What a beautiful day!
We got up at 3:00 and were ready to leave home at 4:00 Saturday morning. Chris was real sick so I gave him a blessing and he was feeling much better by the time we made it to the Airport. It was raining very lightly when we left, so we had to do some re-arranging of bags in the truck to keep everything dry. That also meant carrying some on our laps as we travelled to Salt Lake.
Our flight left Salt Lake for Phoenix at 7:10 am and arrived in Phoenix at 7:50 (time change because Arizona does not participate in daylight savings.)
From Phoenix we flew to Philadelphia where we waited through a three hour layover. We talked briefly with a man from the Netherlands who was on his way home from North Carolina and was taking a flight that was departing at a nearby gate. Quite an interesting old gentleman who had been a sailor for many years. He talked of his last sailing voyage which left from Lisbon and mentioned that it was the last time he had smoked in his life, something he was very grateful for…
As we waited, we played a quick game of "Take Two". A word building game using Scrabble letters but without a scrabble board.
We had been doing all we could to try and stay awake since we left home to try and make the time change a little easier. There is a 7 hour difference from Utah to Lisbon.
By the time we flew out of Philadelphia, at 8:20 pm, we were already very tired and tried to get some sleep on the plane ride to Portugal. It was a long flight, about 6 hours, and we got into Lisbon at 7:30 Sunday morning. (12:30 am home time) It was really cool to look out the window of the plane and see the sun beginning to rise on the Eastern horizon. We all got pretty excited to see the horizon and Lisbon slowly coming into view.
I was very surprised at the number of high rise buildings all over the area as we came in on our approach to the Lisbon airport.
Sunday…
When we landed, we climbed off the plane and had to stand in line for about 40 minutes to get through customs. There were lots and LOTS of people and a long line snaked back and forth through the terminal. It reminded me of Disneyland, with much of the same anticipation one has while waiting for one of the better rides there. We knew that once we were past that, we were really there! When we got to the check station, they took a look at our passports, scanned them and stamped them, and we were on our way.
When we got through the check in, we had to wander through the terminal looking for the baggage claim and find our bags. They had long since come out on the bag carousel and were waiting when we arrived.
In the terminal, we took a minute to step into the rest room and change into some nicer clothes. We had all basically flown in sweat pants and T-shirts for the comfort factor, but we looked a little ratty. So, after a quick clean up in the restroom, we were ready to move on.
I had been in contact with a few people prior to the trip, including the Mission home in Lisbon, the Hotel and the President of a local Rotary Club. We had lots of questions and felt like a variety of responses would help us feel more at ease before the trip. Things like transportation, money exchange, and suggestions for things to see.
The President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Benfica-Lisbon, Miguel Mendes, was gracious enough to come to the airport and meet us. He is an attorney, (always good to know a good attorney in a foreign country) and was very helpful in getting us from the airport to our hotel. We went by taxi, as it was the quickest and most efficient way to travel. Miguel spent a few minutes at the Hotel giving us some suggestions for places to visit and the meeting time and place of his Rotary Club. Plus, his card with his cell phone and business address.
Once at the hotel, we were so worn out, we took a nap for an hour or so, which was a great help! We are staying at the Hotel Turim near Parque Saldanha. It’s an older hotel but in a very quiet area of Lisbon. We have been surprised at how quiet.
Very few cars come through the street in front of the Hotel and the back, where our outside window is, overlooks the inside of the block we’re on, so we have no traffic behind us. The windows open completely, but we don’t have much of a view, just the backside of a number of other buildings, mostly apartments.
Our window faces east, so we get the morning sunrise over the top of the apartments into the interior area. We have a double bed and a twin bed for Tyler. The floors are hardwood, no carpet. The TV has about 8 channels, almost all Portuguese news channels. Tyler is bummed because there’s no Disney Channel…. ;)
After our nap, we made a quick trip to a local market, about a block from our hotel, to get some water and fruit, then we made our way to the metro to head for the Jose Alvalade Stadium to see Sporting play Porto in a soccer match. They are very big rivals here, similar to BYU and Utah in football. But you have never felt the electricity in a stadium like before and during this game! We wanted to arrive early so we could find the ticket window. Chris had purchased the tickets online and we had to pick them up at will-call. There were already quite a few people at the stadium at 5:30 and the game didn’t start until 7:45. The most amazing part was the number of police and security. There were police everywhere. And groups of them putting on flack jackets and riot gear.
We had to start wondering what we had gotten in to. As the stadium began to fill, there was a whole section that was surrounded by security and that is where the opposing team fans sat. The music and cheers were blaring over the loud speakers as slowly the stands filled. The stadium holds about 50,000 and there were very few empty seats
The crowd was alive in unison signing, clapping, whistling (they whistled when something happened that they didn’t like) and yelling at the refs and players like 50,000 "arm chair quarterbacks" in front of TV for the big game.
By half time, the score was 2 to 1 in favor of Porto. We were all sick from the cigarette smoke that was endless. (We really appreciated the smoke free environment back home) And it was cold! The stadium is open air and there was a cold breeze blowing through. So, with that, and knowing what a zoo it would be trying to leave with the rest of the fans, not to mention the problems that would probably ensue after the game, we headed back to the hotel.
Just down the street from the hotel, we ate dinner at a restaurant about three blocks from out hotel, one suggested by the young man at the front desk. It wasn’t bad, but not the best we’ve had. We finally hit our beds at about 11:30 pm. ….and we were out……
Monday….
7:00 am and we were up an going. The hotel we are in has a full breakfast each morning from 7:00 to 10:00. We wanted to be downstairs by 9:00 so we could make it to breakfast and be on our way. Breakfast was pretty good. Meats and cheese, eggs and bacon, fruits, pastries, cereal and juice. We filled up and headed for Belem on the 727 bus. What a ride. It took about 40 minutes on mostly cobble stoned back streets. Lumpy bumpy, but lots of interesting sights. We arrived at Belem, just half a block from the huge Monasterio de Jeronimos. It is a very large monastery across the highway from the port.
Because it was Monday, the monastery and museum were closed, but we wandered around and got some photos. Across the street and down a few blocks we visited the Belem Tower. It was originally built as a watchtower for the Port of Lisboa. Again, because of Monday, the tower was closed to the public
Not too many blocks to the East is the Monument to the Explorers, featuring many Portugese explorers including Henry the Navigator and Vasco de Gama. It’s quite a sight. Very large and impressive. And guess what…. The inside was closed! Oh well, the exterior made for some more pictures. Great photo sites.
We returned to the Monastery and across the street we stopped at Pasteis de Belem. One of the places we knew we had to stop on our trip. A Pastelaria that has been in existence since 1827 and they make a specific pastry that is fantastic. We also had lunch. Very good and very reasonably priced, but the pastry for dessert made the whole day trip worthwhile.
After our return to the hotel, we rode the metro up to Benfica and the Estadio do Luz, the stadium where the futbol club Benfica plays. Chris is a major Benfica fan. Benfiquista for sure. Across the highway is the Colombo Shopping Mall. Three stories packed full of stores and shops. The Metro stop is in the lower part of the Mall. It’s huge. We didn’t buy much. But walked around long enough to know most everything was out of our price range.
After a gelato at "Ice It", we headed to the Metro and headed downtown where we ate dinner at the Hard Rock Café Lisbon. Some of the nicest people and best service we have had in Lisboa. We’ll be headed back this direction on Tuesday for some more sight seeing and shopping.
After returning to our room, early tonight, we settled in for a game of "Take Two" and flipped on the TV just in time for a Benfica vs Leixoes match. When I get up in the morning, I’ll update the score. Right now in the 47th minute of play, Benfica holds the lead, 1 – 0. Well, Leixoes tied the game in the last few minutes and it ended 1 – 1. Bummer. We all kind of dozed off and on through the game and finally went to sleep at about 11:00 pm.
Tuesday…
It’s about 8:00 am and I’m in the bathroom, sitting on the throne writing while Annette and Ty sleep. We’re ready for another day of shopping and sightseeing in Baixa and Alfama. Including a ride on the Fernicular and the Elevador de Santa Justa. Should be fun.
By the way, today is our 31st wedding anniversary! How about that? A trip to Portugal for our anniversary! ;) Friday is Chris and Jena’s anniversary, also. We did this same thing last year on our cruise to the Mexican Riviera.
It’s a little overcast this morning. The forecast is for rain. I guess we’ll take umbrellas with us today! Part of the adventure……..
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