International martial arts, piano master classes, Fado, Latin and African beats at the casino, a gathering of bands performing music from the Middle Ages, markets in the old quarter and castle, stages of the Open Rally Championship, the Portuguese Masters golf tournament…and much more.
See the full guide for details; Loulé Agenda for October 2009. (2.7Mb .pdf in English and Portuguese).
I received an unusual text message this morning from the Portuguese Government.
Swine Flu Text Message
Roughly translated it says;
“Autumn officially begins today, and thus Swine Flu will probably return, and most of you will die. If you begin to feel unwell, please file your tax return immediately. “
No, actually it says;
“With symptoms of flu, please stay in your house and telephone 808242424 or contact your doctor. Strengthen your hygiene measures. Avoid infecting others. Consult www.dgs.pt”.
The tax return part probably comes later.
I was earlier reading an article on the BBC news website regarding the shortage of hire cars at European holiday destinations;
Holidaymakers in parts of the UK and Europe are facing bigger bills for hire cars – or risk not getting one at all – due to a shortage of vehicles.
I think that it is worth pointing out that this shortage of hire cars also applies very much to the Algarve, as there are plenty of stories such as these being heard locally.
There have also been cases of people arriving at Faro airport to begin their holiday, with a hire car pre-booked, only to find on arrival that there are in fact no cars available for them regardless of the pre-booking.
Worse, there does not appear to be any solution for those affected as the shortage of cars applies to all of the hire car companies.
If you have pre-booked a hire car for your holiday in the Algarve, you should check – repeatedly if possible – by telephone that a car really will be waiting for you.
If you are planning to spend time in the Algarve and have not pre-booked your hire car, be aware that your chances of finding one available are extremely low.
For a long while I have been meaning to write a realistic description of the ‘Portuguese way of life’, as Dog knows there are enough Googlers ending up here after searching for one.
Luckily, though, I see that Lucy has beaten me to it;
“The “Portuguese way of life” is a strange myth invented by the British and the Germans and the Dutch who all come here in search of it, but that’s their problem. It’s just warmer, the fish is fresher and the beer is cheaper. Most other things, like working, laundry, washing-up, traffic jams, in-laws, sore feet, etc., are pretty similar, so get over it, you forrins.”
So there you are, if you want to know what the ‘Portuguese way of life’ is really all about, just read the paragraph above, and if that doesn’t do it for you, go read some more.
Summer Night, June 11th 2009
The properly hot summer nights have arrived in the Algarve, and so from now until the end of November every chicken, fish, spare rib and steak is a candidate for a fiery demise on the Rogi Castle BBQ.
Chilli-drenched recipes to follow as time and opportunity present themselves.