AZORES

Wow. Beautiful island landscapes, active and dormant volcanoes, meticulously gardened miradouros every few miles with lava rock picnic tables, very few people. Some of the best beef and deep sea fish I’ve ever had, and the only stew cooked by a volcano — cozido das Furnas — paired with crisp white volcanic wine. Long live Frei Gigante! Unfortunately they don’t export the wine to the United States. I checked.

Described as a mix between Hawaii and Ireland, the Portuguese Azores is an archipelago of nine dramatic volcanic islands about one-third of the way across the Atlantic between Lisbon and New York.

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