I leave

So I had arranged to visit Laurie Estabrooks at her place in Portugal for a couple of days.  She lives at Casa Ella, near Carvoeiro in The Algarve. I picked up a rental car st the bus station car rental office of Sixt. Then headed out. 

When I arrived - since it was an hour earlier in Portugal than Spain- we went out for brunch. 

Then we went to a boardwalk cliffside nearby in the hills overlooking the sea. 

after a quick stop at her beautiful home to feed the kitties (especially the five month old who is always starving!) we headed to the pottery place where Laurie had all her dishes made. 

We had coffee and juice there and then went back home to rest for a bit before girding our loins for an enormous meal at a local 2 Michelin stars restaurant called Ocean. It was located in the Vila Vita Park resort/hotel complex. The grounds of the resort are beautifully landscaped and maintained. There are seven or more restaurants on the property but Ocean is the jewel in the crown.

I am not sure how we survived this amount of food and wine and I am sure the Uber driver could tell us more about our condition than we remember but it was an amazing meal with carefully curated wine pairings of mostly Portuguese wines... But about five courses from the end I was really calling "Uncle!"