New Year's on the Algarve Coast of Portugal

When Brian asked me where I wanted to go during his break between Christmas and New Year's, I instantly said, "Take me somewhere warm!" We had been meaning to go to Portugal, so we decided to head to the most southern part of the country: the Algarve Coast.

Exploring the Algarve Coast

This trip was all about relaxing and enjoying the beautiful landscapes of the Algarve. Our first day, we visited a local vineyard, Quinta Does Vales, to try Portugese wines. That night, we enjoyed a traditional Portugese dinner at a local restaurant. As a warning, if you don't like pork, you might not find a lot of dinner options in this region. Luckily Brian and I do enjoy pork, and we had some lovely meals.

Portugese vineyard

Delicious mixed kebab

Brian loves climbing, and I love sunshine (which we don't see very often here in England), so we decided to do a few coastal walks. Unfortunately the weather was a bit iffy - it would be sunshine one minute and then a torrential downpour the next that would last a few minutes. This meant that the trails were very muddy and slippery. I'm not going to lie; both of us did fall! The views were breathtaking and made it all worth it though. As Florida babies, we have seen a lot of coasts and beaches, but combining that with the rocks and elevation made it all the more beautiful.

Hiking along the coast

Avoiding one of the many puddles on our hike

In addition to nature, we explored some of the cities in the area including Silves, Faro and Lagos. In Faro, we saw the most unique chapel I think either of us has ever seen, which says a lot because we have seen so many since living in Europe. The Capela de Ossos (or Chapel of the Bones) is built using skeletal remains of more than 1,200 monks. I have to be honest that I couldn't stand in there for long because it disturbed me. Lagos was a lot lighter. We enjoyed walking along the water and shopping along the little streets.