The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Amsterdam to Lisbon to Setubal

Lots of connections this time. The 25% off deal we got on our award seats was from Calgary to Lisbon, so, of course, we first had to get to Calgary. Since it was a separate ticket on a different airline, that meant picking up our checked bags in Canada, re-checking them with KLM and making a second trip through security. This is never my idea of a good time but what can you do? At least we had access to the Business Class Lounge for a spot of breakfast.

The flight from Calgary to Amsterdam was on a Boeing 787, quite a comfortable ride. Everyone in business had their own little pod which, while comfortable enough, was a bit claustrophobic. At least they had a good selection of current movies!

Amsterdam is a large airport, we only had an hour between flights and I knew we had to clear immigration. I was concerned ... but as usual, I shouldn't have worried. With Margene's mobility issues, we qualified for a golf cart-like transfer that whisked us through the maze, past what I can only describe as a drive-thru immigration check and dropped us at our next gate well before the Lisbon flight started boarding.

We picked up our rental car -- a small but comfortable Fiat SUV -- and drove an hour south to the town of Setubal. Apparently there are some good beaches in the area but all we wanted was a spot away from the airport and close to our route to the Algarve the next day. By the time we got to Setubal we had been in transit for nearly 20 hours and all we really wanted was a horizontal padded surface!


The Hotel Solaris in Setubal is well-located near the historic district and fronted by a small park. Margene folded up around 2 in the afternoon (as soon as we got in the room!) I, on the other hand, figured that if I took a nap of any length, I'd be wide awake at 2 in the morning. So while she slept, I wandered about the neighborhood a bit in search of a snack and a beer.

I should have remembered a hamburger in Portugal comes with the entire contents of the refrigerator! In this case, a half pound of meat on a 5" bun with a fried egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sauteed onions, garlic ... and I'm sure I forgot a few others ... all for about the equivalent of US$5.00. Needless to say, a snack it aint! I quit about halfway through mine (finished two beers, though!) and called it a day.


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