We have had a great trip in Portugal. It is a beautiful country with so many things to love. It is a European country that is very different from others we have visited but has similarities to many. There are many beautiful foods to enjoy such as the Mediterranean delights....olives, cheese, cured meats, wine and plenty of it! And then so much seafood! My favourite meal here was at a Portuguese diner where we feasted on luscious juicy chicken. Piri piri sauce is the specialty to go along with it made of red chilli peppers and so delicious. Sangria is my drink of choice here with fresh fruits and cold juicy wine. We enjoyed many baked goods and bakeries are stocked full of fresh goodies daily. One favourite was a custard tart called a "Pastel de nata" with a crispy tart shell and a light sweet custard browned on the top...a Portuguese creme brûlée of sorts. So good!
Prices here are affordable for Europe. We could enjoy a good bottle of local wine for 2 or 3 Euro's. An espresso and treat was about 1 euro. Dinner for two with drinks and dessert might cost 20-30 euro. Our accommodation was affordable between $50-85 a night often with our own apartment and kitchen or with breakfast included. The price of fuel on the other hand is extreme...over 2.25 a litre Canadian. As we drove all over Portugal we have contributed to the economy!
There are some beautiful cities here that deserve a visit. Porto in the north is a vibrant city with great culture, port wine and art as well as stunning bridges that we took a thousand pictures of. Lisbon is a bustling city with trolley cars, cobbled streets, tiled facades on many buildings and a great fado culture. Fado is the old Portuguese folk song tradition and still going strong today. The little towns we stayed in like Nazare and Lagos both have beaches galore and many European tourists come to bask in the hot sun. We really loved the Algarve and it's laid back beach culture. We could go back and spend a lot more time there!
Our impression of the people is mostly warm and welcoming but there may be a feeling that tourism is a pain to the locals. The cost of housing has sky rocketed much like Vancouver and pretty much every other major city. It is forcing the Portuguese away from the water inland where they have to commute to work. We sympathize with the working poor and middle class that have struggled to live comfortably with this influx of expats and tourists buying up the land.
Overall we were quite enamoured with Portugal and would come back again! Obrigata Portugal!