LisbonJet's Journey

Snowy Helsinki

Helsinki, January 2013

As you some of you might already know, Helsinki was one of my favorite stopovers.

Even during winter period:

New York, Gasenvoort Peninsula

New York, July 2024

This was my 4th time in New York this year. I'm always glad to have it. I arrived on the summer solstice day and temperatures were insanely high. So I decided to enjoy the longest day of the year and go the beach in Manhattan!

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Gasenvoort Peninsula

Gasenvoort Peninsula is located in the Hudson River Park and surprisingly it is not an old pier. Also it is not that far from Little Island. Although swimming is not allowed you can enjoy being on real sand with some beach chairs and umbrellas. I enjoyed spending my time there sunbathing and listening to my music.

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World Trade Center

On my way to the hotel, I never waste the chance for a couple of artistic photos.

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Newark Liberty

Next day, as usual, I stayed in Newark doing some shopping and having a little pre-flight rest. I left the hotel after lunch time for my return flight to Lisbon. Nice to have a Lufthansa 747-8 side by side with our tiny but cosy A321LR.

Barcelona & Malpensa Airport

Barcelona, February 2024

Just a quick post to show a couple of photos I took in Barcelona, last February: the Sagrada Família seen from my hotel and a nice close-up of Torre Glòries at night, located in the Poblenou neighbourhood.

Before going to Barcelona, and part of the same flight pairing, we did a turnaround flight to Milan - Malpensa:

Copenhagen & Funchal

Copenhagen & Funchal, May 2024

This month I was two times in Funchal and one in Copenhagen.

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Copenhagen

Trains and tracks always draw my attention.

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Funchal

I'm also a fan of Niemeyer's work and his world of curved lines. The iconic casino in Funchal is a clear example of that.

Brussels, Jeanneke Pis

Brussels, May 2024

Brussels was the first city I was able to visit while on a layover since I started my aviation career in 2007. And since that time it has always been a favorite of mine. Operations for Brussels Airlines out of Brussels to Africa destinations were very common in my ACMI days.

I think Brussels has so much to offer to a visitor: nice architecture and museums, beer, waffles and chocolate, moules-frites, places to have fun by night, etc...

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Comics Art Museum

I started my rest day in Brussels with a visit to the Comics Art Museum which has been on my Brussels to-do list for such a long time! Of course you can't escape from Tintin and its creator Hergé.

I was very surprised to find a comic strip on display about the big 1755 earthquake in my hometown - Lisbon:

The ticket for an adult has a cost of 13 € - a little bit expensive in my opinion - but all in all it was a good way to spend some time.

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Jeanneke Pis

On this layover I was able to finally spot the famous Jeanneke Pis statue/fountain. Usually the focus is put on the Manneken Pis statue which I had already seen plenty of times. Maybe because Jeanneke Pis is placed in a dead end street it doesn't get much attention as its counterpart.

However, that dead end street is also where you can find a very famous beer bar in Brussels: the Delirium Café.

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Central Brussels

Next couple of photos show the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula and also the Galerie de la Reine part of the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries complex.

And finally a photo taken at the iconic Grand-Place (which was overcrowded because it was the Ascension public holiday) and another one of the tower of the Town Hall seen from distance.

I don't know why but I am usually blessed with good weather and blue skies in Brussels. Of course I ate one gaufre au chocolat and by the end of the day I felt good with another pleasurable stay in Brussels. Looking forward to coming back again.

San Francisco, San Jose & Sentinel Bldg

San Francisco, March 2023

This was one of my two awesome layovers in San Francisco in 2023. This time I was able to get a crew willing to visit the Yosemite Park but I will leave that report for later.

On the day we arrived we decided to go to a rooftop for a drink and stay awake as long as we could since the time difference is -8h.

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Charmaine's Rooftop

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Cupertino

On our way back from Yosemite, me and a colleague decided to see the Apple Park and stop in San Jose for a short visit before we returned our car in San Francisco.

There wasn't much we could see at the Apple Park site since we didn't have an appointment for a visit but the building itself is really impressive.

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City of San José

We stopped in San Jose out of curiosity but after our short visit I was thinking the city hasn't much to offer for a tourist. Here are the main highlights:

Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

Sonic Runway

City Hall

We had dinner there (we went for Ramen) and we got back in San Francisco.

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San Francisco

Next day I was all by myself and I went to explore SF a little bit more. The Sentinel Building (or Columbus Tower) was something I wanted to see and photograph.

Sentinel Building

Down below the sister cities of SF and a TWA metal poster I bought at the Pier 39.

And the last day of my layover was already the return day to Lisbon. I went to the Ferry Building Marketplace. But first, a couple of photos on my way...

And finally inside the marketplace:

The last set of photos I took show the SF-Oakland Bay bridge and some kind of street art. I was also lucky to get a cargo MD-11 overflying it.

Despite its miserable longitudinal stability that caused some accidents, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is always a beautiful and gracious aircraft to see.

New York, Manhattan

New York, January 2022

When I decided to move back to the narrow-body fleet I had this thought: of all intercontinental destinations I just need New York to be happy! And I still have it flying the A321LR. These photos are still from the years when I belonged exclusively to the wide-body fleet. Almost every time I'm in New York I'll walk so many kilometers on foot and I won't ever get tired of doing it. Even if it's winter and freezing cold, like this time!

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Newark Airport