Where in the World? – Faro, Portugal*

As I mentioned in my post on Wednesday, I’m already worrying about how I’ll feel when I come back from Florida. I was born with something my grandparents fondly named “itchy feet” meaning I enjoy nothing better than travelling and exploring. As once again I am blessed to have the means to book another holiday off the bat, I’m already looking at my options. I see travelling as an investment of the mind and with that thought; I’m hoping to give Little Miss a worldly education. Saving like crazy and taking off during the school holidays when she gets older. Since I plan to have this blog a long time, I thought I’d start a feature called Where in the World? Looking in depth at all the places I hope to one day visit. Today I’m starting with Faro in Portugal.

Although since my early twenties I’ve dedicated a lot of time to the US, having managed to take three trips to the east coast and will have visited Florida by April. I do desperately want to explore more of Europe. These Euro-breaks will be perfect for long weekends or school holidays as I’m an expert at sightseeing.

Faro is by far the most well known city in the Algarve region. It boosts beautiful weather all year round with a winter average of 30 degrees and a summer high of up to 45. Situated on the south coast of Portugal, Faro is famous for it’s 200km golden coastline and let’s not forget about the lagoons. This is true paradise and only a couple of hours flight away. Faro is also home to one of Portugal’s natural wonders, the Ria de Formosa which is a beautiful natural park, definitely worth a visit.

What draws me to Faro is the fact it has some beautiful architecture, this is why Paris owns my heart and Greece grabs my hand. I’d spend hours wandering around the Old Town where the city feels almost untouched. The many museums would keep me entertained and learning about a country that’s rarely studied in school definitely sounds interesting. I have so much more time for histories of other places rather than the one we saturated with study as kids. But what really thrills me is the idea of the authentic food, again found at it’s best in the old town and places not catering for tourists. Although I am technically a tourist, I don’t enjoy the mainstream stuff of lying on the beach and sunbathing. I love the idea of tasting real port, eating authentic Portuguese food and seeing real people. Although Faro is well known, it’s still a hive of authenticity.

There are so many options for accommodation from villas, hotels and even some beautiful rooms on Air BnB. Unlike when visiting Paris, there is no Eurostar route to Faro so instead I would of course choose to fly. Flight sales always draw me in and I have to admit from what I’ve seen, Faro flights aren’t too unreasonable.