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Monday, September 30, 2013

[ shimmering Porto ]

Day 1

1516 hrs
I am getting late for the airport. And I also do not know where to catch the bus from because I have never been to John Lennon Airport in Liverpool. Anyway I grab my bag (supposed to be a cabin bag) and start running towards the train station. Guess what? It leaves quite late for the South - Parkway Station from where I have to again hop on a bus to reach the airport so decided why not to catch a bus at the first hand and #86A made my day.
Therefore I stand on Renshaw Street and start waiting for it. The bus arrives after almost 20 minutes that seemed like a decade of me standing there and I get in.
Patience is required now that is all I could think of because it was a long journey towards the airport. After an hour's journey I finally reached and rushed towards the check-in counter. The location of the airport seemed to be lovely but it was not as happening as the name suggested.
Very calm and quiet... John Lennon was not even near these two feelings when he was at his peak. But then it was just another airport. I saw others (my friends/colleagues) roaming around here and there, some were standing in the queue and some waiting to get in. Trust me it was the easiest check-in that I ever did in my whole life till now. The woman at the desk was looking at me surprisingly when I said "Is that it?"... yeah these words came out of my mouth a little loud. Yes, it was because I was not sure that what was coming next.
The gate to our flight opened 40 minutes before the departure time. All of us walked towards the gate and the time came when good time started to make me worry a bit. 
It was my first time flying with #ryanair and I did not know their rule... lets say I knew them but did not wanted to believe them, which was a big mistake. They were weighing and then measuring the dimensions of the cabin bags that people were taking along with them for free. And guess what... my luggage was under weight but my bag did not fit in the suggested dimensions and they simply asked me to pay 60 pounds on the counter. Wow!!!! what an event to start the journey with. All this time the easy check-in got paid off with this remarkable aftermath. 
I was the last one to enter the plane and then sat quietly and waited to arrive at the #porto airport.

2039 hrs
The flight took off and after almost two and a half hours we landed at the Francisco de Sa Carneiro Airport in Porto (Oporto), Portugal... named after Francisco, the founder of the Portuguese Social Democratic Party in 1974. The airport to me looked 'chic' and made me wonder why people say that Porto as a city is deteriorating.
All of us took the metro and #trindade station was the one where we all were supposed to get off and search for our hostel. The hostel where most of us will be staying for the rest of the week. It was drizzling... shucks!!! that not I wanted for a start. I guess that is what none of us wanted.

2300 hrs
Seems like we have settled down. The hostel seemed quite cozy and comfortable. And it was time for me to take some photographs that I did. Have a look:



















 Hmmmm!!! not a bad idea to upload these pictures... well this is how I felt of #porto that night. There will be some actual photos that I will be posting later or you can check out my Facebook profile to have a glimpse on the rest of the album.
Cheers.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

[Chester] recalling history


The red line: that is the walk that I did on the day.

One of my mates here (Liverpool) told me "visit #Chester" Therefore, one fine day I decided and took off on a journey that took me way back into time.

Have a look at the time-lapse that I made on the trip:


Chester seasoning from Sameer Aftab on Vimeo.