I woke up in Portland and sat down to dinner in Lisbon – 32 hours later. But let’s not get ahead of the story.
For the most part, my flights were uneventful. My one fear was realized when I was asked to check my backpack. Fortunately, I was prepared for this and moved all of the essentials to my daypack, folded the straps backwards onto themselves and put the rain cover over the pack so that there were very few loose hoops or straps that could snag in the conveyor system. These efforts paid off when my bag arrived unscathed in Lisbon.
I also used AirTags to ensure that my bag got on the same flight as me for each of the three legs of my trip.
The leg from Portland to Reykjavík was long – 7 1/2 hours – and I was seated in economy. Fortunately Iceland air economy class at (least on their longer international flights) has a bit more legroom than many US carriers. Not so for my second leg from Reykjavik to Heathrow, as not only was there less space but the moment that we got to where people could put their seats back, the two people sitting in front of me dropped theirs as far as they would go, taking up half of my airspace. I really felt claustrophobic for those 2 1/2 hours.
My third and final leg from Heathrow to Lisbon made up from a legroom standpoint, as I had reserved a row on the exit aisle with extra room.
After retrieving my bag and clearing customs, I grabbed a cab and met Teresa, the host of the rooming house. My room makes my old college dorm room look spacious. It’s probably 6‘ x 9‘ in total dimension. The bathroom is shared and down the hall.
Theresa recommended a traditional Portuguese. restaurant a few blocks away for dinner. After settling in, I went down to check out the restaurant although it was 6:30 PM. It was still a half hour before they were open for dinner. So instead, I took a walk around the old town of Lisbon.
Five km later, I returned to the restaurant. I asked the waiter to recommend whatever was their favorite dish on the menu. I couldn’t pronounce it, and I didn’t recognize any of the words but a while later a giant slab of raw steak showed up sitting on top of a 1 inch thick hunk of superheated marble. It essentially is an opportunity for you to cook your own food to the temperature you desire. It was fabulous.
I returned to my room, took a shower and after writing this post, I’m gonna hit the hay. It’s been a very, very long day. 
