Day 1 & Day 2 - St. Louis to Lisbon

After waking up at 6:00, Ellen and Dan went with us to the airport, and once they dropped us off they went on their merry way back home. We passed through security without a hitch - thank goodness! My backpack weighed in at 14 lbs. whereas Ross' weighed a whopping 25 lbs.! I guess computers, suit coats, etc. really make a difference. The flight from St. Louis to Chicago was quick and smooth. The captain of the plane butted in front of me as we boarded and asked," Is this the bus to Chicago?" I quickly replied, "It better be!"

Airports are traditionally great places to people watch and the four hour layover we had at O'Hara was no exception. The best observation was of a group of high school student along with their teacher and some chaperones who were traveling to Madrid.  Honestly, they were the most well behaved group I had ever seen.  Even on the plane, all through the night, they were respectful of fellow travelers and kind to each other. However, one of them might have needed to spend a little more time studying geography. As we left Chicago, one boy noticed the rather large body of water below and asked, “Is that the ocean already?” The girl sitting next to him laughed for a full five minutes

The eight hour flight to Madrid went well. They served a nice chicken and vegetable dinner along with a small salad and dessert. It wasn’t  long before the movies started, but following Rick Steves’ travel advice, I immediately tried to get into sleepy mode. Ross enjoyed watching True Grit and Narnia. As you will soon find out, the poor man would have benefited from a little rest – he was going to need it!

We arrived in Madrid just as the sun was starting to rise. The little villages clustered together so far below resembled loose diamonds on a velvet cloth. It was beautiful! Once we were in the terminal, things moved rather quickly. We only had a one hour layover and this airport was really big, really new, and really wonderful. The airport building looked like it was 75% glass with a ceiling that was composed of thousands of wooded strips bent to resemble ocean waves. After taking an airport underground tram, and going up at least five escalators, we finally arrived at the security check point. All of  this had taken about 25 minutes. Once again, the security check went fine, then we quickly took off to find the gate for the Lisbon flight. That was easy enough, with all the people moving sidewalks. However, when we found our gate, Ross discovered that he didn’t have his wallet, credit card, or wedding ring. The plane was supposed to start boarding in five minutes. Like O.J. Simpson, Ross took off like a shot going all the way back to security hoping that his bag full of ultra important things was still in the checking bin. All I could do was wait and PRAY! To make an already long story short, he flew back, bag in hand, and drenched in sweat. Isn’t  God good!!!  Despite his sprint through a foreign airport, Ross’ cool demeanor hadn’t wavered. So what is Spain like? Perhaps it reminded me of parts of Texas or Oklahoma with their small trees and gently rolling hills. I’ll think about that tomorrow, when my blood pressure returns to normal.

Thanks to Holly’s excellent pre-trip assistance, we were able to catch the right bus to get to our B&B, The Residencial  Florescents. Like an angel, a little Portuguese man, who didn’t speak English, motioned to us when we arrived at our stop. Our room is just lovely! It’s an Old World slumber mill with narrow halls, blue and white tiles, and a balcony that overlooks a street full of outdoor cafes. The balcony’s double doors open from floor to ceiling with white curtains that billow in the breeze, allowing the sounds of forks on plates and laughter to waft up into our room. Jet lag hates fresh air and sunshine, so we unpacked and decided to take a walk to get somewhat oriented to this charming city. The streets and sidewalks are composed of mainly black and white brick, each about two inches square, which gives the feeling of mosaics. Statues of great explorers with pigeons sitting on their heads are just about everywhere. We had a delicious lunch at an Indian eatery and continued on our walk. We are looking forward to tomorrow, but tonight we just need a good night of sleep. Praise to our heavenly Father for all of His goodness and mercy! Amanha – (ah –ming –yah) Tomorrow!

Typical open square near our B&B

Typical side street

Another Square looking up to the Sao Jorge Castle 

Yet another square with Linda by the fountain