Holiday Humour

Thought Gidália should see a typical Alentejano town, so we drove up to Alcácer do Sal, one of Europe's oldest cities, "founded as a Phoenician port and salt trading centre in around 1000BC, and important enough to mint its own coins" - which some of us saw in the small museum in the castle's crypt.

Our main problem today, though, was how to keep the babies cool enough. Everyone eventually agreed that it was worth paying over the odds to have a drink in the luxury pousada in the castle at the top of the hill, just to be in the cool. The funny thing was that, though we traipsed all over and hung out in a super comfy room for ages (see "Bobby" showing Zion a magazine above), no-one ever came to serve us, and then, on the way out, we finished off the jug of minty, lemony water put out for guests - so our luxury stay cost us exactly nothing.

Couldn't resist an extra of the storks at Comporta on the way back.