Brownies & Blush: Food heaven in Villamoura, Portugal.

Desperately in need of a sunshine holiday, my boyfriend and I booked in a last minute trip to Vilamoura, Portugal over the Jubilee weekend and it was every bit as nice as I hoped. Under a mere 3 hour flight is glorious sunshine, fantastic food and beautiful pools to chill next to. I have to say any regrets of missing the Jubilee celebrations back home were replaced with a feeling of slight smugness after I saw the downpours on the BBC coverage.

Vilamoura is resort built in the 70's and at the centre of it is a marina so it's something I would imagine Cannes to feel like (probably on a much smaller scale - I'll have to squeeze in trip to compare the two!). It is probably one of the pricier resorts in Portugal but after much research I did find the price range for hotels varied widely so there is something for everyone. With both my boyfriend and I keen to stay somewhere 4 stars or above we decided to really push the boat out and stay at The Lake Resort, a decision we did not regret. The hotel was stunning, a few minutes walk away from the marina, and the staff were fantastic, their restaurant recommendations were spot on. They rightly deserve the number one spot on Trip Advisor. Even the fellow guests were lovely, with a kindly man giving me the last book in the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy when he saw I was nearing the end of my book.

We woke up each morning to a lovely breakfast buffet spread (included in the room rate) before choosing one of the many sunbeds by one of the three pools. I managed to motivate myself a couple of days with an early gym session pre-breakfast but as the week went on the most I could muster up was a few lengths of the pool in the late afternoon. The whole hotel just screamed 'relax' and who was I to argue?

We were lucky enough to grab a day bed to lounge on a couple of times

My favourite view

A view of The Lake hotel from our pedalo in the middle of the lake

A gym with a view

So, the days were spent by the pool and the evenings discovering the tasty delights of Vilamoura. Being a huge fan of seafood I was in foodie heaven. I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of Gelato places available too - Nosolo Italia being the best I discovered.

Our first meal in Vilamoura, Goats Cheese with Walnuts and Honey on toast from Nosolo Italia. Even simple things like oranges were amazingly sweet in Portugal. Ummm...

Clam pasta at Nosolo Italia

THE Best Gelato on crepes. I ate the whole thing minus the cream all by myself!

My favourite restaurant was a very close call between two very different places. Both were so good we went twice in the short space of time we were there. The first was our own discovery in the next town of Quarteira, a 30 minute walk along the beach (once you figure out the route). I don't actually remember the name of the restaurant but it was a Pizzeria with the best mussels and seafood rice. Luckily I took a photo of the napkin (as you do) and the name on it is Mamamia Quarteira.

Grilled Squid from Mamamia, Quarteira.

My favourite seafood rice

These mussels were the tastiest during our entire trip - and trust me we ate enough to know!

The other restaurant was O Cesteiro recommended by the staff at The Lake, located on the marina. If I had to pick between Mamamia or O Cesteiro, I think O Cesteiro just about wins it for me. If you are lucky enough to visit Vilamoura you definitely need to visit this amazing place. The seafood is not cheap but as the staff at The Lake say you get what you pay for.The service was brilliant and they served tastiest Tiger Prawns I have ever eaten. If you choose to sit on the terrace you also get a great view that overlooks the Marina. The best thing about O Cesteiro is that the meat choices are really reasonable (and just as tasty) with my Peri Peri chicken making Nandos feel rather inferior (although I do love a bit of Nandos!).

Ah, the memories

The biggest Tiger Prawn ever!

Nandos eat your heart out

Another place well worth visiting is just behind the main bars and restaurants of the marina called Don Alfonzo, another great recommendation from The Lake staff.