Day 1 Toronto to Lisbon Turim Marquês Hotel
Day 2 April 20 Lisbon EASTER SUNDAY Turim Marquês Hotel
Day 3 April 21 Lisbon EASTER MONDAY Turim Marquês Hotel
Day 4 April 22 Lisbon Turim Marquês Hotel
Day 5 April 23 Lisbon Turim Marquês Hotel
Day 6 April 24 Lisbon – Tomar – Fatima – Batalha – Porto HF Ipanema Hotel
Day 7 April 25 Porto city tour DIA DA LIBERDADE HF Ipanema Hotel
Day 8 April 26 Douro Valley - Porto HF Ipanema Hotel
Day 9 April 27 Porto - Aveiro - Nazare - Obidos - Lisbon Turim Marquês Hotel
Day 10 April 28 - Lisbon - Madeira Orca Praia Hotel
Day 11 April 29 - Madeira Orca Praia Hotel
Day 12 April 30 - Madeira Orca Praia Hotel
Day 13 May 1 - Madeira DIA DO TRABALHADOR Orca Praia Hotel
Day 14 May 2 Madeira - Lisbon Hotel Marquês de Pombal
Day 15 - 16 Lisbon - Amsterdam - Toronto
Destination Amsterdam, Schiphol
Departing 1930
Arriving 2325
The breakfast here was the least impressive of all our hotels. The room was also drab and in the basement.
We were supposed to meet my cousin and husband at 11 in Rossio Square, it was pouring out.
He messaged to say he had woken to a bad case of vertigo and wouldn't be able to make it.
Disappointing.
Check out was noon so we left our bags and went across the street for coffee. The rain had let up.
Walking down Liberdade.
Tram 28 stop on the left.
Tram 28 stop on the right by Restauradores Square. Can you see the line snaking down the street on the left?
A new sign!
And a spring market set up in Rossio Square.
We decide on a snack before heading back.
The skies opened once again as we scurried inside! Shrimps in garlic and patatas batatas. delicious!
Rolex, anyone?
I had said that we should have a glass of wine at a kiosk before we leave. Who knew it would be the most expensive glass of wine yet? In speaking with a Portuguese friend she said "they saw you coming".
We pick up our bags at the hotel and wait for our driver who happens to be last night's driver (and our first driver). He doesn't speak much English but is happy to see John yet again.
Easy check-in and we said we didn't want to see our luggage again until Toronto.
KLM shares the lounge in Lisbon airport. It was pretty crowded but had good tuna sandwiches!!
John's scotch was a blend Charles House.
We skipped the meal as we weren't hungry to the disconcertion of the flight attendant.
It was a challenge finding the Mercure Hotel in a deserted airport. There were hardly any signs but we found an agent who told us to go through passport control and we would find it.
Mercure Hotel Schiphol Terminal is a unique 3-star hotel inside Schiphol Airport, located airside (after security), in the transit area of lounge 3 (upper level) at the beginning of the F gates. To stay at the hotel, you need a valid passport and flight ticket for the same or next day. Both day and night rooms are available. Please note: you can only bring hand luggage to the hotel. Transit passengers should not go to the exit/arrival hall, but remain in the Terminal.
SIGNS PLEASE!
THERE IS AN HOUR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LISBON AND AMSTERDAM. IF IT IS 2 PM IN LISBON IT IS 3 PM IN AMSTERDAM. So we also lost an hour. No photos so I stole this one.
We had a decent night's sleep and woke to our alarms at 7:30 checked out and headed to the KLM Crown Lounge.
Where should we go?
We should have gone to the upstairs lounge, it was much quieter.
Being in transit and staying overnight in the hotel meant we did not have to do security again.
Destination Toronto, Lester B. Pearson International
Departing 1120
Arriving 1320
We were delayed taking off as several people had been denied boarding and their luggage had to be offloaded.
Apple celery mousse
The side salad contained these red things that I could have eaten all day. Turns out they are Sweety Drop Peppers are small, tear-shaped delicacies from Peru. They are sweet and tangy with a whisper of heat, and contain small crunchy seeds that provide a lovely textural contrast to salads, pizzas, antipasti plates and more.
We watched several movies to pass the 8 hours flying time.
Just before landing an announcement was made regarding two minutes of silence, if we were still on board we were asked to allow anyone who wished to observe the two minutes of silence.
The national observance of Remembrance Day in the Netherlands takes place on 4 May, at 8pm. At that moment, two minutes of silence are observed throughout the country to commemorate Dutch victims of war. A commemoration ceremony is held on Dam Square in Amsterdam in the presence of the head of state and various representatives of both the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Dutch Parliament. This national observance of Remembrance Day is held simultaneously with local commemoration ceremonies in nearly every town and city in the Netherlands. At 8pm, the entire country is silent for two minutes.
We had already left the plane by 8 PM.
I had thought we would nap but we managed to stay up until 5 PM (Amsterdam time 11 PM)
Those narrow trams and twisty tram routes look funnnnnnnnn!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNice signs. Very colourful Spring market.
ReplyDelete