eventually 8am came and we pigged out! Seriously it was getting embarassing with the staff watching every trip we made for more food.

It was at this point we discovered Portuguese pastries and what a discovery it was. They had a selection of the little cakes and pastries that really appealed to our sweet teeth, many were consumed during our stay.

The restaurant where breakfast was served was on the top floor of the hotel and between mouthfuls we managed to enjoy the view.

Faro Marina from the Hotel

Other than the first day we mostly used Faro as a base and were only there in the mornings and evenings. In the evening we would head into the maze of pedestrian streets in the old part of town and fluff our way through ordering food in the local restaurants.

We were fascinated by the christmas lights in Faro. Strung between the buildings was an incredible collection of christmas lights, huge displays in varying designs and colours. The other thing that intrigued us was the red carpet, metres and metres of it spanning the length of the many pedestrian streets. It looked really cool against the white diamond paving stones and certainly bought a luxurios feel to shopping.

On our night time wandering and window shopping we noticed an unusual trend......shoes. The shoe shops seemed to out number clothes shops about 6-1 and some of the shoe shops were huge. In Portugal women take shoes very seriously. You've got to love a country that invests so much time and money in their footwear. Unfortunatley I did not support the local shoe industry while I was there.

Snack of Choice in Portugal: Portuguese Custard Tarts