Travel: Our trip to Portugal

Back in April my boyfriend Graham & I took a trip to Albufeira (not just 'cos it rhymes with my surname Sierra, FYI). If you know me, you'll know I've definitely got travel jetting through my veins and a wanderlust list that's endlessly burning at my brain. Europe has never interested me half as much as America but Spain and Portugal have always been two countries on my hit-list. We flew out to Portugal on Graham's birthday and the holiday felt all the more special for it. We were both a bit nervy about the flight but thankfully it was only about 2 hours 45 mins, so therefore fairly breezy. The trip also signalled our first tropical holiday for a good few years and it came as such a blissful break for us both. 

We stayed at hotel Vila Petra which was more than affordable yet pretty paradisal to say the least. It was also only a short stones throw away from the pretty beaches lining Albufeira and was easily accessible to the local shops with a 'strip' that held bars, clubs, cafes, cocktail bars, restaurants and the best part, a load of boozing Brits. Perhaps the only downfall; the area was obviously a spot for stag nights so when we went out for a meal we often had to elbow our way through crowds of leery lads. It didn't matter that much as we rented an apartment in the hotel so mainly ate from our balcony in the evening. On the odd occasion we ventured out late, we made it through the mob without a fist in the face, always a bonus, let's face it.

We hadn't had much time to research the area so spent our days exploring the beaches; namely Oura. On the hottest day we sat by the sea, accompanied by cocktails and carbs. A few days were spent walking around, navigating the town and strolling past so many villas/houses/apartments that we bookmarked as holiday homes should we ever be lucky enough to dreamily afford one in the future. It's certainly no secret that I've always wanted a home abroad, be it a holiday home or a home, home. Our favourite discovery was a marshmallow pink row of buildings below; how f-ing cute? Literally the most soothing street I ever did see.

Graham's definitely rocking these ASOS shades better than I, they fit so well with his ootd! There weren't many Instagram husband feels to our holiday especially as I made the fatal mistake of losing most of my make-up at the airport. I spent the holiday feeling like a right troll to say the least and avoided posing for pics at all costs! The hotel also disallowed pool inflatables. Serious case of SHOCK and HORROR, so the donut we brought with us stayed safely in the suitcase. Donut and I stayed relegated to no-poser territory with a sassy salti-ness to rival the sea.

Overall we absolutely loved our time in Portugal and would definitely recommend to anyone and everyone. The locals were all friendly as were the hotel staff at Vila Petra and I'd totally be up for a return visit one day. We stayed just under a week which was the perfect amount of time for our get-away and both agreed we'd love to make a return trip in the future (and buy one of those dreamy houses....)

Have you ever been to Portugal?

Have you got wanderlust? If so where for?