After a five day turnaround, we headed out for our third trip this year - Portugal & Spain! The extra legroom on the complimentary economy plus seats on United definitely made the journey more bearable.
Our first impression of Portugal isn't good. We waited in one of the longest immigration lines we've seen for over an hour right off the plane. Luckily, picking up our rental car was easier than I've imagined since there was no upsell. We landed in Lisbon and started driving to Lagos which is less than 3h drive away. The highways in Portugal are way better than the guidebooks suggested, making long distance driving easier and quicker. I drove at 130-140 kph and was passed frequently by others zooming by!
We visited the sea cave at Grutas de Benagil which is quite impressive. Although we've seen similar caves before, this one is different because there is a beach inside! We drove next to Cabo de Sao Vicente which is sitting on the western most tip of continental Europe. The cliff scenery is amazing but the wind is fierce also. By the time we checked in to our hotel in Lagos, it's already close to 7p. The old town is full of restaurants and tourists! We tried the hotel's recommendation and didn't regret it. We had to choose between Spanish paella (which I love) or seafood Cataplana, a traditional way of Portugese cooking using a vessel similar to putting two woks upsidedown together. We picked Cataplana and love it! Lots of seafoods like mussels, clams, octopus, prawns cooked in layers of potatoes and onions. Very tasty and we almost finished all the potatoes despite all the carbs!
Oh yeah, the seafood looks very enriching !
ReplyDeleteI like the Cataplana better than Paella! So yummy 😋
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