The TAP (Portugal Airline) flight took off from Boston’s Logan airport about 11pm? Wife Kim was driving to Boston for a wedding dress fitting appointment for our daughter and graciously offered to drop me at the airport. . Daughter is getting married in Boston April 20. I better be back!! This put me to the airport at least 4 hours early for the flight but I will need to entertain myself for the next 2 weeks out of my pack so a little time in the airpport is no real challenge.
There are very few, none? restaurants in terminal C on the pre-TSA side so I started through with my printed boarding pass. Almost made it but then got rejected as no one had actually seen my passport. There was no one at the TAP counter to do such so I cooled my heals with 10 other passengers until the TAP stations opened in about an hour. Apparently my Frequent Flyer info on TAP does not include a TSA precheck so I had to strip down including my belt but at least did not need to take the computes and phones out.
I had a nice grilled chicken salad dinner with alcohol free beer at Legal Seafood, found a working outlet in the gate area and cooled my heals. Boarding started very abruptly. No call for people needing extra time. My other trick is that I now carry the CPAP machine in its own “medical devise” case, I am NEVER questioned and the case of course has the CPAP but also a lot of other non-medical items. It gives me a third carry on!
Anyway, I boarded very early, had lots of empty luggage compartments, went through the whole game of moving a lot of material from my under seat back back into a pillow case for storage overhead with the CPAP and all my coats, hats etc. My ticket was for the window seat but a young lady showed up and decided to sit in the window seat so I settled into the center. She was Italian and her English was limited. I suggested to her that the isle seat might be vacant and she seemed to imply that it has been reserved for her “doing medicine in Boston” boy friend who had planned to come but had to stay for work. At some point in this exchange I showed her my window ticket and she realized her mistake but it was great in that I now got the isle!
How am I ever going to tell the story of 2 weeks cycling in Portugal if it takes me 1000s of words to just get on the plane? And it gets worse! About 1/2 way over, we started to hit pretty consistent turbulence. It was nothing bad, just a little bouncing around. She freaked out. She was crying, hysterical, completely unnerved. Once I realized what was happening I asked the stewardess if any of them spoke italian. She went off to check but said she did not think so and indeed never came back. At some point I put my hand out in the seat between us and we held hands for long stretches. You can imagine my wife and daughters reaction to this truly cringe worthy Tom Pears intervention!
Anyway, we all survived. I did not have the inclination or Italian to tell her that what had just freaked her out was nothing like real turbulence. Hopefully her boy friend has seen this and knows that until she gets over it, she really has to cancel when he is unable to be present to comfort her. Otherwise the flight was quite uneventful. I had a nice chicken dinner, a beer, a nice breakfast sandwich. Lisboa in terrible in that they make you get on busses. I met a nice couple on the bus who were from Saratoga Springs. They were off to do a lot of hiking but also had rented a car to take them to Porto etc. Usually the “Arrivals” hall in Lisboa if a disaster. Way too many passengers, too few customs agents and long long lines. BUT this year there was a special USA line! It moved very quickly and once the attendant helped me insert my passport into the machine instead of holding it up to the glass, I was out!
No luggage to pick up. One wrong turn but then I was at the machines to buy a metro ticket. After many years, I am prepared to find the helper attendant who is always present, tell her I want a 24 hour pass and with a little repeat credit card tapping, I am again on my way. Above you see the picture of me in my seat om the subway with my 3 pieces of luggage and at least two garments.
Kim will really appreciate these pictures.
After 15+ subways stops and one line change, it is time to exit the subway at Baixa-Chiado station. One has to use the subway ticket to get OUT of the line as well as get in. Then one has to get oriented enough to head for Barrio Alto instead of in the opposite direction. And, Kim and I two years ago were faced with this MOUNTAIN of a climb up with no working escalators. I thought I was in the same situation and started climbing the stairs but then a young man showed me that you just have to “activate” the escalator to get it going!
So I made it up onto the wide sidewalk. There were the normal street merchants.
And the square were I normally hang out before my airbnb is ready was completely consumed with an Easter fair.
I used the airbnb app on my phone to message the airbnb host, he responded using Whatsapp and said I was cleared to walk on over and leave my luggage, pick up the key, even though the room was not ready. I know the Barrio Alto area fairly well after 6 years. I had checked out his location and started walking. BUT I had neglected to focus on the idea that the road to the location actually traversed the park I know on the DOWN side. My initial cursory read of the map back in NH had noted that the house was North of the park but I had not grocked that it was also below the park. I set the Google map, started walking, and only realized that I needed to head DOWN after I had passed the key entry.
Oh Well. It turned out fine. Next to the park is a funicular, a cog street car that goes down a very seep incline to the lower and main part of Lisboa. I have never ridden it but have seen it for years. Luckily, I did not have to ride it, just take a street that headed down and did a switch back.
I had to Whatapp Lois from outside but he buzzed me in and helped me carry my suitcase up the normal incredibly steep Barrio Alto steps.