Column: Forgot My Glasses 😎

Column: Forgot My Glasses 😎

We regularly travel back to the Netherlands 🇳🇱 to see family. Hugs, catching up, laughing about old stories – it always feels good ❤️.

And of course: eating out 🍽️. Always fun, but for me also a bit of a challenge.

Because when you run HotspotsAlgarve.com and do over 200 reviews a year, you automatically put on your “review glasses” even before the first dish arrives 👓. Presentation, taste, service… I notice everything — acoustics, lighting, furniture, welcome, scent, temperature — it all stands out to me 👀.

Still, during those family dinners, I try to consciously take off my “HSA glasses.”

Just enjoy. No judgment, no notes, no photos of the food 📸.

And when someone asks, “So Peter, what did you think?” I smile and say: “I forgot my Hotspots glasses.” 😅

Our last evening is always the traditional “last supper” at Restaurant Peking in Drachten 🥢 — an amazing Chinese restaurant and such a cozy ritual. We talk, laugh, and look back on the week 🧡.

And secretly, in the middle of all that warmth, I already feel it: that wonderful anticipation of going back to the sunshine, the sea, and the peace of the Algarve 🌊☀️.