Going to the airport and taking a flight always gets me excited, so I didn’t really mind waking up at 3:00 AM and making my way to Helsinki airport for my flight to Lisbon and onward to Barcelona.
I was able to use priority check-in at the airport with my Star Alliance Gold status. The counters for TAP Portugal were located right next to Lufthansa’s. With my bags tagged to Barcelona, I was issued boarding passes for both legs, first to Lisbon and then onward Barcelona. I was offered a complimentary priority seat in forward economy cabin but I was ok with my currently assigned aisle seat at the back so declined (a decision which I questioned later). I made a quick visit to the SAS Lounge before heading to the gate for boarding.
It was my first flight on a new Star Alliance carrier, TAP Air Portugal. Boarding was smooth and it was nice to see the flight attendants smiling and welcoming everyone. This was a long flight, from one end of Europe to the other. I was pleasantly surprised to see a hot breakfast being served to all passengers. Kudos TAP Air Portugal!
After breakfast I realized that my phone needed some juice and looked around to find the in-seat charging point. Unable to do so, I walked back to the galley and asked one of the flight attendants. She told me that only the priority seats (red headrest) in the forward economy cabin had in-seat power; my existing seat (green headrest) didn’t. Maybe I should have taken the priority seat at check-in after all. She told me to check with someone in the forward section if I could charge my phone at their seat. Luckily for me, I found an empty seat in the priority section and the person in that row was kind enough to let me to leave my phone there for charging. I got back to my seat in the back took a nap. Soon we were beginning our descent towards Lisbon. After landing I didn’t need to collect by bags, so I quickly made my way out of the airport to catch the metro to the city for a day in Lisbon.
Even though I was only going to be in Lisbon only for a day in transit, I was looking forward to adding Portugal to my travel map. The flight landed on time and getting out of the airport was quick and easy. I stood in line to buy the Carris/Metro 1 Day ticket (24h) and took the subway from Aeroporto to Baixa-Chiado via Alameda. I walked to Praça Luís de Camões thinking that the tour I wanted to join was starting from there. But then realized I needed to get to Praça Dom Pedro IV so headed there.
I made it just in time to join the Alfama Tour Free Walking Tour by Discover Lisbon starting at 11:00 AM. After finishing that tour I did some souvenir shopping and headed back to Praça Dom Pedro IV to join my next tour by Live History Lisbon at 3:00 PM. There was still time so I asked one of their tour guides where I could get a quick bite to eat and he recommended Tasca Pomb’alina close by.
After a having a Chorizo Sandwich and Pastel de Nata for lunch, I joined the Baixa and Bairro Alto Free Walking Tour with Live History Lisbon. This tour finished at Jardim Dom Luis and then I had a nice evening walk along the waterfront to Praça do Comércio.
After great day in Lisbon I took the subway from Baixa-Chiado to Aeroporto via Alameda to catch my flight to Barcelona. I was going to be there the next day before flying back home.
As I got to Lisbon airport and reached the check-in counters to re-confirm my seat for my flight to Barcelona, the ground crew gave me a very puzzled look. Apparently while I was roaming around in Lisbon for the entire day Friday, violence had erupted after a pro-Catalan general strike in Barcelona. I, of course, was clueless about any of this. Most of the flights that day from Lisbon to Barcelona had been cancelled. I just had Saturday in Barcelona and was booked to fly out on Swiss from Barcelona to Zurich and onward to Mumbai on a separate ticket on Sunday morning. So making it to Barcelona was critical for me to eventually get home. Luckily for me, the ground crew confirmed that my TAP Air Portugal flight TP1048 was to depart at 21:30 as scheduled. I made a quick visit to the TAP Air Portugal Star Alliance Gold Lounge before heading to gate for departure. The lounge was nice but was quite packed for this time of the night. The food and drink selections were quite nice. There was just enough time for a quick dinner.
The gate for my flight was at the far end of the terminal and boarding started almost as soon I got there. The flight was mostly uneventful and I was pleasantly surprised to be served a complimentary snack and beverage even on this short hop; well done TAP Air Portugal!
Landing in Barcelona at 00:20 past midnight, the airport was mostly empty. My bags made it without delay and I walked out to catch the shuttle to AirHostel Barcelona where I was to stay for two nights.
🚇 Aeroporto to Baixa-Chiado via Alameda
🚇 Baixa-Chiado to Aeroporto via Alameda
🍽️ Tasca Pomb’alina
🛏️ AirHostel Barcelona\
👣 Alfama Tour Free Walking Tour
👣 Baixa and Bairro Alto Free Walking Tour