WANDERING WITH WILLIAM
  • Home
  • Blog

Fun in Faro

3/19/2019

0 Comments

 
We Uber to the bus station and buy tickets for the 9:45 am Rapido bus to Faro.  A Rapido is supposed to take 55 minutes while a Local bus takes 90 minutes.  9:45 comes and goes...and goes some more.  Finally the Rapido arrives at 10:15 am.  Hmmm... seems to us that the Rapido takes as long as the Local.

When we arrive in Faro we spot a few pedestrian streets so we  walk through them after we get off the bus, stopping for coffee.

A few blocks further from the Faro bus station we find Jardim Manuel Bivar, a small park near the marina, and just beyond it is Arco da Vila.  The  monumental archway with bell tower was build in the early 19th century on top of the old city walls and gateway.
Picture
Passing through Arco da Vila we find winding brick streets lined with old buildings leading us to the Sé (Cathedral).  Portions of the Cathedral date from the 13th and 14th centuries, while the interior is mostly from the 17th and 18th centuries.  The side alters have a large amount of gold leaf gilding and are remarkable.  We enjoy the church and the small museum then make our way to the bell tower.  The views of Faro from the top are outstanding.
Picture
A small side street leads us to Porta do Sol, a gate in the old city walls.  We're a little surprised when a car comes down the street and squeezes through the narrow opening.  Outside the walls are companies selling boat tours to Rio Formosa National Park.  No boat tour for us today.  We wander around the old city streets.  There's a curious mix of dilapidated, modestly maintained and restored buildings.  Fun!
Picture
​The Museu Arqueologico de Faro is our next stop.  In front there is a statue of Afonso III, who was king of Portugal in 13th century.  The museum is the 16th century convent, Our Lady of the Assumption.  There are some engaging artifacts and pieces from throughout the centuries.  There's even a Roman mosaic of the sea-god Oceanus that was found near the Faro train station in the 1970's, excavated and moved to the museum.
Picture
By now we have worked up a good appetite.  We check out the menus of a couple of nearby restaurants.  We choose Restaurante Vila Adento, grabbing a table outside under an umbrella.  A server quickly brings bread, dips and olives while our waiter takes care of our drink order.  We glance through the menu and select three tapas: chorizo sausage, baked goat cheese in filo dough, and mussels on the half-shell.  Delicious!
Picture
After lunch we have a little over an hour before the next Rapido bus to Albufeira.  We wander around the streets slowly making our way back to Jardim Manuel Bivar.  People are enjoying the park, including two men playing cards on a park bench.
Picture
The 4:30 pm Rapido bus originates in Faro so we leave on time.  By 5:45 pm we are back in our Albufeira apartment.  It was a fun day.
Picture
0 Comments

    Author

    Hi.  I'm Anne.  I wander around the world with William.


    Enjoy Some of our Favorite Links below
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014


    Categories

    All
    9138
    Albuferia
    Alicante
    Ambato
    Antarctica
    Argentina
    Armenia
    Atlantic And Islands
    Barcelona
    Cambodia
    Cartegena
    Chile
    Colombia
    Costal Rica
    Cuenca
    Easter Island
    Faro
    Hungary
    Iceland
    Jaco
    Jakarta
    Kuala Lumpur
    Lisbon
    Loule'
    Malta
    Medellin
    New Zealand
    Olon
    Panama
    Porto
    Portugal
    Santiago
    Scotland
    Seville
    Singapore
    Slovakia
    SouthEast USA
    Spain
    Taipei Taiwan
    Tavira
    Thailand Bangkok
    Thailand Chiang Mai
    Uruguay
    Usa
    Valparaiso
    Vancouver
    Vienna
    Vietnam Halong
    Vietnam Hanoi
    Vietnam Ho Chi Minh
    Vietnam Hoi An
    Vietnam Hue

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from A Vahanvaty