Merry Christmas from Lisbon, Portugal. We are on another Ken/Jenine adventure accomplishing a mileage run for Ken. Like last year, he needed a few more miles to make 1k the top tier at United, which helps in many ways for the frequent traveler. Last year he needed a BUNCH, around 20k, which was the reason we went to Cambodia. To get that many miles it is pretty much Australia, Africa or Asia...and so it was Vietnam/Cambodia.  This year he only needed 10k, so we could be more flexible (I made 1k in September...so this was all bonus for me).  After checking out South America and several places in Europe, we settled on Portugal. Neither of us had been, the flights were reasonable and first class seats were open...so off we go!

Ok, well, nothing is that easy. Ken has been totally consumed with a sensitive project on the West Coast since Thanksgiving. Hhe has been there non-stop since Thanksgiving and up until Wednesday, 12/23 we weren't sure he was 1. Coming Home 2. We were going anywhere other than his hotel for Christmas.  

Finally at 4p on Wednesday, he texted that he was on his way to the airport and would be home around 10p, and he we were still going to Lisbon on Thursday. After enjoying a Christmas Eve breakfast with Ashley, Katelyn, Shaun and Avery, we repacked and headed for the airport. 

One little detail I hadn't planned for was parking. We pulled into our normal off-airport parking and were promptly told  "full". We went to 3 other lots and they were also full, unless you had a reservation. One told us that the terminal parking was still open. Great. Love paying $17 per day vs $6 per day. We decided to take one more chance and to to the Economy lot on the other side of the airport. There was a line of cars and there were employees walking down the line and speaking to each car. When they got to us they advised that they too were full, but gave us a voucher to park at the terminal for $6 and said Merry Christmas! Whewhooo! We got the the terminal and even though each floor also showed full, we easily found a space. Parking crisis averted! Note to self: Next time make a darned parking lot reservation. 

Since it was now inching closer to Christmas Eve, the airport was relatively quiet. Based on the parking it was clear we had missed the big rush! We boarded our plane, the 787 Dreamliner and settled into our first class seats for the 8.5 hour flight to Amsterdam. Ken, still had some work that needed to be done, so while I watched movies, he focused on work. No fun for a Christmas Eve, but at least he was able to go!  

We landed at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport, which is one of my favorites. It has lots of shops, good signage and nice lounges. Since we had 3 hours before our flight to Lisbon, all of those were important. After some missteps as to which lounge we could go to ( at one point we just wanted to say "where the hell is the damned Star Alliance Lounge????") which allowed us to get some additional steps for the day, we finally found the right one and relaxed for a couple of hours.  

Our flight to Lisbon was on TAP Portugal and at first glance it looked like it would a light passenger load. Until they kept boarding, and boarding and boarding until almost every seat was full. Ken slept most of the 3 hour flight, which was a miracle considering the cramped space. We arrived around 145, snagged a taxi and took the short ride into the city. 

Our taxi driver pulled up and said we would have to walk the last 3 blocks as he couldn't go into the small streets. So, we headed down the cobblestone streets, which had to be hell on our luggage wheels. We weren't sure we were in the right direction, so we stopped at a restaurant where they told us to go 1 block and turn right. We did and promptly found our AirbnB for the week. We waited for 15 minutes when Tiago arrived and showed us up to our 3 floor apartment. It was very spacious, had a fully stocked kitchen, a complimentary bottle of wine and a decanter of Port. Not a bad way to start the trip

Since we were both a bit hungry, we headed down the cobblestones to the restaurant where we got directions. It was a wine bar and Ricardo, our direction giver, was our server. He provided excellent guidance on the food and the wine. We ended up with two glasses of a really great white from the south of the country, some sausage, octopus salad and cheese. The cheese came with a homemade pumpkin butter that with bread and the cheese had this amazing taste. It was a great intro to Portuguese food and wine!

 After the wonderful Christmas afternoon meal break, we took a walk to start exploring Lisbon. Lots of tiled walls, rod iron balconies and hills. Yes, we are going to get some exercise in this week! Rick Steves describes it as the San Francisco of Europe...and we can see why! It was then time for a quick rest, as it had been a really long day with not a lot of sleep.

We both crashed and even though I set the alarm for only 1.5 hours, we were deep asleep. I hauled myself out of bed, Ken got up and then went right back down. He was NOT interested in moving again. However, it was 730p and we both knew if we went to bed we would be up at 2am. So, I was the naggy person and pestered him until he finally, grumpily got up and got dressed.   

We took another walk, and the city had come alive since the afternoon when everything was closed for Christmas. Lots of bars and restaurants were open and all were full of life. We wandered in the opposite direction from the afternoon and found ourselves in a park overlooking the city with beautiful views. On the way back we found one the many restaurants that were open and enjoyed a Christmas dinner of chicken curry, pork with cream sauce and a really good red wine. The perfect way to end the day!