WWFB: Best Monday Ever Edition
The scene: Monday in the Azores. You’re staying in a cute Airbnb, you’ve got a rental car, and you’re ready to do some serious touristing!
Breakfast at home was egg sandwiches and coffee. The coffeemaker was boobytrapped (R.I.P. white dish towel that was the closest thing on hand to mop up the deluge!), so thank goodness I’d had the foresight to pick up some Starbucks VIA before the trip.
Now I’m no Starbucks fangirl — I much prefer fresh ground, fresh brewed Valentine or Colectivo, my fave Milwaukee roasters — but if it’s a choice between starting the day with no coffee and actually-not-terrible instant Italian roast from a convenient little packet that I can fix while I’m still in jammies, my money’s on Starbucks. And really, it’s better for everyone. Trust me, the people of the Azores are not ready for Uncaffeinated Me. But I digress.
Amid our travels across the island on Monday, we stopped at several spots for food and drink. There was a late lunch at Santa Bárbara Eco-Beach Resort, a fancy-ass surf school / hotel on the north coast.
Approaching Ponta Delgada at what we thought was dinner time, we had to kill an hour and a half drinking cocktails in the rooftop bar at Azor Hotel, a fancy-ass boutique hotel on the south coast of São Miguel. As expected for the first 5-star resort on the island, the décor, drinks, and service were fantastic! We are not fancy enough to stay there, but thankfully they let us drink there without checking our credit scores.
When the dinner hour finally arrived (8:00? 8:30? I don’t know, it’s European time and there were cocktails involved…) we strolled across town to Restaurant Gastrónomo, an unassuming spot that soon filled up with locals — always a good sign! We ate a damn fine fish there. It had eyes. And eventually we drove back to Furnas, where we drank some 10-year-old Porto. A great day in food!
VERDICT: Come for the €7 liters of sangria and the invisible cheese. Stay for more €7 liters of sangria.
UPDATE: Hotel Azor has closed its fancy-ass doors, alas. Get yer 5-star cocktails elsewhere, peasant!
