Discovering Ponta Delgada

#pontadelgada#Sanmiguelisland#Azores

15th November 2015

We're here in Ponta Delgada, San Miguel Island ready to discover as much as we can in four days.

"São Miguel is the main island in the Azores archipelago and Ponta Delgada is its bustling capital. Many a traveller has landed here and been awed by the immense green of its forests and pastureland: Hydrangeas adding splashes of colour to the background and grazing cows in the foreground create a picture fit for a postcard. 

Ponta Delgada is the largest and most visited city in the Azores. White-washed houses and buildings, 17th and 18th Century convents and churches decorate its rolling hills. Cobbled streets and small squares are found around the centre, where there is also a large boulevard, which is perfect for evening seaside walks." ... info quoted from Portugal-live.net 

 

First thing (this was early, early morning) was to check the view from hotel room window ... we overlooked the rooftops and could watch the cruise ships coming into dock. 

After a most delicious breakfast, we ventured out on our own walking tour of the town.

You can follow our steps to see some of Ponta Delgada ...

     

           

We strolled along the waterfront into the Center of town ...

Where to next Monsieur Honey? 

The marina and cruise ships ...

We toured the Military Museum ...

The tortured trees ... similar to how the plane trees are trimmed in France,

From the walls high above at the museum we had long views ...

We had a full day of walking and touring the town. 

We again enjoyed a delicious dinner followed by a glass of Port.

Tomorrow we're off on a "Jeep" tour adventure! 

Happy New Year ... Welcome 2016

#NewYear#2016#Fireworks#PierPark

We celebrated the ringing in of the New Year with a quiet evening spent in our condo with views over the Gulf of Mexico.

At eleven o'clock some party revellers celebrated with fireworks on the beach.

Then at midnight, we watched the most colourful fireworks show off the Pier. 

It was absolutely beautiful and we had the perfect viewing perch from our 25th floor balcony.

                      

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

We're Time Travelling to San Miguel Island

#TasteofPortugal#Funchal#MadeiraIsland#Pontadelgada#SanMiguel#PasteldeNata#Foodies#Azores

26 December 2015 ... I'm travelling as a passenger with my "Monsieur Honey" as my chauffeur on our road trip south, so I hope to be able to finish the posts about our "Taste of Portugal" adventure.

14th November 2015... so we are travelling back in time.

Whoa, where did those eight days go?  

We're back into a "Hurry Up and Wait" mode as today we're packing up at our hotel in Funchal, Madeira and later heading to the airport to catch our two-hour flight to Ponta Delgada, San Miguel.

We did actually have a relaxed last morning in Funchal, Madeira; we were all packed and our taxi pickup to airport had been arranged so we went for one last stroll in the immediate neighbourhood of the hotel.

We stopped for a light nibble of tapas and a farewell toast to Madeira and then headed down the street to our favourite little coffee shop for one last taste of their delicious " Pastel de Nata" (Portuguese custard tarts).

The airport in Funchal is about a half hour drive from the Center and we pre-arranged a cab pickup to ensure we were at the airport two hours prior to our flight time at 4pm local time. 

Yes we are changing time zones again ... Madeira is five (5) hours ahead and San Miguel only four (4) hours. 

So today we will gain back an hour!

 

Two hours doesn't sound too long and really it isn't but it's all the other time involved when flying ...

getting to the airport, the check-in, the security screening, waiting for the boarding call and then finally when everyone is in their seat; the plane can start it's engines and away we go!    

It was dark when we landed in Ponta Delgada, so we had no idea where we were as we rode by taxi to our hotel.  

Check in was smooth with helpful info provided by the concierge.  

After a little freshening up and unpacking, we headed down to the hotel restaurant for tonight's dinner as we hadn't had time to check out the surroundings yet.

We were not disappointed as the food was delicious and beautifully presented by professional, friendly  wait staff.

On offer was a buffet with a varying menu daily or à la carte menu ... we made our selection from the menu.

Spicy Portuguese Shrimp cooked in the local beer "Especial" on a bed of mushrooms/ slivered spring onions and lemongrass (at least that's how we deconstructed the dish)  ... for our appetizers.

And I have to say we chose this same dish one other evening while we were here! 

Monsieur has already made this once at home.

Followed by a Piri-Piri chicken over a melange of beans, corn, onions, peppers and zuchinni ...

For a little sweet treat we shared a pineapple ice cream dessert ... and oh yes it was served a top a chocolate cake brownie.

We had an enjoyable first evening in Ponta Delgada ... we just need to recharge so we can explore tomorrow!