M40間諜米格魯的秘密日誌

Turkey's national carrier, Turkish Airlines, will operate a direct flight from Izmir to Athens, thus saving all travellers the need to fly via Istanbul.
TK 1844 Izmir - Athens will depart Izmir's Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB) every Monday, Wednedsday, Thursday and Saturday at 06:00, arriving at Athens International Airport at 07:00 local time. There is no time difference between Izmir and Athens.
TK 1843 Athens - Izmir will depart Athens International Airport (ATH) every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday at 23:20, arriving at Izmir's ADB airport at 00:20.

I love cafes. It is not just a lifestyle: it is a ritual. Everywhere  I go, I will try out the cafes in town and find one that I prefer most. In Portugal, you will easily find plenty of decent bars and cafes that serve excellent gelao (coffee with milk) at reasonable prices, but this one, Cafe Internacional right across the road from Horta,'s Marina stands outfrom most other cafes in Horta because of its art deco/Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) interiors.

The main counter of Cafe Internacional. The location of this cafe is ideal, right across the road from Horta's Marina and a stone throw away from the Tourist Information Office, the Pousada de Santa Cruz hotel as well as Cafe Sport Peter.

Every island of the Azores has a name: Faial is known as the 'Blue Island' thanks to the overwhelming presence of hydrangea  all over the island. Due to the relative absence of efficient public transport systems, it is advisable that you rent a car if you want to visit the various parts of the island in depth. It takes less than 3 hours to drive around the entire island.
Rental car companies congregate around two streets in the centre of Horta: the Rua Vasco da Gama, and Rua Conselheiro Medeiros. It is advisable to enquire around for prices and availability, as prices and the class of cars available at short notice differ hugely between different car rental companies.

Horta is a quaint little town with a world famous marina. The marin is world famous because it is an important provision stop for Trans-Atlantic yachts. In the 1930s, Horta was an important signal stop for trans-Atlantic telex cables; it also served as an intermediate stop for flights to and from the US/Europe.

The Azores are a group of  volcanic islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 2.5 hours - 3 hours by flight from Lisbon. Since their colonization by the Portugese seafarers in the 15th century, the Azores have been part of the Portugese Empire and a strategic transit point on the Trans-Atlantic sea and air route. Today, the Azores are an autonomous region within the Portugese Republic, and part of the European Union. 
Horta, the biggest town on the island of Faial, is served by TAP Portugal and SATA (the regonal airlines of the Azores) via Lisbon or Ponta Delgada (on the island of Sao Miguel). The airport at Horta has a relatively short landing strip, which means the thrust reversers were immediately put into action as soon as the SATA Airbus 320-200 touched down on the runway.

This is the news many people have been waiting for. For many years, the Istanbul - Athens - Istanbul route has been dominated by  two companies: Turkey's national carrier, Turkish Airlines, and Greece's national carrier, Olympic Airways. As a result one way fares are often horrendously expensive given that the flight is less than an hour.
With effect from 09 September 2009, Aegean Airlines, a future member of the Star Alliance, will gatecrash the duopoly previously held by THY and Olympics. For those who want to continue their journey to the Greek islands served by Aegean's domestic network, there is now the possibility of flying from Istanbul to Santorini, Crete, Naxos, Corfu ... etc. via Athens with Aegean Airlines. Thus saving yourself precious time and energy (compared to travelling with overnight ferries). And remember: the earlier you book, chances are that you can find some real bargain fares.
Aegean Airlines:  www.aegeanair.com

以前在英國念書時,常常一有空就往其他的歐洲國家跑;以下是我在倫敦的土耳其領事館 (Consulate-General of the Republic of Turkey, 在倫敦的 Rutland Gardens 那裡,靠近 Knightsbridge) 辦土耳其簽證所需的文件:
注意: 所有想在倫敦的土耳其領事館申請簽證者,需要先打特別熱線電話預約送件面談時間.土耳其領事館不受理事前沒有預約的申請者.
台灣護照:送件之後3個工作天可核發.
我以前辦時,台灣護照需要的資料:
1. 簽證申請表格 (Visa Application Form)
2. 護照正本 (需自進入土耳其境內那天算起至少還有半年效期)
3. 護照照片資料頁影印本一份
4. 英國居留簽證 (Student Visa/Leave to Enter/ Leave to Remain): 需在申請土耳其簽證那天算起至少還有半年效期,否則(看簽證官心情)可能需要送到土耳其首都安卡拉去審核,這麼一來可能需要 6-8 星期
5. 近照一張 (多帶幾張去)
6. £ 20 申請費 (限現款支付)
7. 你最新的英國銀行帳戶明細 (bank statements within 3 months)

這個問題應該算是老掉牙了,然而申根簽證(Type C)的有效期限/到期日的計算方法的確會讓人覺得混淆,所以我把自己貼在www.backpackers.com.tw 的文章轉貼在這裡:
如果你持有的多次出入申根簽證(Multiple Entry Schengen Visa - Type C)是六個月之內可以停留90天 (any 90 days within 6 months) 那種, 到期日是以簽證上印的 Date of Expiry 為準, 並不是從你第一次入境申根國的那一天算起.
6個月90天的申根簽證,意思是從 Date of Issue (簽證核發日)到 Date of Expiry (簽證到期日)這6個月之內,你可以在申根區域之內待上最多90天(包括入境日和離境日).

When we checked out at Melia Tryp Castelo Blanco, the friendly receptionist (Portugal has lots of friendly receptionists. In fact I must say all receptionists I have met at all the Melia's we have stayed at in Spain and Portugal are all very friendly and helpful) recommended we cross the border at Segura as the drive is a very pictureque one. We followed his advice and were indeed very impressed by the beautiful countryside full of wild flowers, red poppies and old stones.

It was spring time and the whole countryside was full of such purple-bluish flowers.

When we checked out at Melia Palacio de Lousa, the friendly lady at the hotel reception gave me precise instructions and a handful of copies of detailed road maps, to help us find our way to Castelo Branco (our next stop) without getting lost somewhere on the way again. We followed her advice closely and found ourselves passing through some very pleasant countrysides.

A village cafe in the middle of Portugal's countryside. They serve very good espresso and the owner, an old man in his 60s, actually knows where Taiwan is ('Formosa' is the name he uses). In fact, many older Portugese know about Formosa and the troubled history between the Nationalists and the Chinese Communists.