What was originally planned to be a four day break in Bratislava, Slovakia turned into a week long holiday due to the Volcanic eruption in Iceland. The ash cloud created by the volcano meant the majority of European airspace was closed and it wasn’t until we landed in Slovakia on the day of the eruption that we learnt our flight home was cancelled and we were stranded!

Needless to say this didn’t stop us making the most of our trip so I thought I would share some of my favourite photos here. On the first day we toured Bratislava in the pouring rain, an excellent excuse to dive into every open bar, sit back and order an ice cold Slovakian brew.

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After what seemed like months of research to find a good place to go on holiday this year, Gemma and I settled on a self catering apartment on the outskirts of Albufeira in Portugal. I’ve been to Portugal many times in the past and it really is a beautiful country. Despite my reservations about using a cheap flight operator, EasyJet were an absolute pleasure to fly with, we even arrived earlier than expected so don’t be swayed by all of the negative comments you read on the Internet these days. On our arrival to Faro airport in the early afternoon it was above thirty degrees centigrade, ‘muito quente’!

On our first outing we were a little disappointed at the lack of ‘local’ restaurants, that was until we walked to the ‘old town’ which turned out to be the crown jewel of the area. Although heavily focused on tourism, Albufeira old town was teeming with life during the day and a hot spot of activity, street performers and a real feel good feeling at night.

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