Thank you to those that checked in while I have been offline for a week. No, we haven't been out seeing amazing sites, but rather a large, comfy sectional and a loaded TV presented itself to us the first time on the trip!
I don't know if our new Airbnb came at the perfect time when we needed a break from our travel routine or if we just couldn't resist the temptation of being couch potatoes! For three days, home improvement shows, food shows, Dolly documentaries, Queen's Gambit and so on were our entertainment. It was fantastic! I won't speak for Clint. He got out every day for long walks as I was engulfed in the couch. We cooked at home all week and hunkered down in the drizzly beach town of Albufeira.
Usually, this large beach town in southern Portugal is party central to British folk looking for a debauchery-filled sunny and sandy holiday. Now it is a complete ghost town with 90% of everything closed. I even saw a tumbleweed! Sadly, COVID decimated its tourist industry, which is its only industry. We ended up going out to eat at one of the few restaurants we saw open on our last night. We couldn't resist dining there when the hostess said it was their last night open for the unforeseeable future. The staff had used their own money to pitch in for a live musician because it was the last time they'd all be together for who knows how long. The boss said they had to close (about a month early) because it just didn't make sense to stay open anymore. This is the first town on our journey that has really shown the effects of Covid on its sleeve.
We did get out and stretch the legs a couple of times to see the beach while in town—what southern Portugal is known for. The sand is the color of caramel and filled with tons of seashells—many 100% intact. It's beautiful!
We are now in the small surf town of Sagres on the most southwestern part of Portugal. Besides the gorgeous cliffs and great surf (not that we are surfing, but it's fun to watch!), the final push that led us here was a resort that was offering a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The alternative was to make a meal ourselves out of what we could find in the equivalent of a 7-Eleven convenience store. It's rare to find a supermarket in these small towns. It would be like one of those cooking show challenges where you have to make the best meal you can out of a few random ingredients. We've been doing that with our dinners this week, so we opted to splurge and head to the resort since we had all been craving turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and pie.
The resort we are in is empty, minus the three other families who also booked the Thanksgiving Package. Austin was quite concerned that there wouldn't be enough food and asked the receptionist if it was 'all you can eat.' The man cracked up and said 'no.' It turns out there was more than enough food and we all left full. Well, except for Austin. He stuffed himself with so much food and drinks that he ended up throwing up in the restaurant bathroom. I could hear it from the women's bathroom! Then he came out and said he was hungry. Don't worry, mom went into the men's bathroom and made sure it was all cleaned up. And, he gave me permission to post this!
Austin even tied his hair back for the feast!
The meal was a beautiful spread, but it wasn't like Thanksgiving at home. They added a mystery dish to the traditional menu, which none of us could fully identify. Its strong sauerkrauty flavor permeated into all the other dishes. We all really missed feasting with our family and our traditional family recipes. Our family and friends were constantly on our minds all day long. We hope all of you had a nice Thanksgiving, whatever it looked like this year. We are so thankful for you! Much Love, XOXO
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