When we went to Seville we had the opportunity to see a little bit of the town of Tavira but only from the bus window.  Today we catch the 8:58 am train out of Albufeira-Ferreira Station with round-trip Tavira tickets in hand.  We change trains in Faro to continue the journey eastward, arriving in Tavira before 11 am.

We initially follow the crowd headed downhill towards the center and the river, but diverge off their path when we see some interesting buildings.

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.

​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.

Monday we just hang around Albufeira.  In the morning I go for a walk and explore the area north of the Square.  We have been here for three weeks and I've complained a bit to William that I have not been able to find a butcher shop.  Sure enough, I discover a very nice butcher shop now that we are leaving soon!

We check out of the Zentral Apartment Hotel a little before 11 am and ask them to store our backpacks.  They are happy to do so, but stress that they would like us to pick them up again before 3 pm.  No issues.

We walk to the Museo Bellas Artes and are surprised to find a queue.   It appears that they are allowing only allowing a certain number of people in at a time.  After a number leave they allow approximately that same number to enter.  We wait about 35 minutes until we reach the front of the queue and pay the 1.50€ admission each as international visitors.

Once inside we realize that the queue is due to a special exhibit - Murillo's 4th Century.  It includes 55 paintings of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, the Sevillian Baroque painter.   His father was a barber and a surgeon (that says something of the times).  The majority of his work is of religious themes, but he also painted the common people of Seville as well as portraits of the wealthy and famous.

We start our adventures Wednesday by walking to Metropol Parasol, much of the walk along Calle San Eloy, a pedestrian street lined with shops and restaurants.  After we reach Calle Martin Villa we spot an old world sweets and bakery shop.  In their window they have chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs as well Spanish Semana Santa (Holy Week) figures with their distinctive cloaks and capirotes (hoods).  The Holy Week processions of men in these cloaks and hoods are a huge part of Seville's culture, so we decide to buy one of the figures for our travel momento shelves.  We'll just have to explain to our visitors this is a Spanish good guy, not a U.S. KKK bad guy.

Top of our list of things to do in Seville is to visit the Real Alcazár Sevilla.  It is a huge royal palace whichmincludes architecture from the Arabic period, late Middle Ages Mudéjar, Renaissance, Baroque, the 19th century.   A portion of the upper floors is still the residence for the Spanish royal family when they are in Seville. We spend two and one-half hours exploring this treasure.  We walk from one section of the palace to the next finding delightful rooms and courtyards around every turn.  The gardens are expansive and very well maintained, but we choose to only visit perhaps 20%.

The Uber driver picks us up early so that we can catch our 7:20 am bus and start our Seville experience.  The bus heads east through Algarve to spots we have not yet visited.  We make stops at Faro, Faro Airport, Olhão, Travia, and Vila Real de Santo António.  Along the way we see a mixture of orange, lemon, and olive groves.

At the eastern edge of Algarve we take the bridge over the Guadiana river to arrive in Spain, stopping first in Ayamonte, a sister-city across the river from Vila Real de Santo António.  Large scale orchards of oranges dot the landscape.  Soon they give way to huge fincas of olives. After two additional stops we arrive in Seville a little before 1 pm (with the 1 hour time change), a four and one-half hour trip.

We walk 10 minutes to our apartment hotel, Zentra Plaza Armas.  It's a newer two bedroom duplex apartment for $90 a night. Nice!

After two weeks we are beginning to be known by the grocery store clerks, waiters and the people on the street hawking restaurants and stores.  They smile at us and say hello.  We try out new spots, but also return to some that are comfortable with good service.

Friday afternoon we return to Downtown Bar on the Square for some afternoon sun, beverages and a chance for William to smoke a Cuban in their outdoor seating.  The waiter greets us, remembering where we are from and what we ordered to drink the last time we were there.

Saturday we walk  a little further, past the Square, up the escalators, and past Praia dos Pescadores to the Terrace Trattoria.  They are new to us, and have incredible Italian food and a wonderful view of the Atlantic.  The waitress is all smiles.

Sunday morning we decide to have breakfast at Sérgio Santos Dias.  The hawker and the server are both are personable and attentive.  When William pulls out his cell phone, they notice and a card with the internet password is provided without having to ask.

So what happened with Sunday afternoon?  I wanted to walk on the beach since the weather is 21 with little wind.  Not surprisingly William does not want to be in that much sunlight.  We walk through the tunnel from the Square to the beach and find a some restaurants with umbrellas and awnings.  William spots one with a lot of awning playing French music and explains to the waiter that all we want is beverages.  The waiter points William from one of the tables he's eyeing to another table and provides a beverages menu.   Ok.  William sits down and I tell him that when I return in 30-35 minutes I'd like a green wine or white wine.  Off I go on my walk.

​When I return William is waiting for me outside of the restaurant area.   Seems that after 20 minutes of trying to get a waiter's attention he has given up.  And he wasn't the only one. The couple next to him also got up, telling the waiter that the service is too slow and another gentleman left without a word.  No real reaction from the waiter.  Is it a matter  of expectations?  The French would sit and relax and talk for a while before the waiter appears, but people from the US and Canada anticipate having a cold one in hand within 10 minutes of sitting down.  Or is it poor service?   Either way, William is not happy.  We walk to the Square and sit down at a restaurant we have not previously tried.   Although the view is not of the Atlantic, a cold one is in William's hand in less than 10 minutes.

We've signed up for a small group tour of The Western Algarve.  Our guide, Miguel, arrives outside our apartment door at 8:30 am.  He tells us that we are the only people on today's tour then discusses the tour, the geography and some of the history of Portugal almost non-stop during our hour-long drive to the most south-western point of Continental Europe.

Cape St. Vincent lies within a national park with the Atlantic crashing against it's bluffs.  As you'd expect, the red lighthouse is one of it's most notable features along the cape, but our eyes are frequently drawn to the crashing surf.  The remains of St. Vincent were brought here in the 4th Century A.D. and crows guarded the grave.  In the 1100's the King of Portugal had the grave exhumed and the remains brought to Lisbon - and the story is that two crows guarded the remains during the journey.  This is the same St. Vincent whose statue, church, and monastery we saw in Lisbon.  Later in history Sir Francis Drake was sent by the queen of England to destroy the buildings on the Cape.