Bartender Refuses to Stop Service!

(posted by ange written March 7)

(no photo due to intoxication and inability to use camera - ha ha ha)

Last night Dave and I went out for a really nice dinner to a restaurant, Casa da Fonte, recommended to us by Jason, our favourite bartender at Steps Bar. We had an amazing meal, great wine and a delicious dessert. With full bellies and an ever so slight buzz from the wine and complimentary port we were given, we planned to stop by Steps Bar across the street for a (I emphasize a here, meaning one) glass of wine, a quick chat with Jason (our fabulous bartender and fast-forming friend) and call it an early night so as to get a fresh and early start on today’s excursion to the Gypsy Market.

It’s an absolute delight to be in the company of Jason, and some other new friends were at Steps as well, so we were completely enjoying ourselves. As we finished our wine, we requested to settle up, which normally means Jason immediately telling us how little we owe. Last night however, Jason would not let us leave. “Just another sliver…” Our protests went ignored and eventually I caved, “Okay, just a sliver”, thinking a few more sips. Ah no. Apparently a sliver is a whole glass. So sliver, after sliver, Jason continued to keep our drinks full and refused to take our money and allow us to leave. No, we were in for the long haul. It was the same for Mette, a tour representative who had to be at work at 7:00 a.m. The poor girl could not get an empty glass of beer! So drinks flowed freely, as did conversation and much, much, much laughter. Good times were most definitely had by all!

At one point we were finally given a total… 5 euro! (That’s $8) Now, we are certain that we drank at least one bottle of wine, possibly 2, certainly quite a bit more, and all Jason wants is 5 euro! We give him 10 and we have to argue with him to keep the change. After we are all settled up, the drinks continue to flow. We are finally allowed to leave at around 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. We clearly are not getting up fresh and early. If we make it out to the grocery store we will be satisfied that we did not waste a day of the car rental!

The morals of the story here are: 1. If you are friends with your bartender, he will call your drinking shots. 2. If you are friends with your bartender the cost of your drinks is arbitrary and will be even cheaper than it already is. 3. Plan for hangover – you will not be getting up early and you will most definitely not feel fresh!

P.S. – We did make it to the Gypsy Market, just as they were tearing down their tents. That’s okay. Basically it’s a bunch of gypsies traipsing from town to town trying to pawn off a bunch of CRAP! We did have a lovely day enjoying a bit of sun on the beach in Quarteira, and a drive through some very shi shi little resort towns. Tonight there will be no drinking, no visiting Jason and tomorrow we will arise early, fresh and ready for a trip to Lagos and some pretty crazy rock formations.