Colleague: What are your birthday plans?
Me: Portugal.
Colleague: Portugal, for a weekend?
Me: Yeah, why the hell not!
After our IVF diagnosis, I became a hell of a lot more spontaneous, with an attitude of ‘if I want to do it, I’ll do it!’
Travel
My parents picked me up from school with Steve in tow and we went to Leeds Bradford. Again we were dropped off at the Hawthorne Farm’ Carvery pub and walked to the airport terminal to avoid the silly parking or drop off charges. We had checked in online and were strict with our luggage so only had carry on – I would always recommend this if you don’t mind packing light. We used Ryanair to get there and our return was with Jet2; this was because it gave us longer out there and was in fact cheaper, so bear that in mind when doing day/short trips.
Once we landed I looked for the number 14 or 16 ‘proximo’ bus to Faro port (20mins and €2.35 each one way) – once you leave the terminal turn left and the bus stop is straight in front of you about 30 metres. Drivers are generally pretty good with English, although I managed to muster through with my mix of Portuguese and Spanish.
Hotel
‘Hotel Faro & Beach Club’ is a 3 minute walk away from the bus terminal. £259 for 2 nights including breakfast which is quite expensive but it is a 4* hotel with pool and gym and very well located being right in the port itself. The rooms were just about the right size for a weekend break with a lovely bath/shower room, a small sitting area and good TV channels (in English).
Places to visit/things to do
The majority of the time we stayed in or around the hotel as the whole point of this trip was to relax. There is a gym on site so Steve went there each morning, but I spent most of my time in/by the (rooftop) pool.
When we were outside it was pleasant to walk by the port and through the old town. Since seeing them in the U.S Steve has a small obsession with electric scooters so he wouldn’t stop harassing me until I promised we could have a go on one. Unfortunately for him, a lot of the old town is cobbled so we had to abandon them after about 10-15mins. A lot of the old town is very old European with quaint small side streets and white washed buildings which remind me very much of Greece.
Food
The hotel breakfast consisted of a selection of meats, cheeses, tomatoes, fruit, yoghurt and cereal with some English breakfast items too and I have to say it was very nice indeed. The sandwiches and snacks at the pool were also nice, but a bit expensive – I generally find this is the case though.
For lunch we found a lovely little restaurant/cafe place called ‘Cafe do Coreto’ opposite our hotel and right next to the port so Steve could ogle all the boats – he’s always wanted one.
‘Aperitivo’ was the bar we stopped at on our first night. We arrived at 11pm so knew they’d be little open food wise. Please note that Europeans eat a lot later than we do so it is not uncommon for restaurants not to be open till 8pm at the earliest. Apertivo did however do a small variety of tapas which was fine for us. We sat outside and we were perfectly angled to people watch, and even listened to a couple of street performers playing music. I’d always recommend sitting al fresco whenever possible.
Two definite recommendations food wise ‘A do Pinto’ – a small seafood type restaurant. We ordered a few starters to nibble on and then a big seafood paella type dish for 2. That paella was amazing – so much seafood! Basically I died and went to seafood heaven! The other great little find was a small pizzeria place ‘Pizzeria Bell’Antonio’ on the same square as Aperitivo (pretty much opposite). Food was incredible, prices were excellent and our waiter extremely friendly.
On our second night we found an awesome cocktail place, ‘Columbus Cocktail and Wine bar’ with booths outside for people watching – I’m sure by now you are seeing a theme with us. Literally a stone’s throw from our hotel and they did INSANE cocktails – cool glasses/containers, decorative and some had a tonne of sweets with them! YUM!! If in Faro and wanting great cocktails at a very reasonable price, go here!
Final thoughts
I know all in all it cost about £700-£750 for 48 hours which is a lot but it was a lovely break away with the hubby and something to take our minds off the stress of IVF.
