The Best of Portugal Day 2
The Best of Portugal
Day 2 - September 4, 2002 - Arrive Lisbon
We got to Frankfurt, Germany at 12:20 PM and we had to ride a bus to get close to the terminal. Once in the terminal, we rushed to the other side of the airport to get to gate A-14 and there was a long line for the flight to Lisbon. WE MADE IT.
The plane was 3/4 full and they served another meal. We did not eat. Alcohol also. I slept for most of the 3 hour flight and when we got to Lisbon we had a long walk to the luggage area and then a long wait to get the luggage. Once it got started, ours was one of the first and we went right through. SO NICE. No customs, no passport check, no stamps, just walked out.
On our arrival in Lisbon we were met by a taxi driver with our name on a sign. He had been hired by Trafalgar and he transferred to us to our hotel. He was surprised when I started speaking Portuguese. We went into the Marriott International Hotel.
We were taken to our room (311) and had a message from out guide Miguel Palma. We had time to relax, shower, get our things organized and write this first note. We will meet with our Tour Director and fellow travelers for a welcome drink at 6:30 and then see what is going on.
We met at the Berlin Room at the Marriott and had an overview of the day. We will have 49 people in our group, all in one bus. Capacity is 51 as we now have a big bus. We have people from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, US, England, etc. Lots of different people.
At the meeting we met two people from San Diego and we agreed to go out together. We took a taxi from the hotel to the Rossio Plaza, the central historical commercial hub of the capital for 5 Euros.
The plaza has many statues and two huge fountains. This is where the national theater is located. It is paved like Copacabana Beach in Rio. We then walked all the way to harbor and took pictures. This whole area had been leveled by an earthquake in the 1500s.
We walked to the Rua de Portas de Santo Antao where we looked for restaurants. We finally ate dinner at the Torres Molinos where I had cod and Gennie had salmon. We had some ice cream at the Sa. de Sandes. We took a taxi home and were back by 11 PM.
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