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Newsletter March 2006 - archive
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by: Karen Telling |
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February started with some beautiful, warm, sunny days, the first Sunday
was nice enough for me to sit out on the terrace all afternoon, with a
good book, something I haven’t been able to do for several months – and it
made a very pleasant change.
The beginning of February saw Ele Ela, Oasis and A Vela, all in Rua do
Barranco, re-open after their winter break, Imprevisto across the road set
their tables out again, and Maximes, Lanterna Velha and Xico Zé in Estrada
do Farol also re-opened. By this time of year the village is just about
back to normal, with almost all the bars and restaurants open, so there is
plenty of choice for winter visitors. On Saturday 4th we popped out for a
late dinner at Casa Algarvia, which turned into a late night at
Havana Bar,
when we bumped into my parents and their friends leaving A Galé, and
decided to go for a nightcap. We had enjoyed our meal at Casa Algarvia,
which was very busy as usual, and A Galé was also full.
The following Thursday I had an appointment with my chiropractor, Tracy,
at Lutz Chiropractors in Lagoa – she has an uphill task tackling my
long-standing back problem – not helped by the amount of time I spent
hunched over a keyboard, both for work and for Carvoeiro.com! My husband
picked me up from the clinic and we decided to go out for lunch to Bar
Bacchus, on the N125 at Porches Pottery. It was quite a cold day, but
there was a lovely fire burning, and we had a delicious lunch of pea and
mint soup, followed by filled baguettes and salad – including water and
coffee our bill was a very reasonable 17 euros.
On Thursday 9th the weather broke and we had heavy rain all day. We braved
the downpour and went to Algar Seco Bistro in the evening, for the regular
Carvoeiro.com meeting. It was one of the busiest ever, with over 20 people
from Germany, Belgium, UK and Portugal, and as it was the eve of
Bruxinha’s birthday there was cake and champagne, and several renditions
of ‘Happy Birthday’ in English, German and Portuguese! Gerrit and his wife
Lieve had brought some delicious Belgian chocolates to finish our meal in
style. We headed straight home, but I understand the party carried on at
Anteak bar until well into the day itself!
As some of you may know, I had a ‘significant’ birthday last year, and one
of my presents was a voucher for beauty treatments at Vila Vita in
Porches, so I took a trip over there on 14th for some pampering. They
offer a wide range of relaxing and therapeutic treatments, and all the
staff are extremely helpful, so it has been lovely to be able to choose
which treatments to have – the only problem was deciding which was most
urgently needed! This time I went for an intensive eye treatment, to try
to keep the bags and wrinkles at bay. For Valentines night we went to
Bella Vita at Clube Atlantico – the restaurant is perfect for a romantic
evening, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal as usual.
The weather had been warm and sunny again from Friday 10th until another
day of heavy rain on Thursday 16th. In the evening we went to Algar Seco
for another international Carvoeiro.com night, with German, Danish and
British visitors, Carvoeiro.com members get special discounted prices on
Thursday evenings, and the two of us can have a main course and several
drinks for around 20 euros. In the summer there is the added bonus of the
beautiful view of the sea over the cliffs, and the fantastic sunsets that
can be seen from the terrace.
On Friday evening we popped in to A Vela for dinner. Although Portuguese,
Antonia and her husband worked in Switzerland for a long time, and their
menu has something for everyone – including vegetarian options, and I can
particularly recommend the home-made orange tiramisu!
The following Sunday we went to visit some Portuguese friends at their
home in the countryside near Alcantarilha. They have a traditional
farmhouse set in acres of land, with hardly another house to be seen, it
is a very tranquil area and it is hard to believe that you can be on the
beach in Armação de Pêra in less than 10 minutes. We had a tour of their
kitchen garden, and they are so generous that we came away laden with
gifts of fruit, vegetables and herbs, plus a jar of their own olives. We
continued on to Armação de Pêra for a late lunch at Carlos’s beach bar,
the weather had turned very blustery, and we ate our seafood protected
from the heavy downpours by the plastic awning which surrounds the outdoor
eating area. The dramatic weather made for a fascinating seascape; I find
the sea much more interesting in bad weather than in calm, sunny
conditions. Later that evening when we let the dog out into the garden, we
were surprised to see him come back in covered in hailstones – a rare
sight here in the Algarve.
The following week, after a lovely meal in Jota Lita, we met up with
friends in Round-Up, newly re-opened and with new floors and windows. The
bar was quite busy as Alan sang, and encouraged everyone to have a go at
karaoke - fortunately for the other customers I didn’t volunteer, but our
friends were among those who did, and they really enjoyed themselves.
Friday 24th was the official opening of The Lounge at Rascals, under the
new management of Rachel and Sergio, the bar was very busy and we bumped
into several Carvoeiro.com regulars as we enjoyed the cava and canapés
provided to celebrate the event. It was the first time I had ever been in
the bar, and I was very impressed – as it is only a short stroll downhill
for us I am sure we’ll be back soon. As the alcohol took effect we decided
it would be best to get something to eat, so went next door to Tia Ilda –
the restaurant was decorated for Carnival, and the staff were all dressed
up too, we were waited on by a pirate, and the wine was served by a
geisha! Fancy dress is very popular during Carnival, for both children and
adults, and it is also not unusual to be on the receiving end of water and
flour bombs as you walk around the village at night – another local
tradition.
The following day saw torrential rain again, so along with most of the
Algarve, or so it seemed, we went to Algarve Shopping – it was so busy
that there weren’t enough seats for everyone who wanted to eat in the Food
Court! The shops were full of fancy dress costumes for Carnival,
everything from superheroes and princesses, to witches and pirates – there
is a wide selection and any families who visit the Algarve at this time of
year could stock up on fancy dress, and dressing up clothes for the rest
of the year.
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Please
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Sunday was the day for the children’s carnival and due to the continuing
drainage works on the square, the stage was set up next to O Patio
restaurant, instead of next to the beach as in previous years. Fortunately
it stayed dry as the children queued up for their turn to get up on the
stage, show off their costumes, and receive their bags of sweets.
Monday 27th was my dad’s birthday, and to celebrate we went to A Grelha,
close to the fisherman’s beach at Armação de Pêra. This restaurant,
supposed to be the oldest in the Algarve, offers a wide variety of
traditional dishes – again with vegetarian options – and is excellent
value. It was very busy and we were lucky to get a table, as lots of
Portuguese families took advantage of the ‘bridge’ day before the Carnival
holiday.
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Please
find all the pictures
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On Carnival day itself, we went first to see the pancake races being held
on the beach in front of the Hotel Garbe in Armação de Pêra, in aid of
charity. In spite of an overcast sky, there was a good turnout and plenty
of competitors in the boys, girls, grandparents, three-legged, backwards,
and relay races. We then headed back to Carvoeiro, and had lunch at
Imprevisto as we waited for the Carnival procession to begin. The
motorbikes came first, ridden by a nun, a bear, several clowns, and our
own Carvoeiro.com forum member, Lagartoroxo – one
of the bikes even had a dog riding pillion! The rest of the floats
followed, led by a marching band and including the little train – all
organised by Sr Jorge Pardal and the members of the local Freguesia.
We returned home and I went straight to my pc to check my e-mails,
suddenly I heard a yelping sound from outside, and then my husband
appeared at the door calling for help. Barney, the street dog that we had
inherited when we bought our house eighteen months ago, had been hit by a
car and run off in shock with what appeared to be a broken leg and blood
pouring from his mouth. We followed him and eventually managed to coax him
back to the house, and after a quick call to the emergency vet, we
carefully lifted him into the car and set off for Lagoa. After a general
anaesthetic and several x-rays they found that he had a dislocated elbow
and we brought him home three hours later, with a tightly strapped leg.
Having always been a free spirit, his wandering days are now over and he
is going to have to get used to being confined to the garden – I don’t
think any of us can cope with a repeat of the accident – what an end to
Carnival! |
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