© Rui Ornelas
Winter this year was a huge pain in the, uh, derriere. And after the snow and the frost and the cold and the sleet and more cold, I personally am ready for a nice tour of a few beach hotels.
Portugal is nice this time of year. The beaches, the golf, the food, the wine…
I'm particularly fond of the area around Algarve. Hotels in Algarve are easy to come by. The golden beaches there are one of Europe's hottest tourist attractions. That means that on the beach you can meet Aussies, Americans, the occasional Brazilian, a few Chinese and Japanese – people from all over the world.
Torre de Belem is my favorite place in the Algarve region. It's a UNESCO site on the Tagus River in Lisbon. But Igreja de Sao Roque (Saint Roch Church) is another fascinating attractions in the area. The church looks very plain from the outside, but inside it is extraordinarily beautiful.
Mostly I want to stretch out on a beach an soak up some sun…