Thursday 14 July 2011

Eating out in an Algarve village


Porches is a village a bit inland from the sea, a little too far from the beaches and golf resorts, and a little too peeling and dilapidated to be of interest to most tourists. 


A cluster of houses on cobbled streets surrounds a pretty, white-washed church, surrounded in turn by olive groves, dry and dusty brown at this time of year.


It's the kind of village I remember from childhood summers, and I guess not much has changed here at all for a very long time.




Yesterday evening we walked up these narrow cobbled streets in search of dinner ...



at a place we discovered a few years ago and had happy memories of ...



At O Leão you eat outside in a courtyard or, as last night, on a small rooftop terrace from where you can hear the church bells ring (the church spire is lit up in this pic at top right) ...


One of the nicest places I can think of for summer eating ...


Joyeux Quatorze de Juillet to all who will celebrate today!

5 comments:

  1. MMhmm, those surroundings just look perfect for a lovely diner - and it's ALWAYS great to get away from the main road ;)

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  2. The beauty of that blue, blue sky is exactly what I would wish to see if I were where you are now.

    I think that you have found a wonderful summer holiday location, that not many other visitors know ... yet.

    xo

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  3. Jacques de Vos Malan24 July 2011 at 02:02

    Tantas saudades! And so bizarre, because I'm writing chapters set in some of these locations right now, but in mid-winter! Great blog - makes it seem like you do nothing but gad about!

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  4. One thing magical about Algarve is its awesome villages. These look very homely , romantic, and peaceful. Of course, its beaches complete the greatness of the place. More travels to you. Cheers!

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  5. What a charming and lovely place. This looks like a perfect villa holidays to Algarve and I would certainly love to book a stay here. Nice Blog!

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