Carvoeiro

Tucked away in a side street, halfway up a hill, there is a poky, smoky bar in which a middle-aged Yorkshireman bravely struggles his way through a (solo) cover version of Bohemian Rhapsody (it's terrible, but the crowd love him, and are only too happy to help). The smell of barbecued sardines creeps around the corner as a chef cooks in the open air, and down towards the square there is a pipe band playing as people sit around with their evening drinks, looking out to sea. The place is packed tonight because it's the weekend of the "blessing of the sea": local traders line the streets selling all sorts of tat, children wander around eating enormous ...  Read the complete review