Sir Harry’s is interesting. OK it’s very British(ish) at least you have a couple of flags and people speak English (and Portuguese) (very well, I may add….considering that they were from Romania (see separate post), Bulgaria, etc…. During the day (and from very early) they serve breakfast, coffee’s, drinks, whatever you need…..

It’s South facing, so there is always lots of sun around to feel warm…..in the winter, this must be particularly nice.

So it’s a quiet life in daylight hours but Harry’s is always buzy.

In the evening, things are much different. Excellent entertainment by Brian Christopher who is really very good, although I don’t thing recommended 14 nights in a row…..which goes on until about 3AM in the morning. Loads of people and very friendly. I particularly liked the different nationalities Harry’s attract. While predominately British, (on the two nights I was there, there were lots of Dutch, German, Americans, even Portuguese. And Brian knows how to get the crowd going.

I think there is lots that can be done to improve Harry’s (they should be speaking to me as soon as possible). Two things for free….The toilets…..please do they always have to smell like toilets…..and no, the smell does not disappear by adding those Napthalene Balls type thingies….)(the though always crosses one’s mind that if the toilet is like that, what must the kitchen be like….

I would also take a serious look at the day time front office staff…..people just don’t like to be treated like idiots…..we have Governments that’s doing that to us already….. which is in total contrast to the excellent night time staff…..

But you will always have a good time at Harry’s…..

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Salvation…..when all else fails, you just die on the beach…..and it’s never far away from wherever you are in Albufeira. Sure they are crowded in the high summer and if you are lucky you will find a spare square metre to just collapse.

Perfect water temperature, perfect waves, perfect breeze…..every day seems to be another day in Paradise.

My only criticism would be that the beach chairs that are provided are brutally expensive. In Albufeira it is 15 Euros a day. This compares with other parts of Portugal, where the prices are 5 Euros a day. Now considering a family (independent of nationality) coming to the beach everyday for two weeks, ie 14 days, that’s a budget of 210 Euros…..

I would prefer (even suggest) to see the chairs and umbrellas  provided at a more realistic price (yes 5 Euros) and have people serving drinks, ice cream, food, etc on the beach….. the thought of leaving all the things, tracking up to the bar and bringing it all back…..here you can charge an added value for the service and people understand.

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Albufeira functions over very long hours of the day – from early morning until very early morning – it’s not 24 hours but quite close to it. There are several types of people :

ELDERLY

I noticed many, many elderly couples (mainly British) in the early morning and early evening on the street of Albufeira. They are around until early evening but seem to generally rest in the afternoon.

The ones I actually spoke to seem to like Albufeira because it’s safe; they like the Portuguese people and obviously the weather. The cost factor was also important.

One couple I spoke to said that they had been coming to the Algarve for the last 20 years and the only reason that they could not continue to come is that they are now at the age where their health issues were a concern and needed to be closer to better facilities.

Seems to me that there is an opportunity in the making here…..

I must confess that there was something very nice about seeing older people on the streets in Albufeira…..very human.

YOUNG FAMILY

And I also very much liked seeing the quantity of young families here. Again it indicated that the place is safe (although you MUST read my note on “Being Careful in Albufeira”) and that young families are very welcomed.

Having lived in Portugal for the last 18 years, I know that the Portuguese people love children. In restaurants, children are given lots of leaway. It’s not like Britain, where a child running about the restaurant would be immediately stopped. Kids are kids and they find it very difficulty to sit down at a table for the best part of an hour….so they move. Portuguese people don’t have a problem with this.

I saw many young family couples, one or two children between the ages of 2 and 12ish…..They spend time on the beach and I was really particularly pleased to see many fathers making sand castles on the beach with the kids. The kids were so active and wanting to just be with Dad and do things.

These do not tend to be out late, although they seem to use all of the available activity and entertainment around; restaurants, pubs (the men particularly, when there was a football match on) (actually for one match it was like lotus…..exactly at the startime of the match, they simply appear…..it was a Scotland match….) and street commerce essentially.

I noticed couples from particularly England, although there were also a lot from various parts of Northern Europe and many from Spain….

Even young couples and their family, with mother accompanying….I noticed one lovely screen of daughter, mother and grandmother….really lovely….

YOUNG COUPLES

Lots of young couples (newly weds, lovers, etc…..) I spoke to a young couple from Dublin, Ireland, who were just perfect.

Apart from the fact that she was so beautiful (he ok…….sorry, just being jealous….), they both spoke about issues which I don’t believe I started to consider until much later. Foreign workers in Dublin, the environment, price of houses in Dublin, politics….. but they were having so much fun being in Albufeira and being together….. Great…..

On the issue of immigrant workers, their opinion differed so completely to the girl (30ish), I spoke to from Northern England, who was convinced that the problem with England was the Romanians. This was like mass invasion proportions. When I questioned her ancestry, her parents were Irish. I did ask how her parents must have felt in the 50’s emigrating to a similar attitude. She was having a great time with her friends, so hopefully my fellow countrymen will start to understand the importance in being part of Europe and the movement of young Europeans looking for work.

THE NICE WILD BUNCH

Life starts at about 11PM for this lot…..that’s when the public entertainment in the Square starts and sensible people go home.

But I have to tell you, it’s great. The youngsters were have a ball and everywhere you went (even as late as September) there were loads everywhere.

The noise and fun is concentrated in the strip and the Square. The younger ones went to the Tecno and more modern dance stuff and the older to Harry’s and the Rock Café for great live entertainment.

Life finishes between 3AM and 4AM…..thankfully…..

Then I guess work starts in cleaning up the mess before the first shift starts a about 8AM……the day starts all over again….

It’s probably because we were all on holiday, but the feeling I got around the town was that everyone was having a great time, were very happy to be there, we very welcomed there and it doesn’t come much better that that…..

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