Seville Day 16 - Europe 2023
June 9, 2023
The airport was the largest part of the day, but it all began at 3 a.m. when we all dragged ourselves out of bed. We used Civitatis for the driver, and it worked great. For future reference, we now have a great driver’s name if anyone needs someone in Seville, Spain. He was JLSM Seville Car Driver, and his number is in my phone on WhatsApp. As he texted me, “If you ever return to Spain and have any questions about a destination or any questions, you already know me, a friend in Seville.”
We were dropped off at the airport before security opened, so we stood in line with the a bunch of the other travelers. Americans in line, myself included, have very firm rules about what we think the way is for things to be done. I have tried to learn to relax and not get anxious or aggressive about how other people act, but I do have to consciously stand-down. (Or be reminded by my youngest child that I can relax.)
We had a potential situation on this first flight of the day. We were flying TAP airlines for the first time. When I checked our flight information a few days before the flight, Buddie’s first name was spelled incorrectly. I’m sure you have all seen the repeated admonition that names must exactly match the travel documents. Buds and I talked and decided we were okay with testing this “rule,” rather than spending hours on the phone trying to correct a simple transposition. Despite this bravado, I was interested to see if he cleared security.
It was a self-check to get to the security gate, and he scanned his boarding pass with no problem. I quickly realized that since we were not on an international flight, and we were staying within the EU, he wasn’t going to have to scan his passport, only show it at the gate, if at all.
Phew.
The flight from Seville to Lisbon was only an hour, and thanks to the time zones, we landed at the same time we departed. My travel groups are full of many, many warnings and pictures about the snags and snarls that can happen at the Lisbon airport. We bypassed security, the first potential snarl, since we flew in, which was a blessing, but we knew we also had to pass through passport control, and people repeated often that it can take hours to get through that line, followed by many examples of people running to their flights or missing their flights due to passport control.
Before we even landed in Lisbon, we began receiving notifications that our flight to Toronto was delayed. This was reassuring since we wouldn’t need to worry about time at passport control, but as the flight got pushed further and further back, finally delayed by 6 hours, we accepted that we would be missing our niece’s graduation on June 10. If we had gotten home at 7 p.m., as the original plan intended, we could have gone right to bed, hopped up at 4 a.m. and been in Vermont in time for the 10 a.m. ceremony. Getting home after 1 a.m. meant that was no longer an option. I texted to let her know, and she was loving as always, but I was sorry that plan had to be scrapped.
Once we were on the ground, knowing we had a long wait ahead, we scouted out several locations for comfortable seating. We thought we had a great spot, but it was too close to the smoking lounge. A second great spot was disconcerting because it was on a walkway which bounced slightly as people walked through. Finally, Buds found a fantastic location for us; close to passport control so we could watch for the optimal time to go through, slightly isolated so we wouldn’t be surrounded by people, and power so we could stay charged up and be ready for the flight.
We found places to eat that all of us were happy with as well.
We walked and typed and talked and laughed and even napped.
When it finally seemed our final flight time was truly happening, we meandered our way through passport control. We stood in line for about 15 minutes after watching it ebb and flow throughout the day from no line to 100 people in line. And there were people that came running up, in danger of missing their flight.
We still had a couple hours to wait, but the last bit of time went smoothly. Despite the amount of time spent at airports, it was still a lovely last day of being together, people watching, and the final bits of the adventure.
It was a quite empty flight, which worked out beautifully. Yessa and I had the 4 center seats for just the two of us, and Buds had the set of 2 seats to himself. I don’t think I talked to him the whole flight. I was able to sleep, which was good since we would have a 3 hour driving waiting on the other side of the trip.
It was a smooth, easy flight, and when it was through, we were back in the same time zone as the rest of the family.
