My Travel Blog
We have arrived! It has only been 4 hours, but we already are in love with this city and its people. More on that to come…
Our flights were relatively uneventful - I am always amazed at the time crunch and stress of getting out of the house. No matter how many times we do it I can't seem to avoid those last minute, heart racing moments! Cleaning out the perishables, making sure the windows are shut, confirming that the stove is off (like I ever leave it on?!?), printing boarding passes and ensuring that we have all of those little bits and pieces that we need… it is unavoidable! But we slid out of the house perfectly on time, and by the time we were seated on our first leg of this adventure I had already forgotten the chaos that got us there.
We flew British Airways and have always been impressed with their service. This time was no different, aside from the fact that they have reconfigured their planes and the seats are SQUISHY! That's okay if you're flying an hour to Vancouver, but not so cool on a 9-hour flight. The meals were nice (for those who care, the choice was between a vegetarian pasta and creamy chicken on rice), and all of the flight attendants were pleasant and attentive. Supposedly they have more seats than before (surprise!), but the air quality was much improved. I actually noticed a difference - the air felt fresh and not as recycled as it usually does. Bonus!
We had a 3.5 hour stopover in London, and as usual, it was a total gong show. We deplaned onto the tarmac and took a bus for about 10-15 minutes to the terminal. After looking at a large screen we realized we needed to board another bus to a different terminal (another 10 minute ride), where we hovered around in a communal area waiting for our gate to be assigned. We passed the time in a French restaurant that was so authentic that we could've sworn we were eating in Paris. Seriously delish! Okay… not such a bad stopover after all. :)
We had a semi-short flight to Lisbon, which surprisingly enough was almost half full of Canadians - what are the chances? Sitting behind Jeff and Julia were the two people I had sat beside on the way from Calgary to London! Weird. There were also a bunch of Northern British Columbians who seemed very excited about their upcoming vacation. Surrounding us were also a handful of 20-something Americans on their way to teach a week long basketball camp to Portuguese teenagers - they were nice people and obviously looking forward to their week in Portugal. What an eclectic bunch we were!
I admittedly hit the wall on the plane. I thought that my tray table looked really comfy, so I set my head down for (what I thought) was about 20 seconds, only to be woken by the flight attendants delivering food to my seatmates. Oops. I temporarily resumed my position to be (rudely?) awoken again by the delivery of beverages. The nerve! After that 18 minute catnap, I felt fully revived and resumed my previously scheduled programming (ie - playing Candy Crush and watching old Downton Abbey Episodes). The life I lead!
We landed, scurried quickly out of the airport, and headed towards our apartment. What a beautiful and comfortable space we have! It is totally perfect and completely meets our needs. The area we are in has tiny cobblestone streets with hills and hidden corners - exactly the opposite of our suburban home. We found an amazing little restaurant that was insanely cheap with incredible food; we were given pitchers of house wine for €1.50 (about $2.20 CDN) and fresh grilled fish that blew our minds. This bodes well for the rest of our time here in Lisbon…. :)
Crazy delicious fresh fish!
Wine that is cheaper than water...
I am absolutely blown away by the fact that I have not written a single post since September. I have a litany of excuses I could throw out, but the fact of the matter is that the dog ate my homework. Weak, I know.
In actuality, since the fall, I have been taking courses through the University of Calgary towards a certificate in Business and Technical Writing. It has taken my focus away from this website, and I'm hoping that our upcoming trip to Portugal and Spain will help me regain some focus and I can give this site some much-needed attention.
In 2 days we leave for a two-week trip, and at this point, I am feeling fairly unprepared. The last few places we have travelled involved the need for a variety of items and clothing types, and we had temporarily abandoned our 'carry-on only' rule due to the nature of those trips. This time, we must resume packing lightly or we will not be able to fit our suitcases into the trunk of our Spanish rental car! 'Full size' means very different things depending on what continent you are on.
Aside from being out of practice in packing lightly, this trip will be a bit different for us in that the weather will be slightly cooler (and potentially wetter) than we are used to when travelling in Europe. In the past, we have visited in July or August when the temperatures are guaranteed to be warm, if not hot. And while we are looking forward to pleasant springtime temperatures this trip, it does make travelling with only a carry-on a little bit trickier as we will need many more layers.
The next few days will bring a flurry of laundry and to-do lists, and I feel confident that we will walk out of our house on Friday evening with four perfectly packed bags. I look forward to the challenge! :)
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