Oct 15
My accommodations last night were extremely comfortable and convenient. The place was billed as “The Coolest Place Near the Airport ” and it lived up to the name. It was a large private residence that had converted its upper level to four guest rooms.
Mine was huge. I swear, my private bath was larger than the hotel room I stayed in my first two nights in Lisbon last month.
My flight today departs at 7:10. I received multiple alerts to arrive at least 3 hours early, as the EU just implemented new entry/exit processes on Monday and border control was taking significantly longer than normal. That meant getting to the airport just after 4 am.
I was all packed before going to bed and set my alarm for 3:30. I woke up naturally at 3:15 and was out the door in short order. It was a pleasant walk to the airport as the temperature was already 18 C (64 F). The way was well lit and much busier than I expected given the early hour.
Since I had purchased hiking poles and a larger pocket knife since arriving, I decided to check my backpack to avoid having to leave those items behind.
After dropping off my bag, we hit our first snag, as to get to our gates (and passport control) we first had to pass through the duty free mall – which didn’t open until 4:30. It wasn’t a long wait and I was in the first wave, so when I did get to passport control the were only a handful of people ahead of me.
I’m now waiting at the gate for my first of three flight legs. Lisbon to Dublin to Reykjavik to Portland.
The flight to Dublin was uneventful – except somehow I lost my straw fedora hat at the airport. I remember taking it off when I went up to the immigration agent and then putting it back on again, but while seated in the gate waiting area, I suddenly realized it wasn’t with me any longer. Oh well, I thought it was a little dorky and considered abandoning it in Lisbon. It served its purpose.
The second flight to Reykjavik got in early and then the outbound flight was pushed back 30 minutes, so there was a 4 hour layover to contend with. Fortunately, there was an abundance of power outlets, so I was able to charge up both my phone and power bank to 100% for the 8-hour flight home.
We had a smooth final flight to PDX. Although the plane was very full, I was fortunate to be sitting next to one of the only vacant center seats. I passed the time nodding off, watching movies and listening to audiobooks. Even with those distractions, eight hours makes for a long time.
When I got home, I had arranged for my daughter to be ready to record my dog’s reaction to me coming home. I’ll include the video once she shares with me.
It was a wonderful trip, but I am grateful to be home.
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