On our travels. Fun with taxis. Trials and tribulations but (almost all) solvable!

 So here we are in Portugal again. We’ve had fun with taxis today. First of all, we knew that we had a taxi booked for 6.00 am to take us to Manchester airport for a 9.15 flight. We probably could have gone later as we always travel hand-luggage only and so have no cases to check in, but it’s always as well to follow the airline’s rules. What we hadn’t factored in was Uber texting Phil at about 4.30 am to confirm the booking. So for once he was up first organising coffee and toast. 

After a sleepy, boring wait at the airport, the flight was uneventful. Actually it was rather noisy. A large number of people must have been very excited to be flying to Faro, Portugal on a Thursday morning. One chap even sang intermittently throughout the flight!

We had been told that a taxi would be waiting for us at Faro to take us to Silves. We had the make and model and number of the car, even the driver’s mobile number, which is just as well as there was no sign of him. He was supposed to be waiting where cars pick people up. No sign! Eventually, after several halting phone calls in a mix of English and Portuguese, we discovered he was waiting at Departures rather than Arrivals! Doh! These things happen!

It was sunny and warm when we arrived at Faro -18°, considerably better than Manchester.

Our hotel is on the edge of town - quite literally - but we have a good view of the castle. 

The hotel is quaint and old fashioned. Photos later his week perhaps. To reach our room you take a lift from the ground floor to floor -1. You walk round a corner and take another, slightly more modern, lift to floor -2. We tried the stairs to go out to lunch and got hopelessly lost! 

There was a distinct lack of coathangers, which we were able to remedy, and a distinct lack of electric sockets (computer, 2 iPads, 2 phones, 2 kindles, not to mention my straighteners - we are the electric people) which we are unable to remedy and will work round.  

The wifi was reluctant to connect but once connected, so far has been okay. We shall see! 

We dumped our belongings and went out to lunch, at a place called Tasca Béné with a “prato do dia” for €12. The decor was interesting.

We had a good basic veggie soup and little fish - carapazinhos - served with a risotto and a tomato salad. Somewhere they didn’t charge us for something because we also had white wine, water, bread (which nowadays is charged for) and coffee, and still the bill was only €25 altogether. 

And so another adventure of eating our way around a Portuguese town begins. 

Oh, it did rain on us as we returned from the restaurant. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!