We're off to the Algarve next week. Just wondering if there are any gardening goodies I should look out for- places to visit or things to buy?
OOOOOOOOOOOO lucky you. Have a super time. Where about are you going? My friend lives in Maya Praya, not the correct spelling obviously :drunken_smilie:. It's not far from Largos. If you need an azada her sister brought one back for me it was 5eu. We couldn't have got the work done on our plot without it. The bus service was amazing when I went to stay with her, you could set your clock by them & so cheap. The highlight for me was a trip to Lidls. I bought loads of seeds. OH hates shopping so I don't get to go in shops like that :BangHead: but we have a Lidls opening in Knutsford soon :icon_cheers:.
We're staying in Albufeira, which I know is a bit of a tourist trap, but we're hiring a car so hoping to get out and about. I do have an azada already but might be tempted if I can find a small one.
Boa viagem, Caroline!!
Obrigado! (or is it Obrigada?)
Obrigada, e de nada! Falamos mais tarde.
Enjoy you stay. If you haven't tried them before, try to get to a real local restaurant and have Feijoada Portugesa, favas transmontana, and real piripiri chicken...... but not on the same day. Food fit for the kings.
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We stayed in Vilamoura just up the coast from you,did a quick visit to your destination,then turned inland and just drove around the foothills,most enjoyable was picking fresh Oranges along the roadside,although Jude though wed get nicked....typical girlie.... :tongue3:
Whilst in the hills we would stop at local restaurants and have real piri piri chicken,and this was all with hand signs as nobody spoke English,but we were made very welcome and the food was to die for.we also enjoyed the village rose wines that you wouldnt get along the coastline restaurants.
Places of interest were Lagos,and for me I enjoyed Sagres west of you as it had incredible high cliffs,very rugged and it was amazing to watch the fishermen perched on the edge,and it had a really old fort that protected the headland from invaders,fascinating place.
Vilamoura Harbour had some fantastic restaurants all along its quayside,all traditional food,but without doubt if your a seafood luvver you have to try
(http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t22/skatenchips/2012_food_5_gallery_zps82a3647d.jpg) (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/skatenchips/media/2012_food_5_gallery_zps82a3647d.jpg.html)
a Cataplana,you pick the fish and veggie contents and they serve the sealed oyster shell to your table and open it,oh man,the smell takes me back....brilliant style of cooking,strangely enough we brought ours in a dorset cookery shop and it gets used in the oven,I luv to cook fish dinners in it with vegetables.
(http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t22/skatenchips/Nandos-Avenues_Mall-Kuwait-_chicken_espetada-_zpsb38c1d37.jpg) (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/skatenchips/media/Nandos-Avenues_Mall-Kuwait-_chicken_espetada-_zpsb38c1d37.jpg.html)
Being a foody,who enjoys his cooking the gotta have night out is Traditional music and dancing with Espetada (huge) bits of beef cubed and skewered
and they hang them infront of you and you pull the salted beef off and tuck on in....oh and always leave a bit of food on the plate,as its good manners.
and I always saw it as your showing your so stuffed you just cant eat that last little bit..... :tongue3:
and if you like a messy blouse at the end of your evening,try the (leitao) its suckling pig served with vegetables,and im dribbling just typing it,,,yum.
again, another fingers and napkins meal is the "arroz de marisco", a mixed seafood plata ..delish.!!!!!
again from Vilamoura we used to go out on huge Trimarans with netting tween the hulls that you could lay on in the sunshine and Porpoises finned out of the water below you,crackin day afloat then theyd serve you barby food and drink while at sea.
we enjoyed the Portuguese hospitality so much weve been to Madeira twice since,now if you enjoy flowers enmasse,go there one day,its called the Island Garden in the Atlantic as all the spores from different continents get blown on the winds and have made the island a stunningly beautiful place to visit.
still enjoy your visit to the Algarve Caroline..... :blob7:
GazNjude
Wow, thanks for all those ideas! I've made a note of them all, and my mouth is watering!
Thought you might like to know how we got on. Had a great week- after the first couple of days when we had some rain (thunderstorms in fact) it was wall to wall sunshine and up to 27c. We went to Cape St Vincent and Sagres, Monchique, Alvor, Alte, and various other places in between, had lovely walks along the beaches and cliff tops and some fantastic seafood. I got a mini azada on the market in Albufeira and put it to use today when planting out poached egg plants!
Saw lots of lovely flowers and was tempted to collect seeds but realised they were unlikely to grow over here so didn't bother. Anyone know what the trees with purple flowers growing along the roads in Albufeira are?
Nearly forgot Silves, where, as well as the castle and museum, we saw lots of storks roosting on rooftops and old chimney stacks feeding their young.
Glad you had such a lovely time Caroline. What size is your mini azada please?
It's at my allotment, but I'd say the handle is about a foot long and the head is about 3" wide and 4" long. They had some double-headed ones with a narrow blade or a pointed "digger"on the other side but they looked to me like an accident waiting to happen!It cost me 5 Euros!
Sounds good Caroline, I may ask Elaine to get me one of those. Thank you.
Quote from: caroline7758 on May 26, 2013, 19:39:29
Anyone know what the trees with purple flowers growing along the roads in Albufeira are?
Could they be Tibouchina. Somebody gave me some seeds from Portugal years ago, I grew them as pot plants and used them in a border one hot summer. When I looked them up they seemed to be able to grow as trees and shrubs in warmer countries.
Quote from: grannyjanny on May 26, 2013, 19:59:17
Sounds good Caroline, I may ask Elaine to get me one of those. Thank you.
If you are looking for tools this link offers a huge range (UK based)
Gardeningshop UK (http://www.gardeningshopuk.co.uk/tools/ht_hoes.htm) worth a look!
I was hunting for something and came across it. Cheaper than a trip to Portugal and less C0
2 :icon_thumright:
Could be, Ace. Someone else suggested acacia- also possible. Another strange tree we saw had big green pods almost like broad beans- no idea what that was either!
Catalpa Indian bean tree? They have long hanging pods now.
Acacia trees are all out in flower now in SW France, and just coming out all over the mountainsides as well. But they have white flowers. Great favourite round here dipped in batter and deep fried!
How about Judas tree?
Quote from: caroline7758 on May 27, 2013, 08:43:49
.....Another strange tree we saw had big green pods almost like broad beans- no idea what that was either!
I have seen those in France too.
http://tree-species.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/carob-tree-ceratonia-siliqua.html
Was it these trees with black pods...??
Gazza
That looks likely- but the pods were green as in the pictures in your link. Thanks.
Caroline,
The trees with the pods were, as Gazza correctly identified Carob trees, locally known as Alferoba. Th black pods are harvested in the autmn, and then processed to extract chocolate flvouring from them. The resulting waste is a fantastic soil conditioner that lasts a year or two, whereas compost,peat or manure will disappear within a season, because of the high soil temperatures there.
The purple flowered trees are Jacaranda, Jacobinia sps., fantastic sight and scent, grown in many Algarve towns for their amazing display and then shade in the summer.
The tool you bought is known an an enchada in portuguese. They range from the small onion hoe size, that you bought, upto 15cm wide and deep blades for serious digging.
Glad you enjoyed your visit, you lucky thing!!
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Thanks for all the info. Needless to say, we saw your username a lot over there!