The Algarve cont'd.....

After we returned home from Sagres we went for some Portuguese eats and wine. The next morning we headed to the market town of Loule. It took forever to get there because of all the stops we made along the way, but once we arrived the sun had just begun to peek out from the clouds. Loule is well known for its gipsy market where you can get unbelievable deals on clothing, jewelry and leather. There were a lot of things for sale, but everything was pretty much the same. It was nice to browse, but we didn't see anything that caught our eye. I didn't take any pictures here because the gipsy's were glaring at my camera, so here is the one photo I took. The cock is the country's national symbol. Now get your mind out of the gutter...I know who you are...I mean rooster! These things are EVERYWHERE!!! The story behind the cock differs depending on the source, but this seems to be the most common one:
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The story is set in the era of the early regional kings of Portugal. It tells of a humble villager who is accused of theft and sentenced to death.
The man loudly proclaimed his innocence and demanded to be set free. His jailors paid him no mind and laughed at his cries for freedom. The jailor had no opportunity to approach the king until the day of the execution. The jailor carried the condemned man’s plea to the king during a large banquet. In good humor due to the festive occasion, the king granted his request for the audience and the villager was brought before him.
“So you are innocent, are you?” laughed the king.
“Yes Sir, I am. Before God, I swear it,” answered the villager.
“Ah, but you have been accused and sentenced to death, and I can’t change the sentence on just your word without proof. How do you think you can prove your innocence, my good man?”
“But Sir, I swear that I am innocent,” the man insisted. He looked around the banquet room in desperation, seeking some way, some help. His eyes fell on a servant carrying in a large platter of fowl, steaming with seasonings. He fell to his knees.
“Lord God,” he prayed, “as Peter, your servant, denied you at the cock’s crow, would that you show my innocence as your humble servant by this rooster’s crow…”
All eyes turned to the platter of steaming cooked fowl and widened in wonder and amazement as the rooster got up, ruffled his feathers and crowed loudly.
“The Lord has indeed spoken,” the king said softly, and raising his voice, he proclaimed, “Let this be a lesson to each of us never to sit in quick judgment of our fellow man. The rooster, henceforth, shall be a reminder to us and to our children after us, of this, the Lord’s message. So shall it be in our land forever!”

The rooster, gaily decorated with bright designs, remains Portugal’s symbol and can be seen in almost every home and on every festive occasion, shaped in loaves of holiday bread and stamped on children’s candies. It has come to be considered by the Portuguese as a symbol of faith in the greatness of God. (from islandroute.com)
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After roaming around the market we made our way towards the town centre to check out the outdoor food market, shops etc. Loule is a really, really cute town and I liked it a lot (i.e- the people, the buildings, and the overall small town feel). The food market was massive and had a lot of delicious things for sale, but in my opinion they were slightly overpriced. Who knows though...I think at that point I was still in shock at how much everything cost as everything in Euro we doubled to equal out to Canadian dollars.

I had a good time snapping away here. There is no real theme to these next few shots, but I would like to share with you some things we saw.

Even though these building are worn down and vacant, they still stand tall. My mom and I wondered why this was so common throughout all of Portugal?! You never see that here - if a building is of no use it is torn down!

This is one thing that I was surprised by. Absolutely EVERYWHERE in Portugal is covered in graffiti whether it be in the capital city or a small town like Loule. It was completely impossible to escape!

I hate olives and unfortunately for me they were included with every meal!

Since the Algarve is free from snow and frost, towns and roads are lined with orange trees. They are DELICIOUS!! As for the garlic...who knows...but I do LOVE garlic :-)