Hi everybody we hope everybody's going to have a great
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which we hope you do enjoy so Tina where were we one year ago today
we were in The Algarve in Portugal Norm and it was sunny
and it was hot and it was beautiful and we wish we were back there we
certainly do especially as today it's minus 10
and it's snowing outside so it is really cold
this is why we go to Portugal in the wintertime
this is true so what are we going to talk about today Tina
we're going to talk about the 10 things that we actually
love about Portugal and we do love Portugal in case anybody who saw our
scary Portugal video thought that we were criticizing it
we were just having a bit of fun for halloween
yes that was the only reason we love Portugal truly love Portugal and we
love being there and we wish we there today
right now and next year we're hoping to get back there for possibly a
three-month stay because we are snow birds
we're retired we love it we should be in Portugal
So 10 things we love about Portugal Tina you
take it away, one of the things is the people
they're so warm and friendly and they just make you feel
welcome to visiting their country they do and the language is difficult
for us we do try we we only have words that we will use in
Portuguese we haven't really got phrases no and we find so many of the
Portuguese people so kind to us speaking english helping us out
even in the supermarkets the cash out lady
yeah they'll talk english they're very helpful
and if you need any help in a store or both things like that
they're always willing to take you to what you're trying to find
so number two is the climate well that's the whole
reason we go there it is definitely and
we just love the blue skies and that is one of the biggest draws of
Portugal especially The Algarve Southern Portugal is those
absolutely intense blue skies that you have
yeah we love it you can just wake up in the morning
it's great isn't it and then hopefully it's there when you
you know it's just there it makes you feel good doesn't it
it is so we're going to run through these pretty quick because I'm sure you
don't want to be bored out of your brains
so these are just things that we love number three
we discovered Portuguese wine and the story behind that
is in Canada in Ontario we buy wine from a government liquor
control board the liquor store is called the LCBO
and in our little town they probably have
four different bottles of Portuguese wine we don't have a lot of choice do we
so until we started traveling to Portugal
we only knew from basically our teenage years was Mateus Rosé
and that's a very drinkable wine it is
and it's a lovely little bottle it comes in that you can stick a candle in
afterwards it's a nice sort of summery wine isn't
it so we weren't aware of Portuguese wine
so we end up being in the algarve we go to one of the
big supermarkets and they have four linear long
aisles of Portuguese wine the choice is just phenomenal isn't it
we started experimenting and we have never had
a bad experience of Portuguese wine no even the cheapest or or the best
they all taste great don't they absolutely yes so literally you could
be getting a two euro bottle of wine that's
incredibly drinkable or you could splash out and have a 15
euro bottle which in Canada would probably
be around eighty dollars and we have been trying all the
different wines from different regions too haven't we yes we were aware of
Duro because we were going to take that cruise at river cruise one time yes
we were well we also visited Porto for a week haven't we
Port yes we do a big favorite so where are we now number four one of
the favorites is just walking on miles of golden
sand and that was in our very first video
of being in Albufeira walking on the beach and
coming from inland where we're what three thousand miles away from
an ocean yes so to us it's great that we can just walk on the beach
with those wonderful rugged cliffs it's just absolutely beautiful and
there's so gorgeously orange in color aren't they
and rugged and we just love it don't we yes just very limestone cliffs they're
eroded and then you have these huge rock formations on some of the
beaches yes it's just spectacular and never a dull moment to be in Portugal so
walking on the beach and looking at the cliffs number five
architecture and one of the things that we
see, stunning architecture is the churches absolutely gorgeous and i love going in
them all because they're just so nice inside
but they really are and they can be tiny little chapels where a handful of
people can go in up to huge cathedrals yes well we
went into a lovely cathedral some we're in
Faro and well we went in that one in Lisbon that had been
damaged by fire yes and so they they decided to stabilize the interior
but it's still fire damaged as you go in and that's how they're leaving it
is a tribute yes so the architecture is just beautiful
isn't it and the buildings are so old and that's what we miss in Canada
is that we haven't really much older buildings in about 200 to 250 years old
so we get our sort of old fix over there
don't we we do Tina gets her old fix
oh yeah because you're officially retired now
wow we're on number six now restaurants oh
restaurants food, food is fabulous see it is and Portugal
has still got a lot of mom and pop restaurants individually owned from
basic cafes through to fine dining and man the food is amazing
and one of the things that we really love is that all these places
offer a dish of the day and it can be a very reasonable
price and often includes even wine with it too
yes well we love taking the dish of the day just
because we don't know all the Portuguese dishes so it introduces us to something
new we've never had a bad experience
but we have been to a lot of these restaurants where you get a dish of the
day we've shared it between the two of us because that's
so big the portions a lot of the times huge portions we have a carafe of wine
yes and makes it really good you know you'd struggle to pay
10 euros plus another place that we discovered on this
the last visit Norm was at the grocery stores
wow some of those have got unbelievable deals now predominantly lunchtime aren't they
yes you kind of think cafeteria but this is
on a whole new level so like on steroids so you remember going into Pingo Doce
in Albufeira and they have a massive self-serve restaurant but they have a
section for fresh meats and fish that you choose your own steak or you choose your own
fish and then they have another section which is all traditional Portuguese cuisine
and the big pizza bit that they had where we had a pizza
cooked we customized our own pizza it was wonderful
and one evening we went down there and took it to go and they're
putting in a box for us and off we went and I think that only cost
us like five euros for the whole thing and it was a massive pizza
we loved it so food's great you always find something to eat
you got to explore the food of Portugal because it's the original dishes and they have
lots of them yeah from the fish pie we're not
going to use these Portuguese names because we'll get complaints
but like the fish pie Baccalau and actually and one thing I will say with that Norm
while we're talking about that is you can get that frozen from the
grocery stores especially if we've done that if you're
self-catering buy that fish dish from the grocery stores
and it's delicious and a lot of the boxes that are selling that
you know their own brand Continent or one of the best is Inter Marche
normally have a little Portuguese flag on it just to let you know that it's
a national dish so great okay let's keep going
we're on a run a roll here
this is a favorite of mine number seven the oranges oh everywhere you look
like when you get off the plane pick the car up and driving along
all along the side of the road is the stalls selling fresh oranges now we have to
preface this we're there in their springtime and they're just
coming into their springtime so these oranges have been grown in Portugal
in the south of the country around Silves
and yes you can buy a kilo of them at the roadside and they're so cheap and
so fresh beautiful so take them home and you can
juice them yourself and the other thing widening it just
from the oranges is the produce Portugal grows a staggering amount
of fresh produce even avocados they do they have their own avocados so now we
can get two sorts there the smooth skin and the prickly skin and I think they're
the largest producer of almonds in Europe I think you're right so anyway
great fresh produce if you're self-catering yes
you're gonna love it yes and also you can find those two at the fresh markets
which are usually there on a Saturday only they are so number eight
Portugal knows how to party if you think your country knows how to party
Portugal is on steroids for partying yeah we went to the Sao Joao
festival in Porto
oh yes that was unbelievable wasn't it there was and
the festival was all along the river and they set off lighted
paper kites those candles that float up with fire too but they
partied from basically 10 O'clock in the morning toten
o'clock the next morning and we've never seen such a mound of beer bottles
as when we went down that staircase no oh it was and all good natured
yeah no violence or anything everybody feels safe they have the
little plastic hammers that they go and hit people on the head with
it’s great and another favorite of ours is the carnivals too like we've been to
the Loule Carnival yes and it's wonderful in fact it’s almost like a mini Brazil to us isn't it
it is yeah yeah it's the Shrove Tuesday the floats
are amazing and the effort that people put into
doing them in the marching bands and everything
is wonderful we love it the only thing that seems strange is it's a big family
event and you pay a few euros to go in because they've closed like a city
square off and then the floats drive around it but as I suppose
we'd become prudish living in Canada and couldn't believe that there was one
float with right on the top a few topless oh yes there was quite a few
on the nudity which was getting a lot of people there
which was funny because all the children are dressed up like they are
for Halloween yeah that's true but festivals carnival
you have a great time in Portugal we we salute the Portuguese for being
party animals one of the other things that to to us we always
take into account when we visit a place is how safe it is and Portugal makes us
feel really safe when we are there we feel safe yes not only that Portugal is one of
the safest countries in the world it is I think it’s in the top three isn't it
of crime so it's most of the crime revolves around petty crime
really so so we feel very safe there don't we walking around
so if you're coming from North America you will notice that just
once again we're prefacing it we're there January February March so we're not
there in the busy summer time but that's why we go because we like it like that
and we just feel safe secure with wonderful people that live there
so number 10 is that number 10 or more I think we're on number 10 coffee
culture they brew an excellent cup of coffee no matter how you take a coffee yeah the
Portuguese take coffee seriously almost as serious as wine yeah and you can buy a coffee anywhere
you can you can get it in the grocery store the little cafes you can get them
at the airport or in the railway station the train
station does some of the best coffees out and it’s very very reasonable we were going to
once again
Inter Marche was relatively nearby where we're staying
and they had a Pastel de Nata custard tart and an espresso for I think 1.50 yeah
think you're right and my favorite coffee which I can never pronounce would you like some help
yeah a Galão is to die for is just like a three-layer
coffee in a glass with a big spoon and it's wonderful I love it, it's a latte
on steroids it is, it's great Tina loves that and you can get it everywhere and it
looks so fancy as well yeah the presentation in the glasses
and then if you're having a coffee you've got to have a pastry
so but there's a couple we like Norm not just the Pastel de Natas there's another
wonderful one that we like yeah the donut that Portugal has made their own
from the Austrian one which is a Berlim and that's really delicious isn't it because
I really love custard creams and so they filled the
they split the donut and they fill it full of gorgeous tasting
vanilla custard oh it's making me want a coffee and cake right now Norm
and once again they're all reasonable and most of these bakery stores
baking their own so you're good you're getting it fresh
yeah you didn't always get a coffee yeah the only place that's maybe
a little on the expensive side is possibly at the airports isn't it but
everywhere else everything else is expensive but
we we genuinely love Portugal it's why we've been going there for three
years it's a great way to escape the winter for us and we're just hoping that we'll be able to
be back there maybe next year yes we've got our fingers crossed haven't we that we would
this time next year we'd like to be back there and if you haven't been to Portugal
you should give it a try put it on your list yes you won't be disappointed
so that's about it for us yes those are some of the
top things we really love aren't they and the places we've
been to in Portugal now have been Porto Lisbon
Sintra yes Loule Silves
and the whole of The Algarve we've gone east to west
yes oh plus Cascais we've been too that was beautiful
Cascais that was beautiful we loved that place too yes where was the casino then Estoril
and we went to Estoril yes we did so the only thing we haven't done
is the north west and northeast of of Portugal which we hope to do one day
yeah and maybe a river cruise through the wine area
through the Doro valley is still very much on our list
of things to do so thanks for joining us again hope
you're going to have a great weekend yes we hope everybody's staying safe and
keeping well yes keep away from that virus and we'll see
on the next video bye bye