"Hello again Vicar". A second marriage is a trifle strange, calling for a different kind of celebration. So Netty and I are having our engagement party for just 12 close friends in Portugal where we've hired a Quinta for 5 days. Northern Portugal is a fabulous holiday destination for so many reasons, but more of that later. Then we're on to a 3 week holiday/honeymoon in Brazil.

The party is funded by us cutting back to economy on our Star2-RW-fares. Sadly these are M class, ineligible for Star-partner-upgrades using our specially-saved UA miles. Being too new here for CC, we are consigned to the Y cabins for the long sectors across Asia and across the Atlantic. Still it's only a holiday, not a business trip.

To get the maximum out of Star RW fares ex Australia, one buys a low-cost internal flight to get across the country rather than using up 2,500 miles of the RW allowance. So we're setting off on C award tickets tomorrow on the 5-hour flight from SYD to PER. [36,000 QF miles each, ouch.] On a 747, the UD we hope: QF's domestic admin is very basic, no seat-preassignment, no OLCI.

Next week, we'll be on the (only) daytime flight from Aus to Europe, SQ PER-SIN-FRA and then LH FRA-OPO. Then OPO-LIS-SSA on TP, and, if there's still a Varig, SSA-BSB-MAO-GRU-GIG on RG. And home on UA, GIG-GRU-ORD-IAH-DEN-LAX-SYD.

Continuing ...