Winter trip 2009 -- On Our Way to Lisbon!

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Travel Blog to Lisbon - 2009 Winter Trip

December 24-25, 2009

This is it! Our 2009 Winter Trip. The destination this year is much warmer than previous years. At last check, Lisbon's forecast was for weather in the 50s and 60s with a bit of rain, like a fall or spring day in Oregon. Considering that the past two winter trips consisted of temperatures well below freezing, this is a nice change of pace. No need to pack long johns for this trip! Even the weather at home was different this year. I had Matthew take a picture so that we remember the difference. Last year when we left for the airport we put chains on the car and slowly, ever so slowly, drove the 15 or so miles to the airport, unsure whether our flight would be allowed to take off in the horrible winter weather. This year the roads were blessedly clear of snow, ice, and the temperature was brisk but at least hovering around freezing.

Now we are sitting in Amsterdam, in the airport, enjoying a beautiful white Christmas as we await our flight to Lisbon. It is early right now, about 9AM, and it's only been light here for about thirty minutes. When we landed around 8AM it was still quite dark outside, beautiful, quiet. This is the way to enjoy a happy Christmas: people-watching as the masses rush home for family or away for a bit of escapism.

I've discovered I like the Amsterdam airport. The old adage “if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all” does not apply here. While most airports, at least most international airports, have many similarities - duty-free shops, overpriced bars, surly security employees, long lines at the ladies' room - it is always fun to stop the differences. Different automatic bathroom technologies. Different layouts. Different uniforms based on the country's national airlines. (As a side note, upon landing I discovered today that Kenya has an airline - we saw a large plane parked on the tarmac while we waited to get to our gate.) KLM has a nice blue uniform and attendants that seem efficient, if not effusively friendly. There is a sizable food court here (always a priority to me with my fear of being stranded and hungry), and there are multiple stalls for the ladies' room - a vast improvement (in every way) over Frankfurt's international airport.

I am looking forward to flying on KLM. After previous experiences with Delta's disappointing performances, I specifically looked for flights out of Portland that were not Delta and did not require us to be routed through Chicago on our return. What I found out recently was that the KLM flight that I bought was “operated by Northwest” but flown by Delta. Oh well! They are not the worst international carrier, I am sure, but they are a far cry from the best. I still resent the lack of beverage options and only being offered water very occasionally during the time that we were supposed to be sleeping, but the dinner was decent, a stuffed vegetarian pasta and a tiny salad. I saved my ounce of cheese and my two crackers, which was good because after my nap I awoke famished and it was a good few hours before breakfast (and no snacks, of course). I packed snacks in my bag this year after what happened last year, but I didn't want to dig in while there was still so much time until we reach our hotel. It wouldn't do to eat all of one's snacks while still on the first leg of the journey! So we waited until breakfast, which was fine (sandwich, banana, coffee), although I am sure that Matthew felt it would have improved with the addition of a Bloody Mary. I will be going on a mission to discover the variety proffered by the food court shortly in preparation for the next flight.

We have a nice layover in Amsterdam today - about four hours. On the way back we'll race through, so it's nice that today we can enjoy our time here. And I can use some of my time preparing for our arrival in Lisbon. We are staying outside of the city in a resort town called Estoril, which I imagine will be quite dead this time of year. It contains the biggest casino in Europe, a fact I discovered today as I was perusing my guidebooks. That, of course, is not a big draw for me or Matthew. I am just looking forward to walking around and seeing the beaches when it is quiet and relatively uncrowded. It will mean a bit of a train ride into Lisbon every day, but that is fine. We now have our schedule tentatively planned, including the hope that we can somehow find a small Afghani restaurant while in Lisbon so that we can continue our tradition of eating Afghani food in all the cities we visit in Europe. (Yum!) I'm not sure if such a thing exists, but if it does we will find it.

The snow has temporarily stopped, but it's still cold and pretty outside. I am looking forward to seeing Portugal. But right now it's time to find food.
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We walked around to find food, finally settling on Starbucks because it is reliable and the least expensive food option for coffee + sandwich (me) + muffin (Matthew). As we sat here eating and reading, we saw Santa, who must be returning to the North Pole via plane since the reindeer are probably tired after such a long night traveling around the world. He “ho ho ho-ed” through the airport, pushing a now-empty sleigh. Just thought I would share in case you wondered how Santa returned home.

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