Porto, Portugal
Today's early morning started at 5:30. My flight from Madrid to Porto on Ryan Air was at 9:20, so getting to the airport 2 hrs early, plus the trip plus waking up ment 5:30. Argh
Madrid's Airport was reasonably easy to get around. Once I checked in, I sat for a couple of minutes then went to the terminal. I set off some type of alarm so got a chemical test for something, which I passed. Had to wait 30 minutes to find out which terminal. Went to the gate and played Sudoko until the announcement of the flight came.
I don't know if it is standard for Ryan Air, but for this flight everyone just lined up. By the time the announcement was made enough people were in line to fill maybe 2/3 the plane. I got in the back of the line and waited. Attendants came thru the line and gate checked most (all?) the bigger bags. Once boarding started, it took no longer than any other flight I have been on. One thing that was nice, when we landed at Porto we exited at the front and back of the plane.
Today's early morning started at 5:30. My flight from Madrid to Porto on Ryan Air was at 9:20, so getting to the airport 2 hrs early, plus the trip plus waking up ment 5:30. Argh
Madrid's Airport was reasonably easy to get around. Once I checked in, I sat for a couple of minutes then went to the terminal. I set off some type of alarm so got a chemical test for something, which I passed. Had to wait 30 minutes to find out which terminal. Went to the gate and played Sudoko until the announcement of the flight came.
I don't know if it is standard for Ryan Air, but for this flight everyone just lined up. By the time the announcement was made enough people were in line to fill maybe 2/3 the plane. I got in the back of the line and waited. Attendants came thru the line and gate checked most (all?) the bigger bags. Once boarding started, it took no longer than any other flight I have been on. One thing that was nice, when we landed at Porto we exited at the front and back of the plane.
Porto is a beautiful, old city at the mouth of Rio Douro. It has wonderful
old buildings lining narrow streets. One thing that is very nice is the
number of open, public spaces where people congregate. Also, Porto is
extrememly walkable. This seems to be very
common in Spain and Portugal, as I also saw this in Barcelona and
Madrid.
One of the very nice things about Porto is the lack of construction on the ocean and river coasts. From several miles north of the river there is a wide, very walkable, promanade. This continues along the river bank for some distance as well. So you have ocean, beach, promanade, a road, then the buildings start. Along the Atlantic Coast there are a few places that are commercial, restaurants or bars, but they are small and far between.
So far my time here has had very nice weather. Perfect for being outside and enjoying the beauty of Spain, Portugal, and the Atlantic Ocean.
One of the very nice things about Porto is the lack of construction on the ocean and river coasts. From several miles north of the river there is a wide, very walkable, promanade. This continues along the river bank for some distance as well. So you have ocean, beach, promanade, a road, then the buildings start. Along the Atlantic Coast there are a few places that are commercial, restaurants or bars, but they are small and far between.
So far my time here has had very nice weather. Perfect for being outside and enjoying the beauty of Spain, Portugal, and the Atlantic Ocean.