I’m off to another adventure! Portugal and Greece await!
I can’t wait to get away… Traveling somewhere new and reconnecting with all friends is exactly what I need to reset.
My first day of travel started off really well. All flights were on time. The food at the United Club was outstanding. My seat mates in the flight from Chicago to London were very nice, English lads. However, once I got to Portugal… well, no one warned me of the amount of time I would have to spend waiting for Passport Control. When I got off my flight in Lisbon, I saw a line that extended all the way around the airport. My heart sank when I realized this was the line I needed to be in so I could go through customs and exit the airport.
Passport Control
I quickly made friends in the line. Funny how when things go wrong and we are powerless to influence these events, people bond over the situation. My line friends were an interesting bunch. A pharmaceutical researcher who was in Lisbon for a medical conference and an older gay couple from Texas. I could have not asked for better people to be stuck in line for hours. They were interesting and funny. I quickly learned that the older couple was from San Antonio, where my family is from! We talked about the Snowacopolypse, when an unseasonably cold spell, wreaked havoc onto the Texas power grid. I was also able to glean that one of them, Jim was from Del Rio, TX, the border town where I grew up. We could not believe it! Del Rio has less than 30,000 people and here we were! Stuck in the passport control line in Lisbon. Of course… we took an obligatory selfie. Jim and I reminisced on the “good ole’ days” when you didn’t need a passport to cross into Mexico for dinner and then come back to the US by simply saying “American Citizen.” We lamented those fun days of yore. For almost three hours, we inched through the passport line.
Finally, once I had gotten my long-awaited stamp from the immigration officer, I went to retrieve my bags. Since it was taking so long to get through, the airport workers had simply piled our bags in a big heap.
A Lesson to Last a Lifetime
The driver I had hired to pick me up had long left. So I had to get a cab on my own. A man guided me to an empty cab and the driver was young and friendly. He spoke perfect Spanish and he gave me some good tips on what to eat in the city. Then when he dropped me off at my hotel, I realized my mistake. This was a fake cab! He was charging me 375 euros for a ride that was worth no more than 30. I know, because that is how much I was going to pay my original private driver. I was pissed. At him, but also at myself. I was tired from all the travel. After all, I didn’t sleep much in the plane and the passport control wait had made me anxious and frustrated. But it doesn’t excuse my lack of awareness. I didn’t do my job as a solo traveler.
- I realized he had never quoted me a price to my hotel. Most legit cabs operating from airports will do that.
- I never saw a timer or the machine that rounds out your fare as you go.Â
- We never discussed payment. I should have at least asked if he had a card reader machine.
I was pissed and I would not be taken advantage of. So I said that I would not pay that outrageous 375 euros price because I knew that was not the rate for a private taxi. I told him I would pay him what I would a private driver. He was mad and demanded cash. That’s when he made a mistake. I said I do not keep that amount of cash and would have to go into the hotel to get an ATM. He didn’t like that. I said I would pay no more than what I would have paid my private driver. I was sort of bluffing. At the end of the day, he could have driven off with my stuff… or worse with me. But I called his bluff. He said he would have me arrested. So I lied. And said I had just texted my sister with his drivers details and if he wanted payment, he would have to come inside with me to the hotel. We settled with 50 euros. Twenty more than what I would have paid my original driver, but much less than the 375 he was demanding.
I handed him the 50 euro bill, I exited the taxi without waiting for his reply and to my relief, he opened his trunk. I grabbed my bags and marched into the hotel. The first thing I told the employee who greeted me was that I had just gotten swindled by this cab guy. The employee went out, but the taxi cab was gone. Good.
Let this be a lesson to never let your guard down. Especially as a solo traveler in a country I have never visited before.
The Palace I Deserve
I may have had a bad experience with a taxi driver that tried to take advantage of me, but that didn’t ruin my day. Not by a long shot. In fact, I’m proud of how I handled it. The hotel I booked – Pestana Palace – was a former palace and has all the beautiful luxury to prove it.
When I say I was tired… I was TIRED!!!! Typically, when I arrive at a new city, all I want to do is be out there, in it, smelling its air, discovering it. But I was exhausted and hungry. My brain could not form a itinerary, so I thought, why fight it. I need to rest… and I’m staying at the best place to do so.
In Pestana Palace, they welcome you with sparkling wine… good first impression. They also have beautiful gardens where you can wander and get lost in all its beauty. They also have a pool… in fact, two! An outdoor and an indoor pool. I slipped on my swimsuit and laid on a chaise lounge enjoying the warmth of the day by the outside pool.
I began readying a new book called The Deepest Lake, and with each page, the stress would just peel off my being. The toasty sunlight nestled me to sleep in its warmth, shedding the travel fatigue and recharging me with good vibes. As I nodded off to sleep, I could feel my batteries recharging and my brain rewiring. When a bird startled me into wakefulness, I was ready to take the city on. I changed into a snug, sexy dress, grabbed a drink at the hotel bar and asked the concierge to make reservations to a Portuguese restaurant called Sud, steps away from Belem tower. My reservations are at 9 pm so I must sign off and take a cab down to the shore. A LEGIT CAB. Ordered from the hotel! Haha!
Sunsets and Cod
The taxi dropped me off early at Sud. I had another hour before my reservation so I used that time to walk down the promenade that runs along the Tagus River. The view was spectacular. I walked down the impressive Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology and the Electricity Museum. The majestic 25 of April Bridge reigned over the river connecting Lisbon to Almada. A statue of Jesus Christ stood at the other end of bridge in the Almada side, giving me Jesus the Redemer vibes.
The sun began to set and the entire scene was lit in the golden hour. A beautiful end to the first day.
The restaurant was exactly what I was looking for. A blend of fun, chic, and modern. The women were fashionably dressed. Terraces provided fantastic views of the river and I was lucky to be sat next to one of the giant windows. The food was superb. I had a dish of bacalao (cod) with mashed potatoes and an asparagus cream. It was probably one of the most memorable meals of my life. I don’t think I have ever eaten a better fish.