Flew out from SFO using by Swiss Air. First leg was to Zurich. Paid 37K points (through chase portal) for economy, then upgraded to business for $1210 for the first leg. Definitely worth the upgrade. Got to use the Polaris lounge in SFO since they are a Star Alliance member (main thing in Polaris I got was Macallan 12. They also had Arran).

On the flight itself, remember to make sure that if you’re flying business, either choose the seat that has a lot of side table space, or the lone seat. Overall, great experience. No complaints about food (except that the cheese I think made not more gassy than usual, which did affect sleep). For the first 11 hour leg got 3 hours of work done, and watched 2 hours of shows before trying to sleep. Oh, and one thing they did not have was Aperol (they had Campari). They did have Rebel 0.0 non-alcohol spritz, so used that instead with (actual) champagne (but note Rebel is 15g of sugar, when daily intake should be 30g).

When landing in Zurich (ZRH), connecting flight we only had to go through passport control (not through security again). Could also use the duty free (at SF or Zurich) for alcohol since we were transferring from the US. In addition, since our flight to Porto was delayed, we were able to use the Business class Swiss lounge (I could bring an economy guest). ONE major complaint (which may deter me from flying through ZRH in the summer) is that it does not really use AC, so was sweating in the lounge. Fortunately the business class Swiss lounge had showers! Otherwise, food was subpar at that lounge (and even drinks). Only other good thing was the ice cream and Swiss chocolate.

When boarding my flight to Porto, they instantly upgraded me to business class (which was sweet for the free drinks but really didn’t want to eat more). and FWIW they have bottled Aperol spritz on that flight. Not sure if they upgraded me because of my previous business class ticket, or because I’m Star Alliance Gold)

When we arrived at Porto (OPO), unloading and picking up luggage’s was easy. Instead of ubering to the hotel, used a taxi.

When we got to the Hotel Dom Henrique Downtown, we checked out the 17th floor at this place to view the sunset (unfortunately could only view it through a window):

17 Restaurant and Bar

After, we wandered a slight it around the Aliados area (fairly clean, spacious architecture) walked to a Portuguese restaurant called Brasao, and tried the rissol and francesinha dishes.

Brasao

That pretty much ended out first day.