Elder Museum, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Las Palmas, September 2019

This was a weekend visit to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. Since it was a short stay I went to explore only the capital of the island, which is not the most touristic part of the island.

The day I arrived I went to the old town - Vegueta - and had a drink at a rooftop bar.

My hotel was near Playa de las Canteras.

Second pic below, the view from my hotel.

It was funny to see a "Dulces de Portugal" shop in Las Palmas. Don't know if they still exist today.

The AC Hotel Gran Canaria is 84 m tall. It reminds me of the Marina City complex twin towers in Chicago.

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Elder Museum of

Science and Tecnology

I couldn't miss this museum. It is totally my area of interest. Outside you can find the forward section of a DC-9 which flew for Iberia and Aviaco in the past. The cockpit is very well preserved

The bridge on the river Kwai...

...Northrop F-5 fighter jet...

...and finally the building of the museum, combining the old and the new.

My return flight was with Portugália Airlines. I arrived early at the airport and since the flight was delayed I got to enjoy the nice charter traffic at Gran Canaria airport.

Saronno, Lombardy, Italy

Saronno, September 2024

So we changed our layovers in Milan from Somma Lombardo to Saronno. And I think we are way better here.

Saronno was totally unknown to me so I dediced to explore it instead of going to Milan which I already know. Catching the train at Saronno train station, Milan is only a 15 minute trip, I was told.

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Santuario della Beata
Vergine dei Miracoli

This church is close to our hotel, so obviously it was my first stop. It has an impressive dome and a nice cloister.

One of the paintings in the cloister,

...the interior and detail of the facace.

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Centro Storico

I did not make any research about Saronno before coming here, so I was just literally wandering and getting surprised about how interesting the historic center of Saronno is. Dominating the Piazza Libertà is the Santi Pietro e Paolo church.

 

Sunclass Airlines' A330neo seen at Oslo/Gardermoen

Gardermoen Airport, July 2025

Yesterday, my first flight this month of July - a long one to Oslo. This is a nice view of the wing of our A321neo retrojet - named "Portugal" - with a British Airways' A320 flying close to us.

 

The weather was not too bad at Oslo (21 ºC) and while the cleaning team was doing their job during the turnaround time, I got to see one of the two beautiful Sunclass A330neos, taking locals to warmer destinations.

Sunclass Airlines brand replaced the Thomas Cook Scandinavia name after the collapse of the Thomas Cook Group, in 2019.

Warsaw during the Euro 2012

Warsaw, June 2012

As of today, this happened to be the last time I was in Warsaw. It was when Poland and Ukraine co-hosted the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship. And you could really feel that vibe all over the city. Can you recognize the portuguese player Luís Figo on this outdoor?

By this time, other high-rises were still being built around the controversial Palace of Culture and Science - which was offered by the soviets - to overshadow it.

A couple of photos of the Warsaw Central station (Warszawa Centralna):

Other notable buildings in central Warsaw...

...and again, the Palace at night, illuminated by its high-power LED lights, installed in 2010.

Warsaw was one of the most appreciated layovers within the company. It's a pity we don't get to stay there anymore even though we still fly to Warsaw.

Theatro da Paz & Estação das Docas

Belém, May 2024

This is the second part of the previous post showing this layover in Belém. When visiting Belém, Theatro da Paz is something you really can't miss. I dare to say it's the most beautiful I ever saw in Brazil!

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Theatro da Paz

There are guided tours for which you pay a fairly cheap ticket. This theatre was founded in 1878, in the golden age of rubber in Amazon Basin. Built in neoclassical style the theatre has a current capacity for 900 people, originally 1100! It is located in Praça da República.

During our tour, the guide asked us if the pattern on the floor - pictured down below on the right - didn't remind us of anything. I answered what was obvious. Right away he asked me if I knew what was the difference to that other symbol.

- The direction of rotation, I said.

- And do you know its meaning?

- Peace.

When climbing the first flight of stairs, after being in the entrance hall, a big mirror can be seen. It is placed where it used to be the frontal entrance to the auditorium but since it interfered with the acoustics, engineers decided to close it. Beneath the stage of the auditorium there is a huge pool of water with a total capacity of around 40.000 liters with the purpose of improving the acoustics. We were lucky enough that during our visit a rehearsal was taking place on the stage so we could experience the great acoustics of the gallery:

The auditorium is absolutely stunning and it also reflects a strict class division when it was envisioned.

Details on a flight of stairs

You also get to see the Foyer and the balcony.

Last pictures: the monogram of the theatre on the pavement in front of it and its facade.

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Estação das Docas

Estação das Docas is a tourist-cultural complex space created in 2000, a requalification of the city's port area. You can the the old cranes and the steam locomotive used to pull them while enjoying your beer or your açaí smoothie.

As you can see by the dark clouds, a heavy storm was approaching quickly and we were lucky enough to get inside an Uber to go to the hotel right when it started pouring down.

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Ilha do Combu

Looking for a place to have lunch on our last day in Belém, we decided to catch a small boat to cross the river Guamá and go to the Combu island. The food was nice as well as the view to the city:

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Return Flight

And then, as always, it was time to fly back to Portugal. Airbus A321LR, tail number CS-TXI, named "Zeca Afonso" was the aircraft rostered for this crossing of the Atlantic Ocean: