Portugal – Family Holiday

Had a great week away in Portugal with the family. Really enjoyed it.

On Thursday, Tash, Jack, Mum, and I travelled down to Stansted, with Charl and Miles in their car just ahead of us. I worked in the morning, sitting in the van and then carrying on at the airport until midday, as I was only officially taking the afternoon off. It works really well doing it that way and means I don't have to use a whole day of annual leave just for travelling.

Lewis, Emily and Frankie were travelling the same day too, although they were flying from Manchester.

We all ended up with a two-hour delay, but eventually got to Faro. Then came the airport experience... We spent about an hour waiting around in Customs, which really isn't very good at all. It's disjointed, frustrating and just seems to take forever.

We eventually made it through and somehow managed to get to the hire car pick-up with about 90 seconds to spare! Got the car, Jack took the wheel and we headed off towards the villa, stopping on the way to pick up some food.

The villa was really nice, but by the time we arrived it was late and we were all absolutely shattered. Ate some food, got ourselves sorted and went straight to bed.

The rest of the week was a mixture of doing very little and getting out and about, which I think was exactly what we wanted. We walked around the village, went to the beach, drove out to various towns and generally just enjoyed being somewhere warm and sunny with everyone.

There was, unfortunately, a bit of illness going around. Frankie, Jodie, Jack and Charl all had a bout of sickness, while I ended up with a cough and cold which I'm still only just getting over three weeks later! It did put a bit of a dampener on things at times, with people either missing out on things or just feeling a bit jaded. I certainly fell into the latter category.

Jodie arrived on Saturday morning, which was lovely, while Lewis, Emily and Frankie had to leave on Monday morning. It was a shame they couldn't stay longer, but it was great that they managed to come at all.

So what did we actually do?

Beach meal and sunset
Our first proper evening was a meal at a restaurant overlooking the beach, with a lovely sunset while we ate. A great way to start the holiday.

BBQ at the villa
Had a BBQ at the villa, which was exactly what you want when you've got everyone together in Portugal.

Pool days
Lots of relaxing around the pool during the day. Cards, games on our phones, sleeping, chatting and generally doing very little. Perfect.

Table tennis
Played loads of table tennis with Jack. Unfortunately, he got the better of me nearly every time, although it was bloody hard work in the heat so I'm going to blame that!

Albufeira Old Town
Went into Albufeira Old Town one evening and, bloody hell, it was an eye-opener! Absolutely mental, but also so, so good. I loved it. Neon lights, banging music and loads going on — absolutely right up my street!

Would have liked to go back, although if I'm being honest, I'm probably too old for it now. 😂

Boat trip
Had a private boat trip out to a cove where we drank, ate, relaxed and swam. We all jumped off the boat at various points, which was great fun. One of those days where you just sit there thinking how lucky you are to be doing it.

Carvoeiro
Went out to Carvoeiro one evening and remembered being there a few years ago for Jack's birthday. The place has hardly changed, which was lovely to see.

I was struggling with my cough that evening and was probably a bit grumpy as a result, but it was still really nice to be back there, have some food and listen to the live music.

Back to the beach restaurant
We went back to the same beach restaurant we'd visited on the first night, this time with an actual booking. Another lovely meal watching the sunset.

So we managed to be busy and relaxed at the same time, which I think means we got the balance about right.

The week absolutely flew by, though. That's always the sign of a good holiday, I suppose.

Coming home was straightforward enough and, once again, I managed to work in the van. We hit the road at 12.30pm exactly, which was perfect timing and meant I could get on with some work while everyone else travelled home.

End of week summary

A really good family holiday. It wasn't perfect because of everyone getting ill at various points and my bloody cough hanging around, but those things are difficult to control and certainly didn't spoil it.

We had a good mixture of doing things, going places and just sitting around doing absolutely nothing, and I think that was exactly what we needed.

The boat trip was probably one of the highlights, along with Albufeira Old Town — which I absolutely loved despite probably being about 20 years too old for it! 😂

Most importantly, though, we had everyone together for at least part of the week, and that's what made it special. It's always a bit chaotic getting everyone organised, but once we're there it's great.

Portugal definitely gets another vote from me.