There I was walking up the hill past Charlie's bar, watching the entertainment in the square, a magician placing swords into a box which his lovely assistant had just climbed into, when...... I turned around and who was sitting at a table in Charlie's bar...... but........ ROY4EYES...... our very own celebrity.

Well he had a great article written about him with photos in the Inside magazine...... has to make him a celeb.....

Wow, Lesley, did you get his autograph

Dont encourage her Tricky....you know what she is like with celebrity worship

You've blown it now Lesley. Carol has left him home alone and he isn't supposed to frequent bars whilst she is away.

LJ you have really dropped me in it now - Carol didn't know I had a duplicate key for the leg irons.

Sorry I didn't see you - either I was engrossed with the guy sticking swords in his assistant or I need an eye test

You should have joined us for a drink and to verify my innocence

P.S. For you LJ and rayosunshine, I shall be appearing at the Vale de Rei resort tonight - apparently learning the salsa with the Irish Society - so autographs will be available free to anyone who comes up to chat and give me an excuse to not dance

P.P.S. for any burglars reading this - Carol tooik her jewelry with her, my PC is out of date, the TV is broken, the doberman is off its leash and the washing up needs doing

sorry, you looked so engrossed we didn't want to bother you..... also we were on our way back to the car to go home after a very good evening out I might not have made much sense and would have totally blown my image ......

I didn't know you had real live celebrities in cvo - I'm definitely visiting there now
Unfortuntely, I'm still in cold wet(ish) Scotland, but will be there on 5 September - can't wait
Roy4eyes, bet you do a mean salsa - we will most certainly come up and get your autograph if you are at my resort then Are you?

Nice thought Ray but tonight was a one-off.

It was my first visit to Vale del Rei and because of the bar prices probably the last - whereas a large beer (caneca) is €1.50 in local bars and around €3.00 in tourist areas, they were charging €5.00 I would suggest smuggling your own booze into your room and drinking it on your balcony !!

The resort looks very nice and upmarket but is somewhat isolated being about 15 minutes drive from both towns and beaches.

The buffet was above average in quality but I was surprised at the lack of hygiene i.e. uncovered (with people able breathe, cough etc. directly onto the food) and unrefrigerated. service was friendly but painfully slow.

Having said this, I am sure that if time is unimportant and you just want to chill out, then I am sure you will have a super time.

Thanks for the advice, Roy4eyes. We will definitely take our own booze now - is it better to buy at duty free or wait until we get to Portugal?

Is that the only restaurant there - it doesn't sound all that good

Wait til I speak to our travel agent - she told us we were only a mile or so from a beach - in fact my husband and I thought we'd walk it a couple of times (you know - in a bid to keep the weight off!!) but 15 mins by car is a bit too far

Don't know about the Vale d'el rei village but the restaurant Brasserie Rosal is in the next 'complex' of villas/apartments, right next door and is very, very good within walking distance is Poppy's also a very nice restaurant so don't panic !!!

Booze prices are, if anything, cheaper locally and do you really want to be carrying bottles on the plane ?

In my opinion your best bet is to take the A22 motorway from the airport, turn off at the Alcantarilha turnoff to the 125.
Then turn L away from Lagoa and Carvoeiro past buildind/bathroom showrooms and a cement distributor where you will find an Aldi supermarket with some of the cheapest booze around.

Then retrace your steps along the 125 past Aqualand to the International school where there is a complicated system of traffic lights where you must turn R at the second set in order to turn L towards Vale del Rei (signposted Benagil).

Also on the 125 betwen Lagoa and Aqualand you will find some real Portuguese eating places where you can get a complete meal (prato da dia) with wine etc. for under €10 - the ones LJ suggested are good but a bit upmarket and definitely not typical Portuguese.

Lesley Jean wrote: There I was walking up the hill past Charlie's bar, watching the entertainment in the square, a magician placing swords into a box which his lovely assistant had just climbed into, when...... I turned around and who was sitting at a table in Charlie's bar...... but........ ROY4EYES...... our very own celebrity.

Well he had a great article written about him with photos in the Inside magazine...... has to make him a celeb.....

I didn't know Charlie's sold Snowballs!

I agree about the restaurants I mentioned in Vale d'el rei being a bit upmarket, (except for Poppy's) just giving an idea to Rayofsunshine that there are other places near him. I agree also about the cheaper Portuguese cafes on the N125 near and around Porches, good value and nice, if limited choices.

Thanks Roy4eyes for the info we'll definitely try the "real" Potuguese restaurants. I'm keeping a note of all the restaurants etc that everyone has kindly recomended.

I think we'll look into hiring a car whle we're there - cos we have lots of restaurants to try - they'll probably have to "roll us back on the plane" the time we're finished!

Lesley, I'm a "she" not a "he" but to confuse some more - my husband is called "Ray" too - so it's two Rays for the price of one!!

Only less than two weeks to go

Hi rayofsunshine.
Try to book a car for a few days before you come over as the charge more for short term rentals when you go into local Rentals, or before leaving home check with your hotel directly wether do do rentals and agree a price before you arrive.
Try Auto Europe they have lots of delivery and pick-up sites ( no not meant as a rudey, for those who may take it the wrong way)