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Loulé Carnival

3/4/2019

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​It is drizzling on and off this morning and we debate whether or not we should proceed with our plan to return to Loulé to go to the Carnival.  William says it's up to me.  Faced with the prospect of just hanging around the apartment watching Netflix for the day I finally decide we should chance the weather and go.

We Uber to the Albufeira bus station in a light drizzle.  When we arrive in Loulé at 1 pm it is raining very, very lightly.  We enjoyed the restaurant (Café Q) where we had breakfast on Saturday, so we return.  The manager recognizes us and greets us. Nice!  We enjoy a leisurely meal.

After lunch we walk the eight blocks to the first entrance we see to Carnival where a queue has formed for buying admission tickets.  We notice that this is Bilheteria #1 and decide to look for other ticket booths (and to see a few more streets of Loulé).  We find Bilheteria #3 and pay the 2€ per person admission fee.  Since the Carnival show runs from 3-5:30 pm we still have 20 minutes before they open the gates.  We use the time walking around looking at the food booths and catching glimpses of the Carnival participants as they make their way to the show area.  As we do we notice that the rain has stopped.  Yeah!
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After we go through the admission gates we begin to understand the layout.  The street Ruta de Nossa Sra. Da Piedade is a divided road with a park space in the middle.  About eight blocks of the road have been closed for Carnival.

We find a spot on the curb in the park area.  Soon the different performing groups are lining up and we are lucky to have the Brazilian group right in front of us.  The dancers are scantily clad, and two of the dancers are only wearing body paint. It is humorous how Brazil inherited the concept of Carnival from Portugal, turned it into an over-the-top party and now Portugal (at least this group) imitates Brazil.
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The floats slowly appear and some of the performers climb aboard, while others remain on the street as the advance entertainment.
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Many of the floats are making political commentary.  Duo de Peso depicts Theresa May and Angela Merkel as weight lifters in an arena.  It is a joke on Brexit - who's to dominate Europe?  Trump D' Naifa has a Muslim and a Mexican (threats to the US) throwing knives at Trump.  Bolsonaro pokes fun at the current President of Brazil, and Tourada à Portuguesa (Bullfighting Portuguese) makes a statement about the Portuguese politicians.  Between the 14 floats, their advance entertainment, walking performers, and the public there is plenty of fun.  The parade continues around and around.
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By 5:15 pm we have seen everything at least once and it is beginning to drizzle once again.  We start to make our way to the bus station.  Along the way we realize we have plenty of time for a coffee and bathroom stop before we board the 6:40 pm bus.  We pop into a small Mom and Pop bar/cafe.  It is fun to watch the locals, some who have come from Carnival, others who look like this is what they do every night.

​We're home by 7:30 pm, very happy we had the opportunity to experience Loulé Carnival.
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Loulé Saturday Market

3/2/2019

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Loulé is a town 32 km (20 mi) from our apartment in Albufeira.  We Uber to the bus station for the 8:40 bus.  On our way the Uber driver mentions that Loulé has a Carnival, which he thinks starts today.  At the bus station we pay 9€ each for a round trip ticket and in 40 minutes we're there.
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Loulé's main attraction on Saturday mornings is the market.  From 8 am to 1 pm a farmer's market rings the Arabic-inspired Mercado Municipal de Loulé.  We walk the five blocks from the bus station to find the market in full swing.  We start outdoors with the fruit, vegetables, cheesemongers and cured meat stands.  We pick up a few small things.
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Then we move inside to see the fish stalls and butchers.   Our first impression is that the market is very clean and doesn't smell. This is particularly notable given the number of fish stalls.  Most of the butchers have permanent shops on the perimeter of the market.  Wow - I wish this market was in Albufeira.  I am tempted to buy, but I just don't want to take raw fish and meat on the bus home.  Plus, we want to do some sight-seeing while we're in Loulé.

After the market it's time for a late breakfast.  We see signs of the town preparing for Carnival, but learn that it doesn't start until tomorrow and it runs through Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday).  On our walk to find a restaurant we pop into Nossa Senhora de Conceicão chapel.  It was decorated in the 18th century and includes and huge gold alter and tiles on the walls showing scenes from the Virgin Mary's life.  Beautiful.
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A few blocks away we find a cute restaurant tucked into a small courtyard.  The tables in the small interior are full but we find an open table in the courtyard which is pleasant on a cool day with blue skies and sunshine.  The good food and coffee give us energy to see more of the town.
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We walk around Castelo de Loulé including the towers and it's small museum in the basement.   As we walk around the exterior of the walls we find a couple of nice fountains and a shop with a real coppersmith working on a bowl.  Interesting!

We meander through the narrow streets to find the Church of Saint Francisco, which dates back to the 16th century after the end of the Black Plague.  Unfortunately it is not open.  Ok - we'll just head towards the main church, Igreja Matriz.
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Near Igreja Matriz we find an old building with an unique chimney, a plaque on a nearby wall identifies it as the Tracery Chimney.  Around the corner we find Amuados Garden, which was started in the 1880's.  Some of our fellow visitors are taking time to picnic in the park.

Igreja Matriz is opposite the Amuados Gardens.  It is a 13th-century gothic church which was converted from a mosque and the bell tower used to be the minaret.

Narrow lanes take us back toward the Mercado.  We stop to enjoy the sun and have a beverage in front of Torre do Relógio.  This bell tower was built on top of the town walls.

​We catch the 3:15 bus back to Albufeira, happy that we spent the day getting to know a little bit about Loulé.

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


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