Arrival Day

Bom dia!

Our final flight left Philadelphia and arrived about six hours later in Lisbon at about 9am local time. Very first impressions of Lisbon: a cool ocean breeze made for a very nice welcome to the country. 

Our actual final destination for the day was Porto, a three-hour high speed train ride to the north. So after clearing customs and getting our bags, we hopped on the Metro for a quick ride to the train station. We had about 90 min to wait before our train departed. Plenty of time to have two badly needed espressos, a sandwich and pastry. 





The train zipped us up to Porto with views of the countryside. It was a mix of flat and hilly, with agriculture much of the way. There’s nothing like a car or train ride to get a feel for the terrain of the country. It was just a short walk to our hotel from the train station. We got to our room at about 4pm and rested for several hours. 





We headed out to dinner.  Our hotel recommended a restaurant just a few blocks away.  If you ever find yourself in Porto, we strongly endorse Restaurante Lagostim.  Jim ordered a Porto specialty, a francesinha.  It’s a sandwich of pork, sausage, and Swiss cheese between two thick slices of bread. As if that isn’t enough, it is topped off with a tasty sauce, fried egg, and served with crispy fries.  Kristi went with the Portuguese specialty: codfish. Tonight’s was “braga” style:   Fried codfish topped with onions and peppers.  Both dishes were delicious! We will have to thank the front desk for the restaurant suggestion tomorrow. 







Right now, we are both tired. After some quick calculations, we realized that we had traveled for 28 hours (from the time we left our house) by the time we reached the hotel this afternoon.  So, it’s off to bed for both of us.  Based on previous experience, we bet we will both wake up at 3:00 am.  It’s amazing how one’s brain clings to a time zone. Thankfully, we know that in a couple of days we will both put the jet lag behind us as we get settled in to the local time. 

So far most everyone speaks enough English to make it very easy for us, and we are a little disappointed. We shall continue to try to use as much Portuguese as possible. 

Até logo!

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 13, 2023 at 2:58 PM

    If you can go to the Lello book store - gorgeous! Also eat along the river, lots of restaurants. Great views of the river and the porto wine cellars are across the river. Have fun!

    ReplyDelete

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