Walking Across Italy

Flying overnight is always a mixed bag. Sometimes I sleep, and sometimes I don’t. This time I got about 3 hours of sleep, but that means I’ll probably crash around dinner time. My emotional fog was illustrated brilliantly by the rivers of fog swirling around the french countryside as we were landing.

Even the Eiffel Tower was covered in a hazy white veil.

After landing in Paris, I found my way to the Air France Lounge (during my 5 hour layover) and had some breakfast, shaved, and took a shower. My wife hates the idea of bathing at the airport, but since she is not traveling with me, I plunged in. The lounge is brand mew, so the showers were clean and sanitary. This lounge also offers several Nap Rooms with chaise lounges, soft lighting, and privacy curtains. So I availed myself of a 1 hour snooze.

Awakening refreshed, I gathered my things and boarded the flight to Porto, Portugal. This will be out starting point for the trip. Once there, I found Joe in the arrivals area, and Stephen and Juan Pablo joined soon after. We took the obligatory group selfie at the airport and made our way to the hotel.

Juan Pablo booked dinner at a local cantina where the tempura green beans were deliciously crunchy and my veal risotto was “maravilhoso”! On the way there, we noticed thousands of people sitting on a hillside facing the sun. “What are they doing”, asked Stephen. “Watching the sunset”, Joe explained. “Don’t they know that this happens every night”, retorted Stephen. And so our story begins.