A Beach Weekend in Portugal

Since we crossed the pond, our holidays have been completely different from the first year of our marriage.

(By the way, Brits use the term "holiday" instead of "vacation", and that's a term I've picked up.

I hope my American friends will forgive me for my assimilation.) 

Our holidays living in Texas involved a quick hop down to the Caribbean and

time spent relaxing on a beach in the blazing sun with a cerveza in hand.

Our trips here have involved exploring, a lot of walking, schedules,

museum visits and a lot of getting from here to there.

Don't get me wrong, they've been fantastic!

But, we were in desperate need of a relaxed, quiet beach weekend and some sunshine.

(Have I mentioned?  Coldest UK Spring in fifty years.)

 Matt scheduled a Friday off and after work on a Thursday in May,

we boarded an EasyJet flight from Gatwick for a 3 hour flight to Portugal.

EasyJet plus Portugal equals Stag Parties, so expect to be annoyed entertained by loud, drunk and "cheeky" young Brits.  (And by cheeky, I mean obnoxious.)

Luckily, we booked a hotel that was on a very quiet beach away from the partying Brits.

 We used Yellow Fish Transfers for round-trip transfer from the airport to the hotel which was much cheaper than a taxi.  They were fantastic and I highly recommend them. Our driver welcomed us to Portugal with a smile, a clean, air-conditioned van and a complimentary bottle of red wine.

 

Hotel Vila Galé Praia is located about 10 minutes from the popular spot of Albufeira  in the Algarve region of Portugal.  It's a 40 room hotel in a quiet residential neighborhood with a 2 minute walk to the beach.  It was perfect, very clean and comfortable.  We were greeted with a cold wet cloth and a glass of tea to revive us from our journey.  There is a pool, gym, spa, restaurant and bar, everything you need for a relaxing weekend.

As soon as we were settled in to the hotel, we headed straight for the beach.  By this time it was already dark and deserted, but we had a wonderful seafood dinner and listened to the waves.  Praia da Gale Restaurant is one of several places to eat on the beach by the hotel. It's casual with indoor and outdoor seating.  We had the first of several delicious seafood dinners.  It was the perfect way to settle into our relaxing weekend.

Early the next morning it was straight to the beach.

We were both desperate for the feel of the sun on our skin to replenish our Vitamin D stores.

We paid €13 for a space with two loungers and an umbrella all day

It was perfect.  The beach was pristine and there were lifeguards on duty.

The sand was soft and white.  The water was freezing, but there were many people who were braving the cold.

I just sat there soaking it up and watching all of the little beach babies playing in the sand.

 There were several sections with interesting rock formations to explore and climb on.

The rock pools were full of shells and creatures to fascinate.

 

  There were a few ladies discreetly going topless at both the beach and the pool, but no big deal. We had lunch at one of the other beach restaurants, O Galeao Snack Bar.  They had a great salad.

Praia Gale is perfect for a couple or family looking for a nice, quiet beach.

 

After lunch we spent some time in the hotel pool. 

With our skin all warm and tingly from the sun,
we then cleaned up for a trip into Albufeira via the hotel shuttle. 

But, not before a glass of wine on the patio outside of our room.

More on Albufeira in my next post.

Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
I'm sorry if I don't say it enough.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Happy Fathers Day!!!

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We booked and paid for everything on our own.  There was no compensation of any type for any of the businesses linked in this post.  As always, all pictures and opinions are my own.