To start off there are no pictures for this part of the journey. Cameras are packed in the back pack and I can't negotiate a camera, two suitcases and a back pack. But more will come.
I have been very aprehensive about this trip as the time grew closer. Will we hit traffic to Newark? Will we get lost getting there? Will the plane get cancelled? etc. etc. But all my worries were for nothing. The drive up the Turnpike was uneventful. We found the airport, got to long term parking anf even found a parking spot close to a bus stop. It was too good to be true. We get to the airport and check-in went smoother than any other trip I have every taken. Usually I get pulled aside for hand screening and they ask to look at all of my electronic paraphanalia. Heck the only reason I didn't get through the scanner was my Passport made the unit go off.
So we get through airport security and look for a place to eat a good meal. We have a six hour flight ahead of us that is billed as a dinner flight but airline dinners are never good in my experience. Although pricey we ate at a place called Gallaghers. Newark airport is a bit better than Philadelphia when it comes to the gates and check-in. Nobody harrassing you or asking you for id after you just showed it to two people in order to get to the point where that person asked about id. I got my first sticker shock when I asked about an upgrade The Continental Rep smiled and said $3,000 per ticket. I smiled and went back to my seat.
The boarding is always an adventure, but this went well. We found a place for our bags right near our seats. The plane was about half full or a bit more but there is a lot of open space. A Portugese gentleman asked if I would move to the window so he could sit across the aisle from his friend but I wasn't giving up the spot. It worked out since the row his friend was in was not full and so was ours. Doreen and I got to stretch out for the long flight.
Dinner was a choice of Beef or Chicken. The chicken was a 4 oz. boneless breast in a spicy tomato sauce with vegies, rolls and a salad. Not bad except that it was at 9 PM. A bit late but it comes with the meal. The other nice thing about this flight is each seat has its own Monitor. It also doubles as a game device, Ipod or watch the flight on a map with details of air speed, altitude and temperature. Just before we land in Lisbon we get served fruit and a Croisant for Breakfast.
We deplane through the jetway and at the end we are greeted with steps. These take us to the Tarmac where we get on a bus. Before the trip I read all the tips about saving time on plane boardings and exits. All of them help except on the small bus ride to the terminal. We got a seat by the door but when the bus stops our polite travelers turned into maniacs and we ended up being last getting off the bus. Customs was a breeze. She smiled, welcomed us to Portugal, stamped the passport and off we went.
We stroll through the terminal like normal bewildered tourists and get to the rental car. I saw a Tourist Information booth and should have stopped to ask about Euro exchanges. We get the car, an Audi A4 Diesel with Manual Transmission and head out. My Tom Tom GPS gets us on the Toll Road and when we hit the first toll booth I am hit with "Euros only. No US Money." Doreen gives me that look and I make her even madder by laughing it off. Meanwhile cars are backing up on the Highway while I try to negotiate a 1.50 Euro ($2.10) Toll. The attendant asks for my paper work and then gives me a receipt telling me I have to pay that. I plan to pay it but Doreen needless to say is ticked at my not getting any Euros in the states or Lisbon. Hey its travel and why get mad.
We make it to our Hotel. The Tom Tom GPS is better than the directions from the Hotel. But true to Boris luck they are working on the Hotel. Our Hotel Clerk is impressed with my US PAssport until I tell her how much Uncle Sam charged me for it. So I go back to the car to get Doreen and our bags and I can't get the trunk open. My key ring has a clicker and a button with the trunk image. I click it and nothing happens. The Bell Hop (or whatever, he was at the desk when I checked in) comes out and reaches just above the license plate and squeezes the trunk latch. So i stand there like a boob. Doreen just looks at me with that look "You were a mechanic?".
We get to our room and unpack. The twin beds look small but after being up for 20 hours (neither of us got any rest on the plane) we sack out for a nap. Next thing we know it is after 2 PM, four hours have gone by. So we get up and head out to find an exchange house. The reception desk gives me a map of CasCais and draws a line where we should go. So we head off and try to follow the map. Mind you the map is not to scale. All of a sudden we are at the ocean and Marina so we know we missed the turn. Hey I can do this, I have a great sense of direction, so I proceed on turn right here left there and next thing you know Doreen and I look at the Intersection and we notice we just went in a large circle. An image of the Griswald's Summer European Vaction appears "Look kids Big Ben!" "Look Doreen Our Hotel!". So we go off again and this time we pay closer attention and find the square where we had to park. We find a spot, and trust me this Audi is a tank compared to what others are driving, I squeeze it into a spot and find out Doreen can't get out ecause there is a tree there. So I move to let her out. Then I find out that I need Euros to put into the meter to get my slip. Now I have to find a place to get some Euro coins so I I can get some Euros. Does this sound like catch 22. I spy a bar a half a block away but they will only give me change for Euros, I feel like I am in an Abbott and Costello bit. But he is kind enough to explain exactly where the Exchange house is. So we run off down the block to the Train station and see a Western Union Office with words so big a blind man could see them, Exchange. Bingo we are gold. We go in and get sticker shock and find out $100 US is only 63.40 Euros. But hey it is 30 Euros for a parking ticket. We then head off to the meter machine and pumo in some coin. I look and aomething doesn't look right. come to find out the meters don't work after 8 PM and are free on Sunday. I put enough in that we could park there until 10 AM Monday. The local that explained it to me chuckled but I got another look from Doreen.
We are now officially starving as the jet lag has worn off and our stomachs are still on US time. We head off looking
for an eatery. We head down a small street 
and as I take some pictures I see a place called Checquers
All the eateries have someone outdside hawking the place and trying to get you inside. This place just looked good
so we went in. 
A nice place and I have two
pints of Sages, Portugal Beer that has the look of Miller or Bud but the taste of a Good Lager. The meal is good but
mostly american. We passon Dessert convincing the waiter we need to walk a bit.
We head to the Mall accross from the Train Station and stroll the shops. The Mall is a five story Building with a Cinema on a lower floor. We end up on the fifth floor food court and spy a coffee bar and Pastry shop. We struggle with the help, I know two words in Portugese but we get our Dessert. Strong coffeee and milk and a muffin, Doreen got a Juice and a pastry.
We locate the Elevator and head back to the car and the room. One odd thing in the elevator is the floors. They go 5,4,3,2,1,0,-1,-2,-3. Where is the basement? Or the cinema? When we get back to the Hotel I see that our Elevator has a 0 (zero)floor not Lobby.