Home time is never a great time when you have been away, but alas it has come! We started the day as we usually do, although we did make sure we were earlier this time. We had breakfast and completed our final packing check and grabbed an Uber to the airport.

Unfortunately, this is when the delays started, a usually 35-minute drive took over an hour, and a lot of that reason is because of the weather, as you saw on yesterday’s blog it was raining heavily. It got worse overnight and winds picked up causing damage to cars and blocking roads.

We were randomly dropped off at a bus stop near the airport as the driver “didn’t want to go in stop-start travel” at the terminal, so we had to walk, luckily it wasn’t too far! The next delay was check-in, the board said we could check in but they weren’t ready so had to wait 30 minutes there.

After we had checked in our bags we headed to security to get airside, we were quick here due to having fast track. So we thought things were going to continue to move smoothly, we headed to the gift shops and got some gifts for myself then headed to the lounge for an hour and thought we had timed perfectly from where the lounge was to the gates. However, that was not the case…. this was the next delay. They were only allowing EU citizens to use the electronic passport kiosk while the rest of us had to wait in line for in-person passport control. We had to wait 20 minutes to get through.

We had to bolt to the gate as we were first to board… again, we were hit with another delay, this time with British Airways. Boarding was delayed by 30 minutes due to the previous plane coming in later! But the delays did not stop there, we then had to wait another 30 minutes on the bus to get to the plane!

Finally, we got onto the plane only to be told we’d be delayed a further 50 minutes due to the weather in Portugal being terrible. By this time I had enough, I was tired and fed up with waiting! But we got there in the end!

Eventually, we took off at 14:30 a massive delay from the original! The flight itself was fine, the food was nice and they kept us stocked up with drinks and snacks which was good. It was a smooth flight, a little turbulence taking off and halfway through the journey but fine.

Back on British soil and my day was already waiting for us, this was the final delay of the trip… due to the lateness of the flight, it took over 2 hours to get home! But thanks to Dad we are now home!

Overall we had an awesome time and are already looking to plan our next trip! So stay tuned. I will also be doing a review of the trip tomorrow and covering what we got up to so follow along!

As you can see above, it was VERY wet! But that didn’t stop us! We managed to get out and do another walk around this time going in a different direction. We wanted to go and see a church in Estroli, unfortunately, when we got there it was closed so we couldn’t go in and have a look around much to my best friend’s disappointment!

Next up we decided we wanted to explore a bit more, it was getting toward lunchtime so we decided we wanted to walk to McDonald’s turns out that was a bad idea! It was over 1.5 miles away and I was exhausted! My best friend somehow had energy to spare god knows where she got that from!!

The McDonalds out here were very similar to ours in the UK however they have this weird cafe bit next to the serving station! Anyway, I had something called a Big Arch which was really nice, my best friend had a veggie burger and she said it was very nice! Here is what the food looked like!

After I had recovered from the monster walk, we headed to the supermarket next to the McDonalds to get some last-minute stuff to take home it looked bigger than it was!

Once we had done that it was time for the mammoth walk back! My best friend kept me on my toes that is for sure, but it was worth it! They do have some cool things around such as this statue on the roundabout which I think is the royal family in Portugal! Correct me if I am wrong.

With that done we grabbed dinner and headed back to the hotel. Today was my last full day in Portugal as tomorrow we head home. We don’t have a super early flight which is good, our flight leaves at 1215 so should get back to the UK around 1500 roughly depending on conditions. Here is my bag packed to head home:

Overall, I have had an awesome breakaway with my best friend. With everything going on in my life at the moment it was nice just to take a step back and explore new places! Tomorrow, I will be blogging our travel home and will do a mini-review of what we thought overall so join me tomorrow, for the concluding chapter on my trip to Portugal in 2025!

We started our day with a fancy buffet breakfast! We were led to our tables and were helped to sit down by a staff member and our chairs were pushed in. I have never experienced this before but I guess that is expected for a 5-star hotel! We had a nice breakfast with a decent variety! With breakfast done we got ourselves ready and headed to the aquarium via Uber!

The aquarium was absolutely awesome! We loved the entire trip! We were there for over an hour but it did not feel like an hour! That is how engaging it was! I took way too many photos from our trip so I am just going to post a few pictures from my trip:

With that done, we headed to the gift shop and got a few gifts! The aquarium was amazing we both loved it and were really impressed with what they had! We also had a cable cart trip with our ticket too, so we headed over to the cable cart and enjoyed the views. We wished the weather was better as it would have been 10x better!

Our next stop was to explore Lisboa, we had a wander around including heading to the large shopping centre was surprisingly good! They also had a large supermarket here too where we got some snacks!

During our explore we found a vegan-only restaurant that we wanted to try and seeing as my friend is a vegetarian we headed to the restaurant! The food was brilliant it was much better than I thought it was and was really impressed. My friend loved it! Here is the restaurant and what I ate.

I still can’t believe it was fully vegan! Very impressed. Next up we had about a 1-mile walk as my friend wanted to visit Decathlon randomly, I know! By this point, I was getting pretty tired after all the walking today! Worth it though!

Finally, we headed to the supermarket… another 1-mile walk! I was exhausted! But did buy a few snacks for the evening and it was reasonably well-sized as well!

After our shopping trip we headed back to the hotel via Uber. I was very tired and my feet hurt but do you know what? I loved it! We decided that we wanted to see the sunset as the sun had finally come out so another short walk to the beach!

And that ended Day 2! A brilliant day and I really enjoyed going around Portgual with my friend and it was nice to explore! Tomorrow is a bit more of a chill day we are going to spend time around the hotel and go out for a walk to explore the local area more so see you tomorrow!

So today started nice and early! We finished work last night at 2200 then had to get up at 0430! But well worth it! I woke up at 0410! Here is a short vlog explaining the day!

My friend’s Dad picked us up and got us to the airport. I forgot how long it actually took to get to Heathrow! It was quite busy but I guess that’s to be expected being a Monday morning! We arrived at 0710 and didn’t have that much time, we did stop at the club house though it was awesome!

The gates opened at 0835 and it was a quick turn around. It was also something new as we had to get a bus to the plane! We had business class so we got to board first. It’s a bit weird! Here is our plane:

We got on the plane and settled in for the flight. There was slight a delay due to the weather in Portugal, it was misty so we had to sit on the runway for about 40 minutes. It’s a bit strange as I feel if we knew it was delayed perhaps we should have waited in the terminal but never mind! Here’s our breakfast:

We managed to make up some time in the air, the flight was about 2hrs 20 minutes which wasn’t too bad. To my surprise though, we were in the same timezone! I thought Portugal was an hour ahead! They share the same timezone as the UK which really confused me! Anyway, we offloaded and got through security, there was a bit of a queue for about 40 minutes or so. We decided to sit in the airport with a Starbucks and wait as we were near check-in time at the hotel. Although they got my name wrong!

We grabbed an Uber and headed to the hotel as we were both tired and needed a bit of rest. The drive to the hotel was about 30 minutes although the driver did go the wrong way twice! But we safely got there and boy it was impressive! Here is the room tour for my room:

Once we had settled in and unpacked we decided we wanted to go out for a bit of a walk around the area and it was impressive! We saw the sea which was a bit choppy and the history in the city was brilliant! Here are a few pictures from our walk:

Finally, we headed to a local supermarket for a few snacks for our stay at the hotel as it is quite expensive here! It was great little shop and we did get our dinner too!

With that all done we headed back to the hotel and chilled for the evening! Overall it has been an exhausting day but a good day! Tomorrow, we head to Europe’s largest aquarium which will be awesome! So, see you tomorrow!

It’s only a short break this time, so I only have a small case. It’s a little smaller than I am used to, but I know I can fit it in! My friend is lending me this case, as I don’t actually have a small case! It should fit everything I need in there.

Firstly, I need to sort out what shirts and underwear to take with me so I have to go through the clothes I want to wear plus pyjamas. I will put other stuff in the bag later just before I leave Monday morning!

So, now that the bag is packed, it’s time to check through it to ensure I have everything I need! I have a carry-on bag, but I am waiting for it to be delivered, so I can’t pack it yet, but it looks like a really good bag!

And as quick as it started, it was quick to end! I am all packed and ready. I have added some swimwear to that, too, as the hotel has a swimming pool! It will be a fabulous few days, and I definitely need the break! It’s been a hard few months!

As this is a mini break, I won’t be posting a countdown. I will post again at the end of my travel day on Monday! See you then!

Hi all! I know it’s been a little while since we last spoke; it was at the end of last year! It has been a manic first 3 months of the year, and a few changes are heading my way! But that is a story for another day! Today, I am giving you an update on my trip to Portugal in 7 days!

So, today marks 7 days until my friend and I head to Portugal! We are all paid, the hotel is booked, and my friend has a busy few days planned for us! We are flying out of Heathrow and are flying with British Airways in business class. I have never flown BA or business class, so I am excited about this! We are away for 4 days so a nice short break to relax us!

Our flight leaves at 09:15 in the morning, so that it will be an early start for us. It’s just under a 3-hour flight, so not too long. As it is business class, we get a meal too, which seems a bit weird! I have never flown business, so this will undoubtedly be an experience! We are planning on arriving in Portugal at 1300 their time.

We have chosen the Hotel Palácio in Estoril, about 20 minutes from the airport. Another new experience is that this is a 5-star hotel…. which I have never been to in my life!! So I am really looking forward to exploring the hotel! It looks amazing! My friend has expensive tastes!

As for the plans for the 4 days, I am a little in the dark, my friend has kept some details secret so it’ll be a surprise for me too! I know we are going to the aquarium in Lisborn, which looks incredible!

Currently, there aren’t any plans for more trips this year, but I will definitely be going on some trips as my life calms down a bit and I have some stability, so don’t worry. I will still be blogging my newbie experience!

Anyway, You can expect daily blogs as I blog my experience with you all! I will start with my packing blog tomorrow as I pack for next week! So see you tomorrow!