It was hard to sleep on the plane, but we did get a few hours in here and there. It was a pretty chill night on the plane. As more daylight approached in the horizon, the flight attendants served breakfast. We were given blueberry yogurt, a breakfast calzone made from egg, cheese and spinach. Ben couldn't eat his, because it wasn't gluten free, so he just had the yogurt and coffee. I had orange juice with mine.
I spent the remainder of the flight writing in my journal, dozing off here and there and patiently waiting for the flight to get to Amsterdam. We looked out the window as we got closer and closer to Europe. We could see Ireland and the UK as we flew over the top of the grouping of islands towards the Luchtaven Schiphol International Airport. We got ready for landing.
When we did land, I could not believe I was officially in Europe! I never thought I would actually be on this side of the world. It was a crazy thought. We had to wait patiently to get off the plane. I turned on my international plan so I could let people know we arrived safely. Once we got off the plane, we used the restroom and wandered around the airport. We found out there were no geocaches or Adventure Labs and were very disappointed. We bought some snacks and looked around for some food for Ben. He really couldn't have anything, and we didn't want to attempt it since we were traveling.
We looked at the whiskey inside of one of the duty-free stores. We probably should have gotten in line sooner because we didn't realize we had to go through a customs/passport check to get to our next gate. It was not clear at all.
The line was long and very slow. The airport was not prepared for this many people coming through Amsterdam. We eventually had to get in the quick connection line when we saw that our flight was an hour away from boarding. We had to be granted permission by the airport staff. Luckily, this line went quick, we got our passports stamped, asked us a few questions and we jogged to our gate because they were already boarding people. I was sweaty and tired by the time we got there.
At our gate, there were tons of kids and their chaperones from Salt Lake City doing a choir concert in Portugal. We got on our flight, got comfortable and I slept part of the way to Lisbon. We were given water and Stroop waffles as a snack. I did write in my journal for a little bit. Ben listened to music and slept most of the way.
After about a 2+ hour flight, we finally touched down in Portugal. We were patient getting off the plane, grabbed our stuff and went into the terminal. We used the restroom and then followed directions for baggage claim. We had to wait a little bit to get our bags off the carousel and headed for the exit. I seriously thought we would get stopped customs, but we didn't. Maybe we had to in Amsterdam because that is where we entered Europe?
Ray had arranged a ride for us from the airport to the hotel we would be staying at in Lisbon. We went to the pickup area and didn't see the person that was supposed to pick us up. We talked to one of the people in charge and he took care of it for us and got us a driver. We went out to the parking garage to wait for our driver. He showed up after a few minutes, helped us put our bags in the car and drove us a couple miles to the Hotel Inn Express, where Brenda and Ray were waiting for us. He dropped us off, we met up with Brenda and Ray, checked in to our room, cleaned up a bit and then sat in the hotel lobby visiting for a while.
Ray found us a place to have dinner that was within walking distance. He wanted to avoid driving the car as much as he could in Lisbon. I didn't blame him. It's confusing driving in a foreign city. He pulled up the address for Maria Canela and we made the short walk. Just like any city there were some unsavory parts. We just kept to ourselves while we walked. We found the place, looked at the menu and went inside.
We got seated and ordered water and our food. I had a Portuguese bitoque, which is something I could definitely try and make at home. Brenda said just about everything comes with fries. I told her that was the case in Peru and Ecuador as well.
We chatted about the last few months, the wedding, the adventures they've gone on since the moved to Portugal and the things in between. We just let the conversation go however it wanted to. The food was excellent however, I wished that my fried egg was runnier, oh well, we paid and walked back to the hotel. We made plans for tomorrow before heading up to our rooms. Ben and I were running on fumes at this point. He isn't used to traveling like this and I've had plenty experience with it. We both got in showers (our bathroom had a real bidet), relaxed for a little bit, talked to my Mom and Trish and then went to bed around 9 p.m. Portugal time.
With the short naps aside, we were up for more than 24 hours and flew through several time zones. This was my first experience being more than 3 hours ahead of home. I was excited to go to bed but more excited to go explore Europe together!
Next Adventure: Honeymoon: Euro Trip - Day 3
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