Portugal 🇵🇹

After spending 2 days in the Azores 🔗, we got up early and walked to the airport from Hospedaria Casa d’Avo. The airport is really small and we were checked in by an agent at the Azores Airlines counter. We had 3 transit stops before our final destination, so the agent and her manager had some back and forth about the baggage tags and how to attach them to the bags. The check-in agent issued each of us a consolidated boarding pass for 4 flights, to Lisbon, Athens, Munich and finally Reykjavík. With fingers crossed that our bags with all our cold weather clothes would make it to Iceland, we headed through security check to the boarding area for flight TP1828. ...

Like yesterday, we started our day with coffee on the porch. Our plan today was to cover the rest of the sights in Terceira. We were to check-out at noon so we decided to head to Piscinas Naturais Biscoitos first and come back after spending some time there and then get ready and check-out. Piscinas Naturais Biscoitos are natural pools at the edge of the ocean formed by lava rocks from ancient volcanic eruptions. We carried a couple of towels and our swim wear and headed out. The weather was cloudy but it wasn’t raining. ...

We got up in the morning and started our day with a cup of coffee on the nice porch with a garden out back. After getting ready, we started off towards our first destination, Miradouro da Serra do Cume. The road steadily climbed towards the top of the hills and was paved, with cobblestones in some places. It became quite steep as we came close to the top. There were view points on both sides of the top of the hill. Looking towards the north east we could see Praia da Vitória and on the other side, towards the south west, we could see fields separated by walls of volcanic rocks forming a massive expanses of green patchwork. The clouds rolled in quickly and it started raining while we were there so we decide to head back down and come back again for the views the next day if possible. We could see Ilhéus das Cabras at one corner and next we headed there to take a closer look. ...

We got up early and walked to the airport from our hotel, ibis budget Nice Aéroport. It took a while to find the check-in counters for TAP Air Portugal. We’re not used to seeing no lines. The check-in agent issued each of us a consolidated boarding pass for both our flights: to Lisbon and then to Terceira. I asked about our bags, and they said that the system showed them the bags from Lufthansa and then made a call to someone about something. It was all in French, so I didn’t understand a thing. But I was hoping that things behind the scenes would have been sorted out and our bags would make it to Terceira. I asked if there was a Star Alliance Gold lounge we could access and was told to go to the Library Lounge after the security check. There was no crowd, and after clearing security, we headed to the Library Lounge for breakfast. ...

After more than 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, we were looking forward to some travel. I have been collecting miles on United MileagePlus for quite some time and I was scouting for destinations which we wanted to visit and where we could maximize our miles. Europe was on top of our list and I was trying to figure out how we could do the most with that. My wife has always wanted to visit Iceland and I wanted to go to the Azores. ...

This was part of A day in Lisbon 🇵🇹 🔗. After lunch I joined the 3:00 PM walking tour of Baixa and Bairro Alto by Live History Lisbon with Alexandra. We started at Praça Dom Pedro IV and walked past Joalharia Ferreira Marques which was featured in some James Bond movie. We passed by Elevador de Santa Justa and while telling us about it, Alexandra said we’d be getting there another way. ...

This was part of A day in Lisbon 🇵🇹 🔗. I made it to Praça Dom Pedro IV just in time to join the 11:00 AM Alfama Free Walking Tour by Discover Lisbon. Our guide was Francisco. He told us about the history of Lisbon and then we stepped into Casa do Alentejo to see the beautiful moorish courtyard there. × < > We walked to back to Largo de São Domingos and got some time to visit Igreja de São Domingos. ...

Going to the airport and taking a flight always gets me excited, so I didn’t really mind waking up at 3:00 AM and making my way to Helsinki airport for my flight to Lisbon and onward to Barcelona. I was able to use priority check-in at the airport with my Star Alliance Gold status. The counters for TAP Portugal were located right next to Lufthansa’s. With my bags tagged to Barcelona, I was issued boarding passes for both legs, first to Lisbon and then onward Barcelona. I was offered a complimentary priority seat in forward economy cabin but I was ok with my currently assigned aisle seat at the back so declined (a decision which I questioned later). I made a quick visit to the SAS Lounge before heading to the gate for boarding. ...