Our trip to the Algarve, Portugal was never supposed to happen. Two months ago, Marlon and I had booked an Easter trip to Istanbul and were super duper excited about it. Then, a week before we were set to fly, I got a text from my sister:
Surprise surprise! Turkey is not on the list of Schengen states, as I had so wrongly assumed. I can't blame the Filipino passport curse for this, though—I really should have double-checked. After a midnight panic-fueled flurry of surfing, Marlon and I decided that the easiest thing to do would be to rebook the Istanbul flight to October (making it a birthday getaway instead) and find a new place to go. Just a week before Easter, this was not the easiest thing to do as prices were high and most accommodations were fully booked.
We decided on Faro in the Algarve region of Portugal because a) we found relatively affordable flights leaving Black Saturday, b) accommodations at some top-rated places on Tripadvisor were still available, and c) Portugal is the home of peri-peri chicken, which we first fell in love with at Nando's in Singapore (it's a South African franchise though). Other than that, we didn't know much about the Algarve, except that it was a coastal region in the south of Portugal, with tons of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean.
Definitely sounded better than showing up in Istanbul without a visa! It turned out to be a fabulous decision. Our five days in the Algarve were simply made of awesomeness. Well, save for one really bad tourist lunch....
And the decisions upon decisions we had to make! The Algarve offers such an overwhelming array of options that we were constantly agonizing over where to go and what to do. Did we want to:
Hit one of the Algarve's 150+ beaches (!!!) and enjoy some sun?
See Moorish castles and forts?
Explore the colorful alleys of some pretty old town?
Enjoy a scenic drive?
Head up to the mountains for some cool air and gorgeous views?
Spend an entire morning lazing around in our hotel room? (Thanks to my sister for her Starwood points!)
As you can tell from this random sampling of photos, Marlon and I were practically paralyzed every morning trying to decide on an itinerary for the day, then going back and forth and changing our minds every few hours. But that's not such a bad problem to have, as far as vacation problems go!
"How long did it take you to get your Turkish visa?"Wait a minute. VISA?!?!?
Surprise surprise! Turkey is not on the list of Schengen states, as I had so wrongly assumed. I can't blame the Filipino passport curse for this, though—I really should have double-checked. After a midnight panic-fueled flurry of surfing, Marlon and I decided that the easiest thing to do would be to rebook the Istanbul flight to October (making it a birthday getaway instead) and find a new place to go. Just a week before Easter, this was not the easiest thing to do as prices were high and most accommodations were fully booked.
We decided on Faro in the Algarve region of Portugal because a) we found relatively affordable flights leaving Black Saturday, b) accommodations at some top-rated places on Tripadvisor were still available, and c) Portugal is the home of peri-peri chicken, which we first fell in love with at Nando's in Singapore (it's a South African franchise though). Other than that, we didn't know much about the Algarve, except that it was a coastal region in the south of Portugal, with tons of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean.
Definitely sounded better than showing up in Istanbul without a visa! It turned out to be a fabulous decision. Our five days in the Algarve were simply made of awesomeness. Well, save for one really bad tourist lunch....
And the decisions upon decisions we had to make! The Algarve offers such an overwhelming array of options that we were constantly agonizing over where to go and what to do. Did we want to:
Hit one of the Algarve's 150+ beaches (!!!) and enjoy some sun?
Explore the colorful alleys of some pretty old town?
Enjoy a scenic drive?
Head up to the mountains for some cool air and gorgeous views?
Spend an entire morning lazing around in our hotel room? (Thanks to my sister for her Starwood points!)
Hunt down some hard-to-find hole in the wall with the promise of great local cuisine?
Ang ganda! Sana makadating din ako sa Portugal =P
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