Posts Tagged ‘Portugal’

Caffe Creme Cafetaria Store 13, Torre da Medronheira, Olhos de Agua, Albufeira 8200-374, Portugal

It is always nice when on vacation to go for a walk to explore new surroundings and to give yourself a reward at the end of the venture. My husband and I like the village of Olhos de Agua near Albufeira in Portugal very much. On a recent visit, we walked in a different direction from usual and found the most delightful gift shop A Tulipa where we found many unusual gifts for family and friends.

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cristina cafe insideOn our way back from the shop, we stopped off at the Caffe Crema Cafetaria for coffee and cake. What a find! The coffee is mellow, the cakes are delicious and the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. As I say, we only stopped in for coffee and cake but at no time were we made to feel we had to hurry away. The waiting staff spoke good English and German and the restaurant is spotlessly clean.

The choice of cakes, pastries and pies is excellent. There are far too many to choose from than you could imagine. I chose a cream eclair with fruit on the top and my husband went with a couple of the smaller custard tarts. All were lovely.

cristina photos coffee & cake

The Caffe Crema Cafetaria does offer meals as well, including a full English Breakfast. However, although we did visit the place three times during our vacation, we never got past coffee and cake.cristina outside

If you happen to be in the village of Olhos de Agua, I highly recommend some shopping time at A Tulipa and then a refreshment stop at the Caffe Crema Cafetaria.

Val Penny

 

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Pickwick’s Tavern, Ohlos de Agua, Algarve, Portugal

My husband and I very much like Portugal, the countryside the people and the food. However, on a recent visit we stopped in for a cup of tea to a delightfully English pub, Pickwick’s Tavern. The owners and staff are English and they do an excellent mug of tea. My husband has also often taken refuge there with a pint of lager when I am resting or shopping. Conveiently, Pickwick’s Tavern runs a ‘husband creche’ that many wives take advantage of!portugal out

The pub benefits from the mild weather in the South of Portugal. It makes a point of showing main sports matches on big screen TV. It is always busy during international football and rugby matches. portugal in

The inside of Pickwick’s Tavern is quite small but cosy. Outside there is a large comfortable street-side area that benefits from large parasols that provide shade in the eat of the day. portugal sign

The staff and owners are friendly and take time to chat and make customers welcome. The ambience of Pickwick’s Tavern is warm, the food offered is excellent ‘pub grub’ and they do a tasty breakfast. We really enjoyed our visit to Pickwick’s Tavern and I highly recommend this this establishment.

Val Penny

 

Corner Farm, Sherburn, Yorkshire, England

My mother had a notable birthday this year and asked that the family gather together for a weekend together in Yorkshire. She likes Yorkshire. We had to find accomodation for 14Corner Farm Room adults that included an en-suite bedroom on the ground floor and living accomodation on the ground floor as my mother has mobility problems. (Although in the end only 12 of us were able to attend.) There were few suitable properties available. We chose Corner Farm, Sherburn, Yorkshire, England, although it was necessary to rent the property for a minimum of three nights rather than the two we really needed on a self-catering basis. The cost was almost £1,000 per night plus the catering costs, providing food and drink for our party. We could all have gone to Portugal for a week at Corner Farm outthese costs, but mother wanted to go to Yorkshire.

Corner Farm in Sherburn is a Grade II listed former farmhouse that has been renovated to provide holiday accommodation. Sherburn village lies between the market town of Malton and the seaside resort of Scarborough in the Vale of Pickering.We hoped it would be perfect for our big family celebration.

There are certainly some nice features. The living room and dining room have a double–sided wood burner. The kitchen is a good size with a useful centre island. There is free wi-fi and our dogs were permitted. There is a hot-tub.

Unfortunately, the kettle leaked and the dishwasher did not work properly. There were Corner Farm innow scouring pads and the local shop did not sell them). The freezer did not freeze things properly. There was not enough toilet paper. The dining table was tight for twelve people. The seating in the living room was comfortable, but insufficient for our number. These issues were a disappointment. Some of the items that decorate the house are really pretty. These give the house a nice feel and fill the house with fine style. I liked the touch of a filled book-case.

Corner Farm has seven bedrooms, three bathrooms and an en-suite shower room on the ground floor. For the cost of this property, I would have liked more en-suite facilities. I Corner Farm Hot-tubwas also surprised to see two double beds in one room! But the cot in one of the double rooms was good quality. It would also have been a kindness to provide bath sheets to guests, instead of the much smaller bath towels.

The walled garden is a lovely feature. It houses a large hot-tub. We really enjoyed that. The BBQ facilities were good too. However, there was no way of cleaning the grills after use. It was very disappointing. The games room and outdoor play area were a nice touch, but the table football advertised was not there.

Corner Farm purports to be a luxurious property: it is very nice, but luxurious, it is not. We enjoyed our weekend celebrations but we washed a lot of dishes! Bearing in mind the cost we paid, I felt none of issues we encountered should have been endured. With regret, I can not recommend Corner Farm and I would not use it again.

Valerie Penny

Esplanada do tunel, Rua 5 de outubro, Albufeira, Portugal

I think this restaurant has probably got the most beautiful views in Albufeira! My husband and I discovered it by accident during our first visit to Portugal, last year.
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It has tables that look out over the wide sandy beach and across the sea. It is truly beautiful. What a find!

The restaurant staff are very courteous and helpful. They speak excellent English and never rush us. We make a point of visiting here whenever we are in Albufeira. The toilets are spotless too! We stop here partly for the view but also because the food is delicious. They do an offer of coffee and cake for only 3.50 euros. Frankly sitting enjoying the view is worth that alone.
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I can highly recommend Esplanada do tunel. We will certainly be back.

Valerie Penny

Acqua Gelataria Pizzeria, Rua 25 de Abril, Olhos de Agua, Albufeira 8200, Portugal

My husband and I only discovered Portugal last year. I mean, we knew it existed, but neither of us had ever ventured to visit the country previously.  However, our friends Pauleen and David have gone every year for many years and commended the Algarve to us.  They like to walk. They go serious walking with proper boots and sticks.  We choose to opt for a much less physical vacation. Nevertheless, the area suits us all well and we are indebted to them for their introduction to this beautiful part of the world.

The village we choose to stay in is Olhos de Agua.  It is about 5 kilometers East of Albufeira.  We like the village because it is quiet but has some interesting shops, the people are lovely and there are some delightful little restaurants and cafes within easy walking distance of our hotel: no boots or walking sticks required!  One of our favourite haunts is the charming little restaurant, Acqua Gelataria Pizzeria, near the beach.

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The staff are really nice, but not intrusive. We are never rushed, even if we just stop in for a coffee while we sit and watch the world go by. The food is always tasty and fresh and the cakes are delicious.  In addition to all of this the prices are surprisingly reasonable. We seek out an excuse to visit.

Acqua has large screen televisions that usually have the current sporting event running: be this a Grand Prix, Football match or marathon.  My husband likes to keep an eye on these and many people stop in to watch the events. However, the sound is always kept down so that those of us who are less interested do not find them an irritation.

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We plan to visit this resort again and will definitely include Acqua Gelataria Pizzeria amongst the places we stop at then.  I highly recommend this dependable and friendly little restaurant.

Valerie Penny

Clube Humbria, Algarve, Portugal

humbriaMy husband and I just got back from an all inclusive 7 night Spring break at Clube Humbria, Algarve, Portugal. We enjoyed our trip so much we plan to book again for next year! Clube Humbria is lovely and the staff are very polite and helpful.

 

The sites say that it is in Albufeira, but it is actually in the village of Olhos de Agua, about 5 miles outside Albufeira. The village is quiet and very pretty. It is a short walk along the road to the shops and the Supermarket or down the hill to the beach.

Our apartment was North facing, but still very bright and spacious. It was scrupulously clean. The cleaners came in 6 days out of 7.   During our stay their work was more of a cursory tidy and a swipe round the bathroom than a proper clean. Having said that, there was bedroom chnot a lot of “cleaning” to do as we spent most of our time out of the room.

The meals are served in the dining room and are varied and tasty, even for me – and I am vegetarian. There is always a vegetarian option. Also, if the soup is a vegetable, tomato etc soup then it is made with a vege stock. The bread is delicious and fresh. The fruit, cakes and puddings are fresh daily. My husband ate different things every meal. There is always a hot meat and hot fish dish. There are different hot vegetables and styles of potatoes restaurant cheach meal. There is also a hot veggie choice of pasta neopolitana and often rice too as well as the vegetarian dish. The salad bar is extensive and fresh. Choosing what to eat and not trying to eat a little of everything is the only problem. Breakfast offerings are equally good including the traditional “fry up” and continental cold choices along with porridge, yoghurt toast and jams and fruit. To be honest, even if you prefer plain old burger and reception chchips the poolside bar serves these every afternoon! The only thing we did not like was the coffee – so we drank tea! (Now that is being picky!)

The staff are very nice and friendly. They are also extremely helpful.

 

The lobby has lots of soft comfy sofas that are really difficult to get out of. It would be nice, however, if the tables were cleared of empty glasses more regularly. That is true of the bar too. The main bar is open 10.00am – 11.30pm but is probably a bit too small for the size of the hotel. The lobby bar was not open during our stay. The hotel shop is a bit tacky and you will get cheaper postcards in the shops outside of the hotel, but the hotel shop does sell stamps.

 

There is a pool for little kids which is very safe and the main pool has graded steps into the shallow end. It was too cold for us to use the pool, but other folk with thicker blood did so and it is a lovely pool. Unfortunately, I doubt there are enough recliners for the size of the hotel in the height of the season. Having said that, the week before Easter, this was not an issue for us.

There are a group of entertainers who provide a wide variety of activities for kids of all ages and adults. My husband took part in the archery and the cocktail game on occasion and enjoyed both.

What else to tell you? It would be a shame to miss staying in this lovely resort. We had a great holiday and I would definitely recommend Clube Humbria.

Valerie Penny

pool clube