Su 5/4 Flying Easyjet to Portugal

(Note: I'll understand if there is too much here to read and you just want to skip ahead to the pictures.  I probably would do the same.  But flying EasyJet was truly an experience.)

Today was a lazy, not much happening day as we made our way from Bordeaux to Portugal.  We were asked to have our bags packed and be out of our rooms by 9 a.m.  We located up to the Aquavit Terrace where we enjoyed macchiatos, pastries, and cheese and turkey sandwiches while watching joggers run by on the waterfront park.  At 11:30 we boarded our bus that took us to the airport.

Now I have been worrying for some time about the arrangements for today's travel.  In October I directly booked our flight from Bordeaux to Lisbon on EasyJet airline, the budget airline of Europe (this was the one thing that Viking would not do for me).  EasyJet had all kinds of options available for pricing, so I just went with the most expensive, most inclusive option they had (which was around $300 for the two of us one-way).  The flight was cheap, but the add-ons drove the price up quickly. You have to pay for checked bags AND carryon bags.  Want legroom, that's extra.  So, I booked a package that for each of us included a checked bag, a mid-size carry-on bag, an under-the-seat bag, and added legroom.  When I booked it, we reserved the first two seats on the flight (and it was a long time before anyone else booked it.  I was concerned it might get cancelled from lack of booking.  Turns out the flight was full.).  I selected the two isle seats in the first row.

When we arrived at the airport we were greeted by a team of Viking hosts.  Being the only ones on the bus flying EasyJet (doesn't really fit the profile of Viking travelers), we had one rep assigned to us to escort us and our luggage through the process starting at the bus and continuing through to the front of the security line at our terminal.  When we arrived, there was a very long line of people waiting for the time window to open to check their bags (you can't check your bags in more than two hours in advance).  However, there was this one line with a sign that read "Speedy Bag Check".  Our host asked if, by chance, we had qualified for the Speedy Bag Check.  I said "I don't know, let's look" and sure enough on our boarding passes there as the badge for Speedy Bag Check.  Not only did we go right to an agent to check in our bags skipping the line, but we found out the time restriction did not apply to us, so we did not have to wait until the appropriate time.

We were then escorted by the host to the security line check-in where we had to scan our boarding passes and have our pictures taken to open the gate to pass through.  He made sure all was working fine before he left us.  We then got to the front of the security line where we used gestures and odd sounds to communicate with the agent about whether or not we had to disrobe and empty our bags to make it through.  All in all, it was a pretty civilized process, although I did set off the detectors and had to have my hands swabbed for explosive residue.  I passed!

My last fear to overcome was regarding the size of my carryon bag.  I have read and seen YouTube videos about how EasyJet was strictly enforcing the maximum size restrictions on carry-on bags which are about 1/2" smaller than the size of my bag.  If it wouldn't fit in their sizing bins you would have to check it at great expense.  My fears were all for not as, although the sizing bins were visible at the gates, no one was checking for minute discrepancies.

Forty minutes before departure they announced the gate we would be leaving from.  All 186 passengers immediately rushed that gate to form a very long line (think the original days of Southwest). We were about 35 people from the front.   All of a sudden people started pushing their way through the line to the front.  We heard one of them say "we have Speedy Boarding."  I looked at our boarding passes, and sure enough they said "Speedy Boarding" so we fell in line behind the other line crashers and made our way to the front.  We passed a group of old French women who we know were saying to each other quite angrily "what gives these people the right to barge ahead of us in line, we were here first!!!"  (I think they normally have a separate line for Speedy Boarding but, due to the construction, that line did not exist).  Once at the gate there was a "pen" for us Speedy Boarders by the door and then all the others were relegated to the pen behind us.  Between Speedy Bag Check and Speedy Boarding my package ticket deal was beginning to pay off.  The picture shows the sign used to separate "us from them" and the sizing bin for carry-on bags.

We walked out onto the tarmac and up the stairs to the plane.  The first row was really pretty comfortable with "added leg room" and dedicated storage bins overhead.

I love their safety card illustrating a chain reaction, rear end collision.  I'm sure the baby in the middle seat is the one who caused the whole thing.

Arriving in Lisbon we met our Viking host Beatrix who arranged our transportation to the hotel, a Mercedes executive van.  Our driver was Ricardo who has been studying tourism at the university and has traveled extensively throughout the world.  He filled us in on what happened with the power outage on Monday.  He said he witnessed several multi-car accidents that occurred when the signal lights went out on the roundabouts.  People arriving by plane were unable to get their luggage until the next day because they had no way to move it or sort it off the planes.  For several days flights were a day late in arriving.  We are extremely fortunate that most has returned to normal.

We checked into our room at the Corinthia Hotel.  The room reminds me a lot of what we strived for when I worked at the Benson.  We are on the 9th floor with a view of parts of the city.

I'm not real sure why they have the low sink next to the toilet.  Maybe it is for little kids to wash their hands?

For dinner tonight we went to the pizza place next door for pizza and beer.  Total cost of the meal (that is similar to what we order when we go to Stickman's in Tualatin), was only $23.33 US.  It costs with tip at least $15 more in Oregon.  

When we returned to our room this evening, we found slippers laid out for us by the bed, and a chocolate truffle on each nightstand with a glass and a bottle of mineral water.  The life of the rich and famous, if only we could afford for it to last.

Boa Noite!

Daily Step Count:   4,681 mostly in airports and the hotel community.  A sedate day.