Lisbon Trip - Day 1

Up at 3.00am with the alarm going off - although I think I was awake before it! Ready for the 3.30am pick-up and John drove us to Heathrow. Straight through to Wetherspoons for breakfast and, naturally, a pint. The flight was nice and easy — Tash and I slept through most of it, as everyone would fully expect.

Customs took about an hour, which honestly could have been worse. We’d already decided to avoid the taxi queues, so I ordered an Uber. Took a while because the traffic was ridiculous, but he eventually arrived and got us to the hotel. Very nice place. Checked in, left our bags, far too early for the room, and headed out walking down the hill to the city centre.

And of course, the rain started. Forecast, yes — still annoying. After about twenty minutes, fed up, we ducked into a brewery pub for food and a couple of beers. Turned out to be a cracking decision: good food, good beer, and a break from the weather.

Back out again afterwards, but it was hopeless. The rain only got worse and I just wasn’t enjoying it. I don’t normally get grouchy, but I must’ve been tired because I was definitely getting pissed off. We tried, but eventually admitted defeat and decided to get the metro back to the hotel, hoping they’d let us into the room early so we could have a snooze and try again later.

Great shout. First, we discovered how insanely cheap the metro is — genuinely brilliant and it saved us all weekend. And second, the plan worked: we got into the room early, grabbed some sleep, and felt fully refreshed for our food and wine tasting tour at 6.00pm.

Met the group in the main square — 14 of us, and our guide, Pedro. He was excellent: friendly, knowledgeable, loved what he did, and made it fun. He took us around different food and drink spots, giving us the history behind the dishes, ingredients, drinks, and a bit of Lisbon background too. The group itself was great as well — all different nationalities but everyone clicked.

Finished the evening with a rooftop bar stop where other people from the tour appeared before making our way back.

Reflections:
A long, tiring, slightly soggy start, but it absolutely picked up. Once we’d recharged and got onto the food and wine tour, the whole day turned around — great guide, great group, great food. Exactly the kind of evening that makes the early start worth it.