Portugal In August Part 2

We love the Portuguese; they are generally friendly and chatty. Like South Africans, they love to braai - and always on a real fire; none of this gas bbq stuff! We have been braaing a lot and so I have been buying meat almost daily; a very pleasant task because Portuguese butchers all seem to be very sexy, flirty young men with endless amounts of time to chat up the customers; even those of us who understand none of the conversation! In restaurants you must never be in a hurry either; a meal is to be enjoyed with lots of wine and conversation; followed very slowly by coffee and dessert. Oh, and Portuguese confectionary is excellent too; although I can't say I noticed the bakers to be as hot as the butchers! We stayed three nights in Lisbon and it was very hot! Luckily most campsites have pools. We strolled the streets of Lisbon with many stops for beers or a bottle of Vino Verde but we took a tuk - tuk tour around the castle and the Alfama to avoid climbing too many hills. Luckily Coenraad was very taken by the Elevadors ( tram-like funinculars ) so we generally rode up and walked down. We spent time in Belem and Barrio Alto too.We listened to Fado, ate great Bachalau at O'Boteco and found an amazing Food Market called Time Out. It's a very upmarket food court, all pale wood and black wrought iron decor with central seating. Quite a few of Lisbon's Michelin chefs have stalls here amongst the Champagne Bars, Gin Bars, Wine Bars, Tapas Bars and artesinal places specialising in local faire.  I even saw a "Tataria" serving beef, tuna or vegan tatares. Isn't vegan tartare just finely chopped salad or am I missing something?
En route to our campsite near Lagos on the Algarve, we stopped in Guia, the home of Peri Peri chicken in Portugal and had lunch at Ramires. Best Chicken ever! Well, better than Nandos but not better than the real thing on the beach in Tofo, Mozambique!
We enjoyed Lagos eventhough it was pretty touristy and we had a number of good days on the beach at Playa De Luz ( closest to the campsite) and Alvor. We saw the sand scupltures and the Fouries had a day at a Waterpark. On Sunday the Fouries had to head back to London and we drove to Santa Luzia near Tavira on the eastern Algarve and spent two great days with Wendy and John and their family. Santa Luzia is the most unspoilt town on the Algarve; a fishing village on the lagoon, with access to the beach by ferry or small steam train. The annual Octopus Festival was on all weekend; Monday being a public holiday, and we enjoyed watching all the festivities from the balcony. The live music and discos went on until 6am though!