Lisbon - March


Stupid o'clock M25 can only mean one thing  - Heathrow ! Yes the traffic is actually flowing freely and we make our way to purple parking for our flight to Lisbon from Terminal 5 Heathrow.

Quick check in at the parking, and we wait about 10 minutes for the bus to start dropping us at the terminal, nice and easy - but if you are travelling from terminal 5 you'll be the last to be dropped off - it takes about half an hour.


Once at the terminal we make our way through fast track security - one of the club class benefits ! Always very quick, down the escalators, all the way to the BA lounges for some early morning sustenance - and the flight is delayed an hour so the comfy seats are welcome.





Full(ish) brekky and the obligatory celebration drink as we wait for the flight to be called.


The flight appears with a more or less last call, luckily from a close gate, we arrive and board immediately into row 5 club. After what seems like only a few minutes, the crew announce boarding complete and the doors close. A short taxi this morning sees us taking off with a nice view, before entering into the clouds then above.






The menu cards come around and breakfast is efficiently served ( again ) šŸ‘Ø- rude not to have another brew dog right? The Mrs sticks to her usual bucks fizz ! After watching a couple of episodes of the RIG on my iPad we start to descend into Lisbon. ( I usually have a bit of media downloaded it helps pass the time )


We taxi to a remote stand and are bused to the terminal, with only hand luggage it's swiftly through passport control then a short walk to the metro, for the simple 10 stop journey to the city (1 euro 65 and 20 minutes)there's only one line from the airport so you can't get it wrong.

After a few check ins with google maps we walk the 10 minutes to our H10 hotel h10-duque-de-loule the hotel doesn't look much from the outside but inside is the usual boutique style we love from this brand. A quick complimentary glass of fizzy wine and a cake then we are off to our room on the seventh floor, a nice corner room with a balcony overlooking the main road.
There is also a rooftop bar which has views across city









After settling in we go for our usual wander around, just to get acclimatised and understand our location. Just up from the main route into Lisbon central. Lisbon is obviously a capital for high end shops and clothing, well out of my league !! We stop for a quick bite and a local brew, then continue to wander around getting our bearings until it starts to drizzle slightly which is our que to return to the hotel.





After a good night's sleep in the huge bed it's time for breakfast with its cooked and self service options which we make good use of.






After resting for while to let all the lovely food go down, we set out for a full day wandering the city, and having purchased a one day travel card ( just over 6 euros which gets you on the metro , trams and Funiculars, which is really good value ) stopping occasionally for a beer or bite to eat.




























The end of the day is drawing close, but not before we decide to go into a restaurant that we had passed twice before, and both of us looked at the menu and commented, not one of those that has stock photo menu boards outside, but what looks like a family run restaurant. Tempero gaucho  https://www.temperogaucho.pt/ what a find - run by what looks like a local family - huge portions, well cooked and great value ( 50 euro for starters drinks and two huge steak mains ) the place is  well and truly filling up by the time we leave .


The day is long and we are ready for bed, but not before we make use of the free cocktails that are offered with being an H10 member (free to join !!)

Time for bed !

Wake for a late Breakfast and mooch around until check out at 12.00 hrs,


then the 40 minute Metro journey back to the airport.

Through fast track once again - a bit confusing as the entrance is tucked away, but we're the only ones in there, like your own terminal, Lisbon is a nice clean big airport with lots of shops and eateries, but we have  the lounge entry, which again is a bit sparse with snacky type food, but nice all the less, with the free alcohol and when your flight is another hour delayed is certainly nicer than sitting in the terminal itself. The flight is called as boarding, so we wander to the gate and are immediately on the bus and soon settled into our seats for the hop back to LHR.





The crew are very jolly considering they were on the outbound delayed flight, and we are served a choice of hot meal (shepherds pie for both of us - very tasty ! ), accompanied by the now obligatory brew dog. 

After a couple of hours we are descending into the night lights surrounding LHR, landing, we are first off and through the biometric passport control straight to the bus stop for a ten minute wait for the bus to take us back to Purple Parking.






Another trip done...where to next? If you want a short break, Lisbon is a great destination.

Thanks for reading.



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