Leaving the Azores

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I always hate when a trip comes to an end. It means you have to leave a place you spent discovering, you have to get back on a plane for x number of hours and you have to return to the realities of every day life. This trip came at just the right time when a break was needed from work and I felt so relaxed and stress free the entire week. It was hard to leave!

We had one last breakfast at the hotel and spent our last few hours sitting on the balcony enjoying the sun and the ocean. Then it was time to check out and wait for the shuttle back to the airport. The driver took a nice scenic route up the hill behind our hotel and across the middle of the island. I had my final glimpses of the green pastures with the happy cows and soaked it in knowing I would be returning to grass that is still brown from winter.

The airport on Terceira is small, check-in was easy and we didn't have to take off our shoes at security. We were shuttled from the gate out to the plane and everyone boarded and we were off on time. The flight back to Boston was much smoother than the flight going so that was a plus. On this leg, I choose the aisles seats before the first class section so we would have the extra leg room. It was pretty uncomfortable on the way out so it was nice to have that added bit of space to really stretch out! We landed in Boston a few minutes early. Here, we breezed through customs, had to wait a bit for our baggage to come down and then headed out to wait for the hotel shuttle. Our hotel was the Towne Place Suites, located not too far from the airport. The nice man at the desk said we were upgraded to a one bedroom suite, which was nice, but then I slept on the couch. The hotel itself was very nice, but there was a lot of traffic noise from outside and noise from the people above. I really did not sleep much.

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