just back
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2005 2:01 pm
..... from two weeks in sunny (except for the two rainy mornings) CV.
We had a great time overall, as we always have done. A few observations.
It certainly didn't seem as busy, either in CV or round and about.
Restaurant prices seem to have gone down a bit I thought but cafe prices, drinks etc seem to have risen.
Earlier posts about spitting must have sensitised me (I'd never noticed it before). Every bloke over thirty seemed to be doing it. Expectoration also seems a bit of a regional pastime although, oddly, the two things don't seem to happen together, each clearly being seen as a separate discipline.
Intermarche on the Lagoa road seem to have sent half of their staff on a customer focus course, a big improvement. The other half are sticking to their hostility training.
Waiting in line still a bit of an issue. Portugese old ladies (in line with their British counterparts I should say) do feel they are entitled to push in when they like. I got a big bo**ocking from one, also in Intermarche. She called upon the checkout lady for support but was told in no uncertain terms to go to the back of the line. I struck lucky there.
Not to appear Intermarche obsessed, I must also point out the blonde, rather knowing looking cashier with the stilettos and split skirt. Very acceptable and drawing longing gazes far and wide. A lady of a certain age and all the more compelling for it.
What is that scum floating on the sea at Alfufeira?
Do not hire a car from the company whose name suggests it as a beacon for those wishing value for money. The "brand new" car advertised was registered in March 2002 and had nearly 60k on the clock. A real wreck - the battery terminals had more fur on them than Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Have driving standards improved? Only tailgated once - the look on the Merc drivers face when I hit the brakes at 90 on the N125 was a picture.
Use of Algarve parking sensors still prevalent, ie reverse until you hit the car behind you, then move forward an inch.
Most Algarveans we met don't like the Portugese from the north and despise those living in France returning in August each year, who they feel treat them as peasants.
Pleased to say, other than Albufeira, where "geezers" and scousers predominate, behaviour of my compatriots appeared exemplary. Some of our near neighbours seemed to want to steal the crown of the "Brits", a term I heard a lot and don't much care for.
If your villa is described as being "at the top of a 400 yard drive", check carefully. Ours was and should have been described as "emulating the approach to Monte Cassino at the height of the battle".
Yes, Faro aiport prices are extortionate, even by airport standards.
Tavira is well worth a visit, better than Lagos in my view.
Dog poo still abounds.
Standard of entertainment in the square very good this year.
Check your chicken's cooked when eating out. Never, ever had a problem but my daughter ate the tiniest bit before noticing and has come home with E.coli.
Chinese opposite Roundup very good, both in value and service.
Roll on 2006.
We had a great time overall, as we always have done. A few observations.
It certainly didn't seem as busy, either in CV or round and about.
Restaurant prices seem to have gone down a bit I thought but cafe prices, drinks etc seem to have risen.
Earlier posts about spitting must have sensitised me (I'd never noticed it before). Every bloke over thirty seemed to be doing it. Expectoration also seems a bit of a regional pastime although, oddly, the two things don't seem to happen together, each clearly being seen as a separate discipline.
Intermarche on the Lagoa road seem to have sent half of their staff on a customer focus course, a big improvement. The other half are sticking to their hostility training.
Waiting in line still a bit of an issue. Portugese old ladies (in line with their British counterparts I should say) do feel they are entitled to push in when they like. I got a big bo**ocking from one, also in Intermarche. She called upon the checkout lady for support but was told in no uncertain terms to go to the back of the line. I struck lucky there.
Not to appear Intermarche obsessed, I must also point out the blonde, rather knowing looking cashier with the stilettos and split skirt. Very acceptable and drawing longing gazes far and wide. A lady of a certain age and all the more compelling for it.
What is that scum floating on the sea at Alfufeira?
Do not hire a car from the company whose name suggests it as a beacon for those wishing value for money. The "brand new" car advertised was registered in March 2002 and had nearly 60k on the clock. A real wreck - the battery terminals had more fur on them than Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Have driving standards improved? Only tailgated once - the look on the Merc drivers face when I hit the brakes at 90 on the N125 was a picture.
Use of Algarve parking sensors still prevalent, ie reverse until you hit the car behind you, then move forward an inch.
Most Algarveans we met don't like the Portugese from the north and despise those living in France returning in August each year, who they feel treat them as peasants.
Pleased to say, other than Albufeira, where "geezers" and scousers predominate, behaviour of my compatriots appeared exemplary. Some of our near neighbours seemed to want to steal the crown of the "Brits", a term I heard a lot and don't much care for.
If your villa is described as being "at the top of a 400 yard drive", check carefully. Ours was and should have been described as "emulating the approach to Monte Cassino at the height of the battle".
Yes, Faro aiport prices are extortionate, even by airport standards.
Tavira is well worth a visit, better than Lagos in my view.
Dog poo still abounds.
Standard of entertainment in the square very good this year.
Check your chicken's cooked when eating out. Never, ever had a problem but my daughter ate the tiniest bit before noticing and has come home with E.coli.
Chinese opposite Roundup very good, both in value and service.
Roll on 2006.
Imagine you do lotta shopping then Herbie? 
...
Nightrider 