Tag Archives: Panoramic Views

Azores: Santa Maria Island

Posted on August 25, 2017 | Leave a comment

Our Starting Point

Woke Up At Dawn

We take the 6:30 am flight to Santa Maria, the smallest island of the Azores archipelago (16.6 km long by 9.1 km wide), located 81 km from São Miguel.

It is also the oldest island of the archipelago: its formation dates back to about ten million years. And the first discovered and populated island of the Azores.

It’s a too early for me (lol!). I’m absolutely not a morning person! Thirty minutes later, we landed. Waiting for the heavy rain to stop, Henrique, our tour guide drives us to the only one opened café in Vila do Porto (the main city).

Then we head in 4X4 to the Fort Sao Bras (video below). The landscape and wind make me think of Ireland (picture above).

If you have trouble watching the videos, refresh the page and move the cursor a bit forwad on the timeline. And if it doesn’t work, do not hesitate to leave me a comment..

Crossing fields

Movie Set

We take a path in the fields to cross the center of the island. Awesome landscape! My first favorite scenery in Santa Maria!

The Red Desert

Barreiro da Faneca

Totally unexpected! After the fields and sheeps, the Red Desert. This arid zone of clay is unique in the Azores archipelago. Leaving Bareiro da Faneca, we find very green landscapes with here and there lovely traditional houses (photos below).

Poço da Pedreira

North Of The Island

An impressive landscape shaped by man: Poço da Pedreira is an ancient quarry located in Santa Barbara. The stone was used to built the traditional houses and parish of Santa Barbara.

Then we head towards São Lourenço (pictured below). Superb view of the bay and the village from the Mirador of Espigão!

The Lunch

Happiness!

Finally, I can see the ocean up close. The sound and power of the waves! The black sand beach that contrasts with the foam of the waves under a strong light. The color of the water changes from ultramarine blue to emerald. Magic! And the grilled fish is delicious.

Cascata do Aveiro

110 mètres de haut!

Look at the height of the woman in the right edge of the picture above : so tiny! Then we drive along the coast. The ocean…

Ribeira do Maloás

Spectacular!

Wow! The only place I saw this kind of volcanic roc was in Porto Santo (small island off Madeira). We walked on a narrow footpath along the cliff (first picture below).

What a surprise by discovering the wide verdant plateau split in two parts with this huge wall! Outstanding!

Back to the 4X4 to go to Pico Alto, the highest point of the island at 586.64 meters above sea level (second photo below). Great a panoramic view.

Back To São Miguel

In the early evening, we flight back to São Miguel. We are exhausted! I think the dinner will be pretty funny (lol).

I will go back to Santa Maria!

Informations

Visit Azores, Visit Portugal, TAP, Bootlá

Related posts : HOTEL REVIEWS & DESTINATIONS

Many thanks to Visit Azores, Visit Portugal and TAP for this superb invitation. Thanks also to our great guide in Santa Maria, Henrique Simões. As always, these are my opinions.

Park Inn: A Room Overlooking The Berliner Fernsehturm, The Berlin TV Tower

Posted on June 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

The view from my room at 24th floor

(picture above)! The two unique interests to book a room at Park Inn Berlin, are its location in the center of Alexanderplatz (or 5 minutes walk from the trendy Mitte, 1 minute from the Galleria food center, and 2 minutes of U ban – the subway and bus stops) and especially its incredible view of the Berliner Fernsehturm, the Berlin TV tower.

Inaugurated in 1970, it’s the tallest hotel of Germany (123 meters). But it’s also a “4 star” hotel-factory, really impersonal (1012 rooms and I do not even mention the reception hall and the breakfast restaurant)! And so “rationalist”: from the “automated” service at the reception desk to do your check in, to the room where every inch has been optimized at its maximum.

So you can easly have the impression of being in the airlock of a spaceship (without a futuristic design, no!), than in a hotel room. We could see an “airy” version of the philosophy of capsule hotel. Although there is no bathroom: a shower block which is separated from the toilet block, by a block-sink mirror in front of a wardrobe-minibar-safe block. Many blocks!

The double bed is comfortable and the all of decor is strictly rationalist (the most enthusiastic ones qualify it as “minimalist”), kind of Ikea furniture and not the most exciting selection of the catalog. For the same price, I recommend smaller hotels, with a warmer and more creative atmosphere, in less touristic neighborhoods. Especially if you stay several nights and/or if you travel lovers!

For a short stay of one night in Mitte, the Park Inn is an attractive option. It seems that the terrace of the restaurant at the 37th floor offers panoramic views of the city. I didn’t have time to check it.

Informmations

Park Inn Berlin

Primark: Presentation of the collection Fall-Winter 2012 in Berlin

New York: a hotel with a Central Park view

DESTINATIONS