We arrived at our BNB in Lisbon about 8:30 PM after a rather long day of travel. It began at 8:30 AM when we caught the underground Metro for Napoli Centrale Station where we were to catch our train to Rome. At the station, we had  an hour to kill so had a bite to eat and did some people watching. We truly enjoyed Naples. It has a completely different feel than Rome. Though it is considered the poor cousin to Rome, it still has a lot of history and charm. The narrow little streets are lined with cafes, shops, bars and people outside smoking and drinking. It is a large street party every evening!

We caught our express train to Rome at 10:04 and arrived at Roma Termini at 11:10. The monitors told us that our top speed was just under 300 kms/hr. It was a great ride!! Out of the station, we walked around the corner and caught the shuttle bus to the Campiana Airport. This airport is the smaller one in Rome and acommodates budget airlines companies such as Ryanair and Easyjet. We flew Ryanair and we were a little apprehensive as it really does have some terrible reviews. However, everything went smoothly and we arrived in Lisbon a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. Don’t get me wrong – it is definitely a budget airline – no food or drink (not even a glass of water) without paying, seats are very basic and not even a pocket in the seat in front of you to hold the water bottle. But we were aware of this beforehand and prepared accordingly.

In Lisbon, we gathered our bags, took a few minutes to get our bearings and headed back down into the subway. We took two different trains, walked a few minutes and voila – we were at our BNB. We are starting to get pretty comfortable using public transportation and it is a fraction of the cost of taxis. It also gives us a slice of local daily life which is just one of the reasons for this Incredible Journey.

Lisbon is described as Portugal’s hilly, coastal city and though we have yet to see the ocean, we have definitely climbed a few hills. Our BNB is a climb of about 50 steps from the main street below and from it, you can either go further up the street or down the other side. We went to church yesterday and climbed up a hill one way and then back down the other before we reached it.  We should definitely tighten up a few muscles here!!

We have also decided that we are going to spend a few extra days here. The last six weeks have been pretty intense (India, Egypt, Israel, Athens, Rome, Naples and Pompeii – WHEW!!) so we thought we’d take a few days off to enjoy the scenery, the music and the food. We also need a bit of maintenance – haircuts, pedicures and the like, and this seems like a good place to get caught up on these things.

We are thinking of you all at home and though I am not missing the snow or the cold, I am definitely missing all the people that make my life go around. Stay well, stay warm and enjoy every day.  XOXO

Colleen…

Col mentioned that we getting comfortable using public transportation and she is correct.  What she failed to mention is that she is the navigator for all of this and I basically follow along.  She is doing a great job and even though from time to time she tends to wonder where we are going my confidence remains unshaken as we have arrived at our chosen destination each and every time.

Richard