Honeymoon: Euro Trip - Day 14

When we got to the area to set up shop but there wasn't much left. There were other people with really early flights who had the same idea as we did. Ben and I put together a couple chairs and made a makeshift bed out of them. Nothing was open except a couple bathrooms and a stand serving coffee and alcohol, lol. Ben was on his phone while I wrote in my journal for a little bit. I got tired and fell asleep in the makeshift bed for a couple hours - it wasn't great sleep, but it was nice to shup my eyes for a bit.

Then what felt like a few moments later, Ben told me it was time to go check in and make our way through security and to our gate. First, he had to finish the tax paperwork and get that all squared away before leaving Ireland. Basically, whatever we spent in Ireland that was taxed we get the tax back upon filling out and submitting our form. This time checking in will be a challenge because Ben bought alcohol. 

We went to several counters to get checked in. We finally got to a counter that gave us a fragile tag and Ben had to check in his bag because alcohol can't be inside of a carryon. It cost us $35 to check a bag. Ben spent some time moving some of his belongings to the other bag and securing the bottle so it wouldn't break or leak. He had to take it out of the box and throw the box away. He was sad about that, but it was the only way it would fit inside the bag. We gave the clerk our checked bag and received our boarding passes.

We moved onto security and my carryon bag was checked further for some reason. We made it to the other side and headed to our gate, just to see where it was, and walked around for a few minutes. We chilled around the gate, used the restroom before it was time to board our flight. They actually had us leave the terminal and onto the tarmac to board our plane. It was cold waiting to board the plane. Once we got on, we got situated and waited to leave. We both were so tired we slept the entire two hours to Faro, Portugal. 

We descended into Faro and you could tell it was going to be a warm day. The sun was out and I was excited to get off the plane to enjoy our day. Ben and I were running on fumes, but we were on vacation in Europe! No time for sleep! We let Brenda and Ray know we arrived and that we had to go grab our checked bag from the carousel. For some reason it took forever but we grabbed it and went outside to meet up with them. 

We put our bags in the trunk and off we went. Ray said that we were going to go to Loulé to go see the castle there. It was a short drive from the airport. We got into town and Ray told us that they were getting ready for carnival, one of Portugal's oldest and most vibrant celebrations, featuring colorful parades, political satire and a festive atmosphere. Its origins date back to 1906, and the event typically takes place over three days leading up to Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras). The festivities transform the main street into a spirited area filled with parades, music, dance and food. Ray said it was too bad we weren't going to be around for carnival.

We found a place to park, and we went to the entrance to the castle. Castle of Loulé is in the municipality of Loulé. It is classified as a national monument since June 20, 1924. Three towers remain within the cordon of walls; the remnants of the town hall located within the structure. The Romans first occupied the site, then the remnants of a local castro around the 2nd century and transformed into a defensible military fortification and politico-administrative center. In 1969, it was damaged in an earthquake. It also has a museum inside that highlights the historical timeline and events throughout the centuries.

We paid our entrance fee and went inside. We looked at various artifacts, historical pictures and prominent people throughout the castle's history. So many of the things we saw were so old! We went up to the top of the castle to get the views of the surrounding area. We got down and left the castle to go across the street into the market. There were several townspeople selling their wares, art, clothing and food. It was fun to see the fresh produce and seafood. It would have been fun to purchase some of this fresh food and make it for dinner, but we didn't have the time for something like that. Maybe the next time we come visit.

We went back to the car and headed towards their house. We stopped by the grocery store along the way to pick up some more snacks, drinks and sandwich makings. We got back to their house and ate lunch. I was hungrier than I thought I was. The last time we ate anything was the night before at Five Guys in Dublin. I scarfed my sandwich. Ben and I changed our clothes and Ray and Brenda took us down to the beach in Lagoa. We did some sightseeing and geocaching that afternoon. 

They took us to the boardwalk to do an adventure lab, and a couple geocaches they've done within the last couple months, but there was one that eluded them. We grabbed +1 [salgada] v2 (GC88EV0), Duna Fóssil da Praia Grande (GCB1DJ5), Lagoa dos Salgados - Tsunami de 1755 (GCB1DJ8) and Lagoa dos Salgados [Pêra] V3 (GC9EN4M). We finished off the boardwalk at a virtual cache, Como um pássaro fora da gaiola (GCAJJZ9) where we had to act like a bird. We laughed a lot.

We walked back to the car, and they took us to another pottery store, Casa Grade-Arte to look at the pottery there and to get pictures with the giant Galo de Barcelos - Portugal's famous rooster. It represents faith, justice and good luck.  After the pottery store, we went to the Hiper Algarve - Brenda and Ray call it the China store. We went inside. It literally has anything and everything you could ever want except food; you go to a grocery store if you want food. We spent a while looking at what you could buy at the Hiper Algarve. 

We went back to their house and Brenda started making dinner. We had spaghetti, meatballs and salad. It was delicious. We drank Portuguese cider and beer with it while we visited about our side quest to Ireland and Scotland. 

Afterwards, we got cleaned up and started packing up our stuff for the long travel day ahead of us back towards home. At one point, we had their entire living room scattered with all of our stuff. We didn't get to bed until well after midnight. As soon as I laid down, I was out. I was exhausted.

 Next Adventure: Honeymoon: Euro Trip - Day 15