Portugal

I had a difficult time coming up with a clever caption here so this will have to do!

Getting there:

Getting here was very stressful. My original itinerary was meant to go from MCI (Kansas City) to Atlanta, then to Madrid and finally to Porto. None of this happened as I had planned nearly two months prior. Instead, my connecting flight in Atlanta was delayed enough that I would miss the flight in Madrid before I even landed. So I had to change my itinerary on the fly. I ended up flying through Boston. When I landed, I had to run to catch the plane and then was one of the last to board. Once I had successfully sat down, the plane was then delayed for over an hour. Which meant that once I got to Amsterdam for the connecting flight.

Now, for context, the last time I flew to Europe was during the Covid years. Back then, I was going to Budapest with police permission. The Amsterdam police couldn't verify my documentation and ended up detaining me long enough to miss my flight. I then spent the next 24 hours roaming the international section of Amsterdam airport because I wasn't allowed to leave the airport due to Covid restrictions.

So here we are again. Back in Amsterdam where I had been previously detained with less than 30 minutes until my next flight takes off. I am sprinting in the airport this time. Not a jog, a sprint! When I get to the international transfers there is a line that looks to be at least an hour long. I HAVE ONLY 25 MINUTES AT THIS POINT!! So I run to the officers and ask if I can jump the line. The lovely officer grabbed me by the arm and just POWERED through the crowd and dropped me off at the front. Shoutout to her because I could never have done that on my own. This time, I was not detained and got through fairly quickly. At this point my flight is scheduled to leave in about 15 minutes so I continue my sprint and finally get to the terminal.

Once there, I stood in a line to board for about an hour. Then we boarded the plane and found out that the air traffic controllers in France were on strike. So the airlines were having a hard time checking in on the airspace for the area. We sat on the plane for another hour and a half but I honestly didn't mind much. At this point, I knew I was going to make it.

Porto:

First of all, Porto is absolutely beautiful. If you have a chance to visit it is absolutely worth it. My experience there is not going to paint this beautiful city in the light it deserves. I started in Porto and went to a restaurant by myself. I had some great fish and was the only person in the whole place. The waiter was super kind and put me next to a window overlooking the water. I spent the rest of the day walking a ton! I met a German girl from Cologne during my stay. She actually kind of interrupted a meeting I had with the math team who had zoomed me in for a work call but it was nice to meet someone so I let it happen. Sorry math team! That night, we went for drinks down by the river and she gave recommendations for the next day. Taking her words into account, I spent the next day eating Franceshina, taking in the sights, and drinking port wine. That night I also went out to a popular area for partying. I am pretty sure I ended up near a college. I wound up in a bar that ended up being more of a club. Portuguese people know how to have a good time!

Lisbon:

The next day, I walked about an our to the bus station. I caught a three hour bus to Lisbon. While staying in Lisbon I met two travelers that made my time here so much better. One was a German girl from Frankfurt named Alina. The other was Florent from France. For the next couple of days we explored the city together. It was so nice to explore with people. Porto was just a bit sad a few times. It's hard to be in an amazing place by yourself. Even being able to share it with people who struggle to speak English made the experience ten times better. My favorite thing that we did together was going to Praia do Rebeiro do Cavalo. We had to split an uber and then it dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. We hiked down this steep pathway for about 30 minutes to get to the beach! It was absolutely beautiful. The water was perfectly cold and there were some rock features which made the view more interesting. We stayed most of the day and then hiked our way back the way we came. These two people were the exact type of people I would want to travel with. Both of them were laid back but open to experiences that are new and exciting. They are the type of people who do not need a perfect itinerary and are open to saying YES to suggestions. I loved my time with them and wish them the absolute best in their futures.

I am finishing writing this from my hostel. Tomorrow, I fly back to Budapest!