The flight from BWI to Heathrow was uneventful. It took 5 minutes to check in, 5 minutes to clear security and about 3 minutes to walk to my gate. The International departure area is quite compact and was practically empty. There is only one bar/restaurant and one shop, so there wasn't much to occupy my time except playing on my iPad and making a couple of phone calls. It wasn't a full flight, in fact my cabin was only half full, so I had plenty of room to spread out. After dinner, it was time to sleep. Noise-canceling headphones are such a wonderful invention, they really muffle engine and cabin noise, and combined with a sleep mask, it is possible to sleep. Even though we were late in departing Baltimore we arrived in London more than 30 minutes early, so had to wait on the tarmac for our gate to clear. Came into Terminal 5 and took a 15 minute walk to the shuttle to Terminal 3. There was a train that would have shortened the trip to less than 5 minutes, but since I have 7 hours here, I thought the walk would be good.
After clearing security, and surveying the shops in the departure area, I headed upstairs to one of the airport lounges
. In addition to those offered by airlines to their "VIP" passengers, there are some that are open to the public, for a fee. Anticipating the long layover, I had signed up for a service called Priority Pass that provides access to more than 700 lounges, world-wide. I had my choice of two lounges in Terminal 3, and I believe that it is nice to be able to relax with complementary food and drink rather than waiting in the departure area.
The flight to Lisbon departed on time and actually arrived a little early. There was a slight delay in deplaning because there was a red and white striped ribbon across the jetway and no one knew why it was there. Apparently the gate agent spoke with 5 different people before we were allowed to leave the plane.
It was now 6 pm local time and I had been in transit for 18 hours, but instead of heading for the hotel, I went straight to the restaurant where our group was having the welcome dinner. It was nice getting to meet the rest of the group, and have my first taste of Portuguese food. The restaurant was located on the 8th floor and had walls of glass overlooking the city. We had a great view of the Castelo de Sao Jorge.
After dinner it was a short bus ride to the hotel, and a fairly early bedtime, since tomorrow will be a full day of touring the city of Lisbon and Sintra.
A Day of Travel
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Lisbon, Estremadura, Portugal
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2025-02-06