Days 1&2 2022, US to PORTUGAL to Spain
This is my annual blow by blow diary describing our world travels. Jenny and I worked with a wonderful Tourism Company called Portugal Trails this year. They helped us coordinate a three-week trip, a loose 5-6 day stay in each of the following cities: Barcelona, Madrid, Porto and Lisbon - hotel stays, and occasional tours and entertainment arrangements, leaving plenty of free time to plan our own adventures. I hope you enjoy the retelling as much as we will be enjoying the actual experience. I will print one a day for the next three weeks 😊
Day 1 DC to Philadelphia to Lisbon, Portugal to Barcelona, Spain.
Buenas dias!
We began at noon driving to DC to drop our car off with our daughter who ferried us to the airport (God bless her). We breezed through our TSA inspection for a change but Jenny was held up as their machines claimed she had metal on various parts of her anatomy and went through a period of being patted down and felt up only to find that their machine was mistaken (no rude comments – thank you). Our flight to Philly was uneventful. wandered about and had dinner at an oriental stand – Poke bowls - sushi and noodles with a spicy dressing. Nummy
Caught our plane to Lisbon at 9:30 p.m. (YAWN). I neglected to say that I caught a severe cold, the day before our departure. It was not death-dealing Covid, but from the way I felt it had to be a close cousin. Due to an absolutely packed flight, Jen and I were not able to sit together. And unfortunately. we were both given center seats so there was no trading with other passengers.
Being big as I am. Center and window seats make me miserable, particularly on long flights. C’est la vie! Made friends with my row mates left and right. To my right was Joe a salesman who had traveled the world. To my right was Sharon, a shy, retired woman who was bound for a five-week tour of Portugal. I felt so sorry for her as she was gluten intolerant and practically everything other than the yogurt, had wheat in it.
Joe quickly fell asleep and since he had stuffed a bag under the seat in front of him, he occasionally decided to claim part of my under-seat space with one of his legs. This became HIGHLY problematic because while he was asleep, Joe jerked constantly, kneeing me in the thigh (after the 25th time I stopped counting). This prevented me from getting any sleep whatsoever. Pushing back and waking him had NO effect. Feeling the way I did when we touched down in Lisbon I was absolutely miserable, despite having watched the delightful Downten Abbey Movie as well as the ebullient movie Grease (for the umpteenth time).
Arriving in Lisbon we had no idea where anything was. The airport we landed in was crowded with much less space than most international airports. Picked up our bags off the carousel and then rechecked them onto the next flight. Had to check our carry-on too as the overheads were much smaller than our previous plane. Feeling as I did, the surroundings were very disorienting. I just slogged along behind Jenny hauling our luggage, in a fog hoping not to lose sight of her for she had the only working brain between us.
The flight to Barcelona was delightful. No sleep but had a delightful conversation with João a young Portuguese professionmal who specialized in IT. He spoke perfect English and had a keen interest in the environment and U.S. history. He knew nothing about the American Civil War (Wink-wink). By the time we landed He knew everything that I knew about it. Between coughs & sniffles (I was wearing a mask) the conversation revived me somewhat. Was surprised that the two-hour Portuguese Vueling flight offered no refreshment that you didn’t pay for.
Day 2 Exausted in Barcelona, Spain.
Landing in Barcelona we decided to exchange money at an airport currency exchange. Travelers beware. Know the current exchange rate. We learned when traveling elsewhere to be wary of airport exchanges. Saying we wished to exchange $2000 to Euros we were told we would be given 1525 Euros in return. I said we would go elsewhere. The man said “I will check with my supervisor.” We waited. He said “Yes, I can offer you 1765 Euros. I said “No.” We will have our guide exchange for us. He said, “Wait” and picked up the phone again. We waited until he was finished. A little frustrated he said. “Your new rate will be 1862 Euros.” In the meantime, we had looked up the immediate exchange rate to find that the Euro had risen and knowing the Exchange would have to get a commission, we accepted his final offer. He looked relieved.
Picking up our bags we headed for the exit where we did not find our ride waiting. Checked all of the names various people were holding up and did not see ours. Waiting 15-20 minutes, we checked and rechecked them. Finally, we called the agency, to have them contact our driver. Ten minutes later, he arrived. His name was Bogdan and he explained that - having been there since 5:00 p.m. the tablet that he had our name on was dying and he went to his car to recharge it. Being completely loopy at that point due to the travel and my illness, I told him it was ok. We knew it wasn’t his fault. We loved Portugal and the Portuguese.
Only after dropping us off at our hotel did I realize we were in Spain and he was Spanish.
Our hotel is Derby Hotel Astoria. This is a grand old hotel with serious liveried personnel, an impressive marble and hardwood foyer and curved marble staircase. At the same time it happened to be display a wonderful art exhibition displaying the works of Ricarard Opisso. - 250 0riginals - the Portuguese fashion of yesteryear.
On our way up to our room, we decided it did not have the smallest or the slowest elevator we had experienced … but in both categories, it was close. Our room was not spacious but neither was it cramped. It did have the most luxurious mattress I can remember in any hotel I’ve visited AND the largest most luxurious towels. 4’x6’ - fluffy and absorbent. Had to take shower and a nap to revive before dinner.
Taking our concierge’s advice we visited the El Selva “Meat” restaurant two blocks away. How charming it was! A long, narrow space with tables to either side, Along the right were tables that accommodated diners with whimsical swings descending from the ceiling. We partook of a bottella of delicious red wine (Vella Lola) An incredible Salmon Tartare (Salmon, roe, pineapple, avocado). Our entres were a Uruguayan flank steak and a Galician Dried steak, served on the side was a slate grill perched over a sterno-stove allowing us to reheat or further grill our forkfuls of carne de vaca – along side it we were served bits of beef fat to grease the slate and sea salt to sprinkle on. Each steak was serve with a small stone pot of Potato and Sweet Potato fries. Absolutely delicious. A little pricey but worth it. Staggered back to the hotel replete but completely worn out
That’s it this time around – Buenas Noches.
(PS - I will be posting additional photos on my FB site - John Poniske)