ESTÓI, FALÉSIA and PARIS!

You may well ask us, what do these 3 places have in common??

They are 3 gorgeous places that we “travelled” to this September, in reality or in fantasy, but all of them left a story to tell and to keep us held in their memory.

They are suggestions we leave you, so that you too can enjoy this lovely end of Summer!

Estói, a small village in the municipality of Faro, which last Sunday we decided to visit for its much-celebrated Palace. We were woken by the church bell, which from early on was “ding-donging” away, but it was between 11 a.m. and 12 noon that the rhythm sped up so much that it made us think something more was going on than the usual trip to Mass.

We ended up going into the church, which was full of people. Everyone was dressed up, but with something extra special. There were people of African descent and from Eastern European countries, each in the traditional costume of their country. There were also baskets of fruit and bread. Inside, an African choir was singing and playing, making the congregation vibrate.

It was during the Mass that we realised it was not a baptism, nor a confirmation, but a festival that has been held in Estói for 11 years now – the FESTA DOS POVOS (Festival of the Peoples)! It was a beautiful and out-of-the-ordinary ceremony. At the end we were treated to a shared lunch, where everyone shared the typical food of their people, Cape Verde, Angola, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, etc. To crown the festivities there followed several performances by traditional dance and music groups, all in a relaxed, family-like and multicultural atmosphere!



Palácio de Estói, now a Pousada



Heading on through the Sotavento Algarvio, we went to discover Praia da Falésia, there between Vilamoura and Olhos d’Água. We had once glimpsed its red and golden cliffs from the beach at Albufeira, but up close they are even more imposing and sculptural. The stretch of sand is huge and we took the chance to go on a mega walk. It is one of the few beaches on this side of the Algarve where you can still see nothing but nature when you look back, as its high cliffs hide from view the thousands of tourist developments in this area. But for one afternoon we breathed freedom and vastness all around us, and dived into a sea of pleasure, nice and warm at true Algarve temperature.

We finished with a trip to the cinema, after seeing so many articles about Woody Allen in the latest newspapers and magazines.

“Midnight in Paris” takes us to the Paris of the arts, of the famous writers and painters, of romance and of the dreams we want to chase! A journey in time, with one foot in the modern and the other in the bohemian 1920s. Well worth it!

All the images in this post were taken from the internet, because our camera also took a few days' holiday J