Portugal: going on holiday in style...

We're off for a week on holiday soon and I can't wait. We wanted to catch some last Autumn sun before diving into Winter and picked Portugal as our destination. It's promising to stay sunny and warm, so that's perfect.

Always looking for beautiful places that inspire me, I found a lovely guesthouse in the Algarve, close to the coast. I hate going to big chain hotels and places for mass-tourism - of which there are unfortunately plenty in the Med -  and so I was chuffed about this one. Of course, we haven't been yet, so we'll have to wait and see what it's really like, but the photos look promising! www.tapadadogramacho.com

 

 
I'll be chilling out by the pool or on the beach I think, while my man is trying out some kite-surfing (oh dear). I'd rather relax, read a book and indulge in some delicious 'Pasteis de nata' or Portuguese custard tarts. Don't know these tarts? Let me introduce you to them with this recipe...Yum!

I am also planning to look for some nice Portuguese antique tiles, or 'azulejos' as they call them, to take back home. I saw them some years back when I was in Portugal for the first time and they're so beautiful. I'll probably only be able to take a few back, due to airline restrictions, but perhaps that is not such a bad thing, budget-wise...

I got plenty of creative ideas for what to do with them anyway...using them in bathroom tiling, making coasters out of them or simply displaying them as pretty objects.

Or actually, you could do as the Portuguese and stick them on the outside of your house!

Até a vista ! (see you soon!)

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