The Conrad Algarve in Portugal

I found some pictures on the Q3 that hadn't been edited. These were from out time on the Queen Victoria in Turkey. Can't believe I missed them!

We sailed under this huge bridge, enjoyed tea time, and went to the steakhouse on board for dinner one of the nights.

And now we return to our regular programming :)

Monday morning we disembarked Queen Victoria in Rome and got a ride to the airport. Our first flight of the day was from Rome to Lyon, France. It was fun to be in France again, even if just in the airport.

The lounge we were in had this automated robot come around to collect cups and plates and trash. I had a little fun with it. Nobody else used it. I don't think people like interacting with robots in this way. Someday it'll probably be routine but I can understand it's a little weird right now.

Our second and last flight of the long travel day was from Lyon to Faro, Portugal.

It was a long travel day but uneventful, happily.

We arrived at the Conrad Algarve around 8p. Tired and happy to be out of Italy and into Portugal.

The following day we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel. Our first dinner was at the nearby italian restaurant Pizza Pasta Fantasia. We are back into Italian food!

The Conrad Algarve is a beautiful property. We are looking forward to staying here for 10 days. Time to rest, relax, and recoup.

The Conrad Algarve is a beautiful property.

My daily breakfast omelet :)

We go to the spa each day. One of the things we do is enjoy the outdoor pool.

These butterfly artworks are in one of the hallways of the hotel.

We got reservations at Gusto, a restaurant by Heinz Beck who is a 3 Michelin-starred chef. He's at the restaurant only a couple times a year, and our night he was here!

The view is so beautiful overlooking the resort. It's very quiet in the evening as everyone is dining.

We opted for the 9 course tasting menu. It did not disappoint. Quite the opposite, in fact :)

The bread was all made from scratch sourdough starter. The one on the left is very similar to the one I make. A proud moment.

Each course was artful, beautiful, and delicious.

The lamb was my favorite. So tender, like a filet mignon. I got to eat Mitzi's too.

After the 3 hour dinner Chef Beck came out to say hi. We had asked if we could greet him and say thank you for the wonderful dining experience. He came out with his head chef and agreed to a photo. Really nice guy - and very talented!

His La Pergola restaurant in Rome is the only 3 star Michelin in Rome.

I didnt realize how large these butterfly art works are. When we walked by after dinner I had to get a picture with Mitzi in it for comparison.

We love our breakfasts at the Conrad. This is Mitzi's breakfast, she gets the same thing every day. MMMMM!

The next night we ate at Italian restaurant Tony's. Mitzi was hankering for some pepperoni pizza. They delivered. To the table. And on the expectations.

Tomorrow we are going with a private tour guide to the west and down to the coast, so I'll save that for a separate post.