When I returned to Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 2, I flew into Terminal 2 as I had for the past 15 years. Terminal 2 closed Tuesday, Feb. 4. United and Alaska (as well as Boutique, Spirit, Frontier and whoever else was there) are now in the new Concourse E of Terminal Three.
No need to show boarding passes anymore for TSA pre-check - apparently, the data from my ID ties into the airlines flight records. There is a nice, but small, airport museum after you get through security.
In the central area between concourses E and F, there are nice chairs, all with electrical outlets, plus free airport wifi throughout. There are also some shops and restaurants.
There is a nice play area for kids on Concourse F.
All of the chairs have electrical outlets and most have arms with a cupholder.
The gates have workspaces with electrical outlets, so I sat and did some class work online.
Other than Starbucks, the restaurants on the E concourse are not yet open, so I ate at Panera Bread on the F concourse.
My flights took me to Chicago, Munich and then to Oporto. A quick stop at the info booth in the Oporto airport got me a metro/light rail ticket for 2.60 Euros. I rode the metro to the end of the line at Trinidade station. I could have switched lines and rode one more stop closer to the hotel, but Google Maps showed me it was only a short 15 minute walk, so I enjoyed the chance to stretch my legs on my way through the pedestrian shopping area Bolhao to Hotel Moov Centro.
It is a very pleasant hotel and is next to one of many churches with the blue tiles.
After getting settled in my room, I went for a walk, and found a local restaurant where for 7.60 euros, I had an omelet with salad, fries and beer for dinner. Then it was back to the hotel after more exploring, and getting a beer and bag of chips for a snack while watching BBC news, including a 30 minute segment on the British Antarctic explorations - I saw many of the things our daughter sees regularly in McMurdo.
Saturday morning, I set out to explore. Oporto is hilly so I got my exercise going up and down hills.
There is interesting artwork and sculpture around the city center.
These are some of the stairs I encountered near Catedral Sao Bento.
There is a lot of construction.
But there are also many older streets, bridges, tunnels and plazas.
This is the top of the Pont de Luis I.
I then started to walk down to the lower level of the bridge.
Did I mention it was hilly?
This is about half way down the hill. The photos above were taken from just to the upper right hand corner of this next photo.
Finally down to the riverwalk, and you can see both the upper and lower levels of the bridge.
This is looking east (or upstream) from the Pont de Luis I.
This is looking back west at Pont de Luis I and eventually out to the ocean on the River Douro.
This is looking up at the Pont de Luis I - notice the stairs going up the steep cliff.
The waterfront cafes and docks for river cruises are just to the west of the bridge.
It is amazing to think that this was built in 1886.
There are some nice hotels on the river.
And then it was the long walk back up the hill.
There were nice views of the other bridges to the east; unlike the Pont de Luis I, there is only an upper passageway on both the old bridge in front and the new white bridge beyond it.
Did I mention that it was a long hill to get back up to the city center?
When I got to the top, I met a couple from South Korea - they thought I was a super human walking back up the hill. They declined my suggestion to go down the hill to cafes on the river. I took one last photo from the top of the hill and then headed back to the hotel to meet other Habitat volunteers for lunch.
No need to show boarding passes anymore for TSA pre-check - apparently, the data from my ID ties into the airlines flight records. There is a nice, but small, airport museum after you get through security.
In the central area between concourses E and F, there are nice chairs, all with electrical outlets, plus free airport wifi throughout. There are also some shops and restaurants.
There is a nice play area for kids on Concourse F.
All of the chairs have electrical outlets and most have arms with a cupholder.
The gates have workspaces with electrical outlets, so I sat and did some class work online.
Other than Starbucks, the restaurants on the E concourse are not yet open, so I ate at Panera Bread on the F concourse.
My flights took me to Chicago, Munich and then to Oporto. A quick stop at the info booth in the Oporto airport got me a metro/light rail ticket for 2.60 Euros. I rode the metro to the end of the line at Trinidade station. I could have switched lines and rode one more stop closer to the hotel, but Google Maps showed me it was only a short 15 minute walk, so I enjoyed the chance to stretch my legs on my way through the pedestrian shopping area Bolhao to Hotel Moov Centro.
After getting settled in my room, I went for a walk, and found a local restaurant where for 7.60 euros, I had an omelet with salad, fries and beer for dinner. Then it was back to the hotel after more exploring, and getting a beer and bag of chips for a snack while watching BBC news, including a 30 minute segment on the British Antarctic explorations - I saw many of the things our daughter sees regularly in McMurdo.
Saturday morning, I set out to explore. Oporto is hilly so I got my exercise going up and down hills.
There is interesting artwork and sculpture around the city center.
These are some of the stairs I encountered near Catedral Sao Bento.
There is a lot of construction.
But there are also many older streets, bridges, tunnels and plazas.
This is the top of the Pont de Luis I.
I then started to walk down to the lower level of the bridge.
Did I mention it was hilly?
This is about half way down the hill. The photos above were taken from just to the upper right hand corner of this next photo.
Finally down to the riverwalk, and you can see both the upper and lower levels of the bridge.
This is looking east (or upstream) from the Pont de Luis I.
This is looking back west at Pont de Luis I and eventually out to the ocean on the River Douro.
This is looking up at the Pont de Luis I - notice the stairs going up the steep cliff.
The waterfront cafes and docks for river cruises are just to the west of the bridge.
It is amazing to think that this was built in 1886.
There are some nice hotels on the river.
And then it was the long walk back up the hill.
There were nice views of the other bridges to the east; unlike the Pont de Luis I, there is only an upper passageway on both the old bridge in front and the new white bridge beyond it.
Did I mention that it was a long hill to get back up to the city center?
When I got to the top, I met a couple from South Korea - they thought I was a super human walking back up the hill. They declined my suggestion to go down the hill to cafes on the river. I took one last photo from the top of the hill and then headed back to the hotel to meet other Habitat volunteers for lunch.
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