Running through airports; Porto, Portugal

April 26, 2013 Oporto, Portugal

Well, we did it again.  Flight from hell; running through airports. 

When we booked our flights for this trip, we said to each other, it’s April, no snowstorms, no need to go early.  Who ever thought of something like a sequester?  We were scheduled out of Rochester at 5 PM with almost four hours layover in JFK before flying to Paris, connecting to Lisbon.  Our flight was to arrive in Lisbon at 2 PM and our boat left from the Lisbon docks at 5 PM.  Lots of time.

Well we sat in the Rochester airport, and sat, and sat.  Our plane was at the gate, but we were told we couldn’t go because JFK couldn’t allow us to leave.  Our connection time in JFK was becoming very tight, when finally, at 8 PM they announced that our flight was cancelled.  At the next gate was a flight about to leave for Detroit, and rather than standing in line for the agent at the cancelled flight gate, I went over there, hoping he could do something for us.  This great agent put us on the flight to Detroit, said he didn’t have time to do anything more, but we should run to the departure gate for a Paris flight in Detroit which we just might make.  Of course we arrived at the Detroit terminal and the Paris flight was leaving from the other terminal in 15 minutes.  We ran.  We ran from the smaller terminal, through the underground tunnel, to the very long terminal and of course, the gate was at the far end.  We ran on the moving walkway, brushing past old ladies and children, and when the gate came into view about 100 yards away, they were closing the door.  I waved frantically and ran ahead of Joyce and they saw me and waved back.  We got to the gate out of breath and with no boarding passes and asked them to look in the computer.  We were there!  The Rochester agent had us on the flight!  They printed out the boarding passes, put us on and closed the door behind us.  We had a tight connection in Paris to get to our original Paris-Lisbon flight, and we made it.  Fortunately we had not checked any luggage, but are traveling with carry-ons.

Le Boreal is a smallish ship, holding about 200 people, and very French.  Here’s a photo of our ship (in front) and a big cruise ship behind. 

 

Here’s our cabin which is very nice.

 

 

We left port at 6:30 PM, had a life jacket drill, and then dinner with the Smithsonian group, of which we’re part.  There are other groups on the ship also, from Brown University, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and others.  French wines are served at lunch and dinner (all you want, part of the cost, and poured like at a big party) and the table was lively.  We finally got to sleep at about 10:30 and despite considerable rocking and rolling, slept until 7 AM.

This morning we had a lecture on the history of Portugal, why it is what it is, going back to before Roman times.  It’s a very complicated history, with invasions of many peoples from Moors to Visigoths, and the culture and language reflect the complexity.  After lunch we toured the city of Porto (Oporto in English) which has a wonderful history.  This is the second-largest city of Portugal and the major port.  It also is famous for the port wine which is central to the history of the city and the region.  We stopped at the glorious Palacio de Bolsa—a palace to commerce, a UNESCO World Heritage site, built in the 19^th c. and filled with amazing halls.  Here’s a view of Porto from the terrace of the Palacio

And here’s a view of the Douro river.  Across the river are the long buildings with tile roofs where port is aged, and on the river you can see one of the boats which used to be used to bring casks of port down from the vineyards.  They’re mostly now used for tourists.

 

The most magnificent room in the Palacio is the Arabian Hall, modeled after the Alhambra in Granada.

Nearby is the Igreja de Sao Francisco, a magnificent 14^th c. Gothic church with phenomenal carvings and literally tons of gilt over much of the carvings.

 

 

Finally we walked the Ribiera, the harbor area, full of cafes, shops, and tourists.

 

 

Tonight we’ll set sail during dinner for our next adventure up the coast of Iberia.