Mike and Megan's Honeymoon: Day 4 - Goodbye Albufeira!

July 1

Megan and her new lobster husband. We had to go to the beach despite our burns. So, we scouted, travelled and moved a lot finding little pieces of shade wherever we could to enjoy our last day in Albufeira

Sangria and Don cookies under the drinking tree in the main plaza.

Igreja Matriz de Albufeira was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1755 by the then Bishop of the Algarve, Francisco Gomes de Avelar. One thing you learn about Portugal, is that everything is somehow related to the earthquake of 1755. The way some locals talk about it, you would think it occurred yesterday.

another old church I know nothing about...

another church...

Somewhat of a view of the city and Atlantic Ocean

hot wife posing with favorite flowering tree

Albufeira on the shore.

So, Albufeira is super touristy for Europeans. There are tons of English, Dutch, and other northern Europeans hanging around, which means a lot of the restaurants cater to and are owned by folks from their respective countries (i.e. Dutch people eat at a Dutch restaurant decorated orange for the World Cup owned by a Dutch guy). So, we asked a local where the locals go to eat. Without hesitation, he said "Casa Madeira. Go there." We replied, "Great, where is it?"

"I can't show you on a map." he stated.

"Um... Okay... Is it near anything?"

"Old town." Mind you, everything is near Old Town. Anyway, we decided to try another restaurant and accidently made it to the one he recommended. It was on a main street easily show-able on a map. I think he realized tourists shouldn't go to local restaurants...

MMMmmmm... Kabab Madeira-style. What makes it Madeira style? Apparently, you take all the animals of a farm, butcher them, put all their meat on a huge skewer, cook it and let all the meat juices fall onto a huge plate of fries. In other words, the perfect meal.

CLIFF CAT! We finally saw one on the last day. We've seen dogs, such as "beach bum dog" who plays with all the tourists at the beach, and cats roaming around perfectly well-behaved throughout Albufeira and Portugal apparently without owners. In Albufeira, many of the cats live in the cliffs. This one was looking for bugs to eat or something.

Goodbye Albufeira! What a great way to relax after the insanity of a great wedding and long flights...

Mike and Megan's Honeymoon: Day 2 - Beach Day In Albufeira

June 29, 2010

BEACH DAY!!!

Made it to the beach!!!

But first, Megan had to write the details of our wedding and travels in her diary looking over the Atlantic Ocean from our balcony.

On the way to buy an ugly beach towel with dolphins and probably lead lined sandals from "China Bizarre," I found this hat. Does anyone know what "Chicago Red Bowl Lineman" means?

Sand sculpture by a guy that helped up with directions earlier in the day.

He sculpted my lady!

Me as a large woman

Finally, the beach!

Take off the zoom...

Better...

Putting the third or fourth layer of suntan lotion on at the pier, which proved to be completely useless. You'll see...

Hey! That's a topless woman in my picture! We found this going through these a minute ago.

a screensaver shot

a picture featuring Megan's elbow...

Crazy plant life!

This was taken when the sun was at it's peak. It was like the light of God was upon us and burned us to our souls. Neither of us have ever experienced sun like this before. After this day, we would hide under trees or rocks at this time of the day.

Megan's favorite flower tree of Portugal on our way back to town to prepare for the Portugal vs. Spain World Cup match

I call it "cloud pine."

Our place is at the top, Hotel Boa Vista. This is taken from Rua Sir Cliff Richard.

You'll see more about this later. But, many buildings have or are covered with tile in Portugal.

This is restaurant, possibly owned by a Dutch guy, at Largo Eng. Duarte Pacheco and Rua da Liberdade. I forget the name of it, but the food was great and we could watch the first half of the World Cup-Portugal/Spain. This is when I started to realize that ALL meals in Portugal come with french fries. I was truly where I belonged...

Where we watched the second half of the World Cup-Portugal/Spain. Portugal lost (if you haven't been paying attention my American friends). But, all eyes were on the game in Europe.

AFTER DINNER FUN! What a great idea. Paddle boats with a slide!

Look at how red my knees are. It's a sign of things to come!

A view of the main square of Albufeira from a road to the north.

Looking at Rua 5 de Outubro from the road above the beach tunnel.

Creepy cemetery, right? Wait until you hear how I almost died here the next morning!!! How is that for a teaser?

Thanks again to everyone for helping with the wedding, coming to the wedding, congratulations for the wedding, and all else. It's been a wonderful experience