Wednesday, October 11th – a day of mixed emotions. We are sad to leave the beauty and tranquility of our home in Nazare, Portugal and yet excited to see what is ahead for us as we explore Spain. The excitment of a new adventure helps to offset the exhaustion of a moving day…because move, we did!
We woke at 5:30 am to pack up and walk to the bus terminal to catch our bus to Lisbon at 6:50 am. After a two hour bus ride, we walked to the metro to catch a train to the airport, in which we changed trains along the way. We arrived at the airport in Lisbon with an hour to spare and breezed through security. (Side note: Lisbon airport is probably the most confusing airport we have been in so far.) Our flight began boarding about 12:00 pm, which was 20 minutes behind schedule for or 12:20 pm flight. It took four buses and and almost an hour to load us in the plane. We finally took off an hour late. When we landed, Kirk & I stayed seated to allow people with connecting flights to get off first, then we were off to find the metro station. It is almost 4:00 pm (-1 hour between Nazare and Madrid) when we entered the Tourist Information Office at the metro station). We purchased 7 day passes for metro/train/bus for 35 euros each and boarded the first of three trains to the Anton Martin Station. After making all our connections, we emerged from the underground onto our street, Calle Atoche, and headed to 28 to meet Isa and receive the keys to our new home.
Isa was lovely in every way. Our new home is in the center of the center of the center! Our home is a cute and bright studio over the top of bustling shops. It is just after 5:00 pm, which makes this a full day of travel, but Isa gave us some great advice and directions. We got settled in and then went out to “explore the hood”. We watched street performers, grabbed some delicious sangria and a quick bite, and walked through the streets until after 11:00 pm. We can already tell we are going to be exhausted this entire week because there is so much to explore! First impression of the area surrounding Plaza del Sol is they took 500 year old buildings, with beautiful architecture and built Las Vegas in them. It is a Wednesday night and there are thousands of people out enjoying the night! And it is past my bedtime! 🤣😂😉
mccalls repurposed 