Quinta da Tôr

We split up today. My wife was keen on visiting Quinta da Tôr, a vineyard with pools. Our son was not too keen so stayed in Santa Luzia. It was the right thing for him to do. He would not have liked it here, and we loved it.  Good wine, friendly service and pools to swim in and cool down in. 

Taberna Amaro

Today, we left Villa Stofero and its tranquil gardens, its pool and its working TV. We are now in Santa Luzia. The apartment has a bigger living space than before, two private balconies and is in a village.  Down the road from where we are is Taberna Amoro.

Over this holiday, I have had average meat courses most of the time. Today I had the best beef I have had this holiday. The service is friendly, we ate outside in the back garden which did mean we were exposed to some tobacco smoke. I would recommend all the places I have posted on this holiday, this place foremost of all. 

We had been to the nearby market earlier in the day for lunch were we had some local food. I liked the pork sandwich which I had, my son hated it. I felt the fries were from the freezer and were underdone. It may be that my enjoyment of dinner was based on how bad the chips were. The kids had been shopping and my daughter bought herself a bracelet.

Restaurante de Querença

Today involved dinner at a distance from our villa. It is our last night here and our hosts recommended this place. It has a great view and the friendliest service we have had so far. I loved the traditional food, but sadly ate too much at lunch so could not enjoy it.  If we do return to this area of the Algarve, we will probably return here as well.  

Restaurante Rei das Praias

Today we returned Praia dos Caneiros and enjoyed a meal there. We actually did not go on the beach, but instead went to the restaurant we had been to in the past. It brought back many memories, but we all agreed that while the food was very good, it did not deserve the price. 

Thanks to my son, my daughter he and I actually went to some caves first of all. There were some rocks afterwards where some teenagers were reenacting a scene from the Twilight films by jumping into the water. Well, one of them did, the others watched. It was amazing to see but the beauty was spoiled by some leaving litter behind.

After that, we drove to Carvoeiro where the children went shopping. We had been here in the past and while we did not recognise it at first, we did remember it, each of us recalling different things about it.  But we did not remember the restaurant we went to before, not that I think it is there anymore.

It was after that which is when we went to Restaurante Rei das Praias. I would love to return to the beach. Fingers crossed… 

We were lucky

It was a penalty. For Ghana. But apparently I am wrong, and I am glad I am wrong as England would have lost. Ghana played well and England was not varied enough for most of the game to adapt. With taller players than ours, sending balls into the box for them to head away was not a good idea.

Towards the end of the game, players who could dribble past others were played, notably Eze and Saka and it appeared to make a difference. But the pace of Ghana was a big issue for us.  Hopefully this is a learning experience for our manager and team, one which will take us to lifting the trophy.

My sweepstake team, Uzbekistan did not do well and my hopes for them playing England in the final appear very unlikely. 

Family wise, we spent most of today at the villa, going for a swim and a drive. My daughter had some work to do, so we left her to it.  The holiday continues to relax us. 

Restaurante Bica Velha

Another relaxing day. My wife and I woke a lot later than the children. We talked about what we could do and I ended up taking my wife for a drive along memory lane. I had hoped to visit Praia dos Caneiros but it was not to be. 

Later we returned to Loulé for dinner. While the rest of my family have enjoyed many great meals, because I am squeamish about sea food, I have not. But Restaurante Bica Velha has given me the best meal at a restaurant in Portugal so far. My son booked it, we are glad and may return. The picture, edited with an app is of part of the town, on the way to where I parked our car.

On a different note, my wife has not been too happy with the resignation of Starmer. For the record, she has not been his number one fan and we have had many a discussion about what she thinks is wrong with his policies, but she and I agree that he has done a lot for the nation. The country was in a much worse position when he took over and while there is a lot to do, so much has been done. We both agree that we want the economy to be better, but it is still doing well compared to our peers. Thanks to Starmer, not counting Israel and the USA, the UK is respected again across the globe. The NHS is in a better place as well. I just hope that these improvements continue once Starmer is evicted from 10 Downing Street. 

Fathers Day 2026 and D’alena Restaurante

Today is Father’s Day, and in our family another important celebration. My wife had booked a restaurant for lunch with amazing views and fantastic cocktails. If you visit, see Vinnie.

The food looked as spectacular as the view, though it was a bit hard to find on Google Maps. Fortunately we did not obey the instructions and found it anyway.