Tag: beach

Reflection of 2025

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Firstly and foremost John and I wish you happy festivities wherever you are in the world .

2025 started slowly for us. John had two eye operations which slowed our travelling down. We also had a February deadline for another of our books – “50 Gems of Bedfordshire” it will be published February 2026 by Amberley Books. …I think this will be about Johns 30th book with Amberley Publishers…and my 2nd!

In April we headed to Norfolk with my Dad. We hired a lovely bungalow near Sheringham for a week. What a lovely week it was, meandering around our beautiful countryside.

May saw John and I heading to Portugal and Southern Spain….we fell in love with Praia de Luz ….wonderful apartment for a week, super beach, restaurants and “Jackson Mystery Tours” around the countryside….(that’s Johns name for exploring and getting lost).

A wonderfully relaxing and “chill out” time.

We travelled up to Spain and spent time in an intriguing village called El Rocio….a real throw back place on the edge of a national park which is home to the highest number of Iberian Lynx in Spain…needless to say we didn’t see one…but we did very much enjoy our time there.

We travelled on up to Seville for a week…hiring a strange apartment in a residential block. We enjoyed the Cathedral, horses and carriage sight seeing, a river cruise and a flamenco show.

Driving back into Portugal we stayed a week in a holiday complex apartment near Albuferia….ummm not one of our best accommodation choices…. But we made the most of it with beach days and exploring the area.

Back in the UK we had a variety of days out with Dad, such as a coffee on a longboat on the Grand Union Canal

The end of July we headed for Devon. A fantastic occasion which saw my sister as a truly radiant bride as she married Mark….a day which was such a happy occasion.

September came and yippee! we were off to South Africa…..

Much joy as we met up with good friend Gill and our dearest Cora

Then off to Kruger for 3 weeks of heaven…..this year we started at the most southern point and went right up to the northern tip……Mother Nature blessed us and we saw some truly magnificent sights…

Our cameras didn’t stop clicking…but we did take a few shots of people..

And of course there were some fantastic sunsets…

Back to the UK we went with Dad to the New Forest in mid November…although it was cold it was still fabulous to see the ponies and we sat watching them on several occasions from what was my mums favourite spot….a joyful occasion we repeat every year…

As we reach the end of 2025 there is nothing left to say except to wish all our followers a Very Happy 2026…we hope your year is filled with adventures, laughter and love.

Jenny & John

Portugal & Southern Spain trip – Day 15-18, May 24th-28th….The Algarve & Home

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We woke up to gnats/fleas everywhere…horrible…we sprayed again, choked on the poisonous fumes and realised the apartment was infested. After a quick breakfast we drove to Santa Eulalia Beach. With a carpark and hotel on the edge of the sand, it looked lovely. We pitched our beach chairs on the edge of the soft sand and the firmer wet sand. Here we took up residency, on the narrow strip. A few people were in the sea, which according to their squeals was very cold and it was also a steep drop so we decided to enjoy the sun in the dry…….That is until a big wave came and we both jumped up rescuing handbag and camera bag from the surf!!!! What a pair of muppets we are as we made a hasty retreat a yard or two higher up the beach.

As it looked as if we were going to be sat in the water again, we returned to the car and headed to the apartments hotel swimming pool. It was wonderfully empty with some good shaded sun-loungers…a lovely afternoon.

In the evening we headed back to the Golf resort across the road again. This time I had Grilled Veal…..or so it said on the menu, actually it was a really nice sirloin steak, with sweet potato fries and roasted vegetables, all for €18 . John had grilled tuna with sweet roasted potatoes and a tomato relish for €13.

Over the next couple of days we did much the same, sleep, sunbathe, eat and repeat. We had a drive into Albufeira and we found a nice ice cream place on the beach. We ate at the same place each night….alternating between sea bass, tuna and steak, we shared a different salad as a starter each night ….it was a really pleasant restaurant….even though I managed to trip up an unnoticed step and skid seal like along the mosaic floor on my boobs !!!!!! Ouch !!!! But it didn’t deter us from going, the service was good, the food was excellent and the price was reasonable….we couldn’t have asked for more.

Our apartment continued to cause anxiety. The window which had given us a nice view was now violated by the apartment opposite having major building work which started at 8.00 am each morning. The tip for the builders rubble was directly below our window so the noise and the dust was a constant intrusion to our peace and quiet. The gnats/ fleas never stopped being present and it took 3 days for the company it was booked through to get back to us…by which time we only had one full day and two nights left …so it was all too little too late ..

On our final morning we were packed and ready to leave by 10.00 am the time we had agreed to meet the owner/ ground agent to give her the keys and to get our €100 deposit back…..the time came and went….at 11.30 I tried to phone her no reply, I WhatsApp her no reply. At 12.00 I tried phoning on WhatsApp and got a reply. As she spoke no English the conversation was difficult but I think she understood “ now, now” At 12.30 she arrived and gave us our €100 back. We showed her all the gnats and the builders skip etc, she just shrugged and couldn’t have cared less….after all she had, had our money. A little later she WhatsApp me and said please don’t say anything bad about the apartment….wow! Was she joking or not……we certainly wouldn’t want any other tourist to spend their hard earnt money or holiday time in such a noisy infested place….all we can say is steer clear of Sun & Serenity at Balaia Da Mar holiday resort…the rest of the resort is fine.
We headed off to the airport in Faro. Dropped the car off. We only had £40 to pay for the cross border fee and all was good. We found where the EasyJet baggage drop was and although our flight drop-off desk number wasn’t displayed yet we stood in the queue. When we got to the front, an hour later, we were told we were 15 minutes too early and stood aside to wait. Sure enough in 15 minutes time we were allowed to drop our cases off. We went through to departures and the security scanning was very fast. However when we got to immigration there was only one desk open for non-EU and as the majority of tourists were from the UK we queued for an hour and three quarters…..we had to let some people go ahead as their gate was closing…it was mayhem, eventually another desk opened and everyone cheered. Phew at last in the departure lounge only to find out out 8.50 pm take off was delayed until 10.30 pm….oh well…time for a Burger King as it was that or a sandwich.
Our flight took off about 10.40pm and was uneventful landing at 1.20 am. It took forever for the baggage to come through…the carousel started turning at 2.00am and our bags were fairly quickly retrieved……one of our brand new cases has once again got a huge dented corner…..what a nuisance… We had been going to get the train home but we were both exhausted and it was so late that we grabbed a taxi….at that time in the morning it cost us £81.00….hey Ho, we were home and ready for a great sleep in our own bed.
What a great holiday we had had….superb apartment, beach and restaurants in Luz……a wild experience in El Rocío, a great time in Seville and good sunbathing and nice food back in the Algarve…a lovely 18 days spent relaxing and exploring.

Thank you for once again following us…we hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did.

Portugal & Southern Spain Adventure – Day 5 – Wednesday 14th May – A Day on the Beach- Luz.

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We didn’t rush this morning as the sky was very blue and the sun was hot. We made some nice brioche rolls up with ham, cheese and salami and took some crisps for our lunch…I wonder are you “A crisps in, or a crisps out” person…..John is definitely a crisps out where as I am very much a crisps in……We drove down to the beach, found a parking place straight away and hey presto we had quickly taken up residency….the wind was fairly brisk but the sun was very hot.
We both decided to take a dip so we strode out with determination and confidence to the edge of the sea…”ouch” cold or what…..but we persisted John up to his calves and me up to my bottom…after a mere few seconds we looked at each other and both said “nah”. It was a very hasty retreat back to the ever faithful warm comfort of the chairs. We sat for an hour or so watching a few extremely brave soles stride in dip their shoulders under and run out.
Just before lunch I decided to give it another go . This time I got as deep as my chest before once again beating a hasty retreat…..time for lunch …..

Whilst eating lunch a hopeful beggar arrived but we refrained from giving him anything.

By 2.00 pm John decided I was getting too lobster pink and we left the beach and returned to the apartments pool, where there was plenty of shade. I finally got a much yearned for swim…in the pool!,

Then time for a siesta back at the apartment. For those of you who know John, you will know he always denies having 40 winks……..the proof is in the picture ……

We decided to have a drive around Luz before supper. We had hoped to find another nice restaurant. Every eatery seemed to be pizza or tapas or 2 Indian restaurants. So we saw the church and returned to A Concha for a nice meal. We were peckish so we both had shrimp pate followed by grilled sea bass and then I had apple tart and John had chocolate cake and ice cream, washed down with a Coke Zero each…..all for the sum of €64.40. This really is a great place with superb friendly service and very reasonably priced for the quality of the food……our seafood diet continues.

Another wonderful day in the Algrave.

Portugal & Southern Spain trip – Day 4- Tuesday 13th May – Sagres.

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We planned to have a beach day, however when we woke up there was hardly a hint of blue in the sky and a chilling breeze…in fact it was a jeans day rather than a shorts and t-shirt….or so John informed me and he was right. Just as we were having breakfast we received a phone call asking if the management could bring a photographer around. A building is planned for the plot next to our apartment and they wanted photos incase the new building caused cracks in the apartment. We agreed to let them come as we weren’t going out for a while. The General manager was a nice gentleman and asked how our stay was going. We explained that we really liked the luxurious, massively spacious apartment. During the day there is the sound of traffic from the Lagos road but at night it was very peaceful. There was no noise from other residents, if indeed there were any and we loved our door step guests, the swallows. We did explain that although we had been a bit put out by the receptionist’s attitude, when we arrived, we were actually delighted by the peace and tranquility of being so far away from the complex’s main amenities. We can’t fault where we are. They soon finished their business and off they went, shortly followed by us.
We took advantage of the cooler day and drove along the coast to the west. We took the A22 and then the N125 to Vila do Bispo where we turned south on to the N268 to Sagres. Sagres has been known for many years as the most Southernly point of Europe – although the mudflats near Faro are now a national park and they do protrude a little further south, however they are not inhabited. So I think it’s fair to say that Sagres which jots straight out into the Atlantic is the most southernly inhabited place in Europe. Although surrounded by the Atlantic it does have a Mediterranean climate.
At the end of the peninsula is a fortress and then a lighthouse. We did a reccy and found a parking space. All the car parking is at the bottom of the hill……We wandered up the cobbled footpath to the entrance of the Fort.

We queued a short while and then paid our €10 for two senior admission tickets…we were asked our ages because obviously we look so youthful….. in we went. It was a large courtyard with a museum, a chapel, toilet block, steep ramps up to the fortification/ fort’s outer wall. There was a long cobbled path straight down to the light house and a smooth foot path going down both sides of the top of the peninsula. We opted to go straight down the middle. It was a strange landscape. It was described as limestone pavement – but nothing like the smooth walkable ones we get in Yorkshire- we thought it looked like how we would imagine a “Luna Landscape”.

On reaching the point we decided to take different paths back. John took the more northerly path which was much longer. My little legs were feeling tired so I decided to take the more southernly shorter, smooth path back and we would reunit at the fort. Both sets of views were magnificent. There were information boards all the way around, describing the fauna and flora. I could see John most of the way around and some 4000 steps later we met in front of the fort. By now the sun had burnt the clouds away and the heat of the day was tiring, so we made our way back to the car.

We retraced our drive back to Luz, stopping firstly at Lidl ( they get everywhere!) and buying some lunch, then dropping down into the fishing village and beach area of Salema. We struggled to find a parking spot and in the end we drove onto the cliff road. Here we found a seated area overlooking the view of the village. An ideal place for our late picnic lunch.

Returning to Luz we drove to the beach and indulged in an ice cream. After a siesta back at the apartment, I prepared the evenings meal. This time it was very large prawns – which took me longer to clean and peel than it did to eat – and salad. It was yummy, the prawns very fresh and meaty, the beetroot sweet and the cherries to follow delicious. ..oh!! I forgot to say on returning to our apartment there was a half bottle of Grahams 2017 Late Bottled Vintage Port , two port glasses and a message of thanks for letting the photographer in, from the General Manager, whom we had met in the morning….what a lovely gesture.
What can one say…another day in paradise….oh!!! just remembered we passed Guadelupe on our trip…but because it’s missing an “o” and it’s in Portugal and not the Caribbean, there was no “Death in Paradise” and we didn’t see Selwyn !!!!!

Portugal & Southern Spain – Sunday 11th May – Exploring Luz

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We were awoken by the sound of the bird chorus…….there is a nest full of Swallows right outside our front door, on top of the security camera…hopefully we’ll be able to share a picture with you over the forthcoming days. On opening the electric shutters the bright blue sunny sky showed a promise of a wonderfully warm day. Feeling ready for breakfast we googled the nearest supermarket and off we went in our spacious chariot. It wasn’t difficult to find and now we understand the basic oneway system we are getting around easily.
We found the Baptista Supermarket with its spacious carpark. For the then and now we bought a couple of croissants and a couple of sausage rolls. We also got yogurts, fruit, bread, butter and marmite for future breakfasts and Portuguese rolls, cheese, ham and salami for lunches, water, Coke Zero and a few yum, yums to snack on…all of which came to €52 …. Our much cheaper. preference to eating out for breakfast and lunch and also the reason we get an apartment rather than always having a hotel room…it’s nice to mix and match a bit…

We took our breakfast down to the beach front and sat eating it overlooking a beach volleyball game and a great sea view backdrop.

With breakfast out of the way we took a leisurely stroll along the promenade. We are surprised how quiet it is. There are a few, mostly British holidaymakers around but pleasantly quiet and uncrowded. We stopped at a bar and had a couple of Coke zeros whilst watching the world go by…..there are no chairs for hire on the beach and quite a few people had their own deck chairs…a short term investment we may need to make. Some brave soles were venturing into what was obviously a very chilly sea. A british cycling club embarrassingly came past ringing their bells and telling walkers to “stand aside”……. How rude…..a few dog walkers met up and a few kids were rock pooling…altogether a wonderful way to spend a morning – people watching…

We returned to the apartment and dropped the food off before driving down the hill to the apartments pool area and taking up residency on sunloungers for an hour or two. A late lunch of ham and cheese rolls was had on our balcony overlooking the village and the sea. WhatsApp calls home brought us up to date with family news before a much needed siesta…… we must have been tired as we woke in-time to go for supper!!! I had researched another restaurant on the sea front. But when we got there it was shut…may be because it was a Sunday or because the season is only just beginning. So we wandered back to A Concha. We were greeted like long lost friends and sat, on our request, inside as the evenings we find a little chilly. The kind owner suggested a fish Cataplana – stew, which was absolutely delicious and huge….we followed it with a mousse and gateau.

We are now quite used to the short drive back up the steep winding, narrow road and retired back to our apartment. We watched some Prime TV and had a few camels of “ Five Crowns” before retiring to bed. A great first full day In Luz, Portugal.