Off to Lisbon

Our week in Pico da Pedra with Rui and Guadino was wonderful. What kind hosts with big hearts and lots of good information about the island. They have put a lot of effort into creating a welcoming and peaceful BnB/home and you couldn’t ask for a better location to explore the island. The time we spent on the island was fabulous. There are 9 islands in the Azores so if we return, we will want to explore the other ones, starting with three that are close together - Pico, Faial and Sao Jorge.

We met an interesting young couple from Germany, Silvia and Tadeh who shared many of the same interests as we did. Every morning at breakfast, Rui and the four of us had great discussions about what we had done the day before, previous trips we had taken and what was happening in the world today (i.e. Brexit and Trump). It made breakfasts a pleasure.

On the day that we left, we packed up our bags and drove 20 minutes to the airport. Loved that! A man from Autocunha Car Rental was there to meet us at 6 a.m. and the return went very smoothly.

We proceeded to the SATA checkin area and were told that the plane was going to be 7 hours late!!! The big storm that the island had had 2 days ago had affected all the flights so there was a backlog. Seven hours. Ugh. But, the Portuguese attendant came to our rescue. She removed us from the Sata flight and put us on a TAP flight leaving in 20 minutes. Excellent!!!!

After a 2 hour flight, we arrived in Lisbon at 10 and did a little planning with a coffee in the airport lounge.
Our apartment wouldn’t be ready until 3 pm but the owner said that we were welcome to leave our bags with her. The taxi ride to the Graça area was €11 and it was glorious warm, spring day.

Our hostess pointed the way to a traditional Portuguese lunch restaurant where there was a set lunch and lots of noisy neighbours eating lunch with their friends and families. The waiter was pretty funny and we had a good time.

Just down the street was a barber shop, so Chris got a nice haircut. From there, we wandered - looking at all the graffiti, checking out the shops and restaurants, watching the trolley car as it made its way up the hill, taking in the wonderful views from a city park,and finally we ended up at the gates to the castle. The castle will be on tomorrow’s agenda.

We have had a full day but still needed to see our apartment and do a quick food shopping.

Where we are staying is in a perfect neighbourhood for exploring and as a bonus, it is full of character!Read more