April 1, 2025 – Going Home Day – Lisbon, Portugal – Partly Cloudy – 70s

Slept on an off knowing how early we have to get up. Not sure what happened to my wakeup call. I went down for breakfast around 5:45 AM (it was still dark outside)

– all the food was there (the server I saw looked tired – understandable) and it was not very crowded.  I had my usual tasty breakfast.  Ellen came down a little later.  We were all set to go just before 7:00 AM – we turned in our keys and waited outside for the shuttle.  It came in a few minutes and we were at LIS Terminal 1 around 7:15 AM or so.  We found our way into the terminal and asked several people where Delta was located.  The check in and luggage drop off process is the same we have experienced in Europe in the past: A huge open area with every airline represented – long lines and no kiosks.  We did find the Delta area and got in line. Our line was not that long and we did check our bags through to Chicago but, in order to clear customs, we would have to retrieve them at JFK and then hand them back to baggage folks to put the on our flight to ORD.  It was a pain the last time we did this but maybe it has been streamlined since then. 

With our bags taken care of, we started out search for our gate.  Today we are flying DL0273 located at Gate 42 and the flight is ON TIME (per the information board).  We then located Security (no Precheck at LIS) and literally walked a couple of thousand steps serpentine fashion until we got to the actual scanners.  At the same time, other people were in similar lines in other areas near us.  It all depended on what passport you were carrying – EU in one line and US and others in another and then into the long pre-scan line.  It was a pain.  Once we got to the end, the security personal were very efficient the containers come out on a conveyor belt and you put your stuff in one (there are two lanes of bags) and they then get scanned slowly and you picked them up at the end of the line.  The process does move pretty quickly because security personal are helping get the carry on bags into the plastic containers (taking the passengers out of the loop since they are the weakest link).  By the time we were done, I could see why you have to be at the airport three hours before flight time. 

Once past Security, we followed the signage to Gate 42. That journey, although many steps worth took us through a very nice mall area and food area.  One of the more interesting stores was “The Fantastic World of the Portuguese Sardine”, a store completed focused on sardines.  

They had a very intriguing wall made of sardine cans with dates going back to the forties.  There was information on what happened in each year on the can.  Very colorful, too.  Never seen anything like this.

We found Gate 42 with a little time to spare.  There was a plane there but it wasn’t ours. Our plane is an A330-900 and this was a much smaller Airbus and it was not in Delta Livery.  I checked the information at the desk and this was the place and we were still on time to board at 9:05 AM (it’s a big plane and takes about an hour to get everyone on and settled).  It was pretty packed at our gate so we moved to a nearby gate to put some airspace between us and other people. 

Boarding announcements started about 9:00 AM.  After pre-boarding, the real boarding started but went relatively fast – there were two agents checking passports again and scanning boarding passes.  Our big Airbus was still not at the gate.  We went through the jetway and then not into a plane but down the stairs to a waiting area to catch a bus (like Heathrow). The bus took us a short distance and dropped us on the tarmac right next to our plane – a fantastic bonus for me and I took a couple of pictures (I was afraid someone who tell me to stop).  

The last time I boarded or disembarked a real jet (not a tiny prop) on the tarmac was in Reykjavík, Iceland.  We climbed up a staircase in the rear of the plane since that was where our seats were (boarding was happening at both ends of the plane).  

We found our seats, 43A and 43B – 8000 SkyMiles each – and settled in (the configuration is 2-4-2 so the two seats are desirable for this 8 hour flight to JFK). The seats are comfortable. Just hoping that the people behind us are not kickers.

The pilot set the flaps and slats and we were ready to go.

The plane pushed on time (around 10 AM) and took off shortly afterwards.  The climb out was smooth

 and soon the plane broke through the layer of low clouds.

The flight headed straight across the Atlantic Ocean (not flying along the geodesic this time). Not much to see on the plane’s flight tracker and the Wi-Fi wasn’t working so I couldn’t bring up another tracker app.  On this flight, we had asked for kosher meals as well, and this time out, we got something that wasn’t too bad.  The entrée was turkey goulash – nice chunks of turkey in a pretty good sauce along with a side of couscous.  I ate all of it. There was also some kind of marinated veggie thing and a chocolate brownie.  The whole thing was pretty good, actually – much better than the fish we had on the incoming flight.  We didn’t need any backup pasta this time around. 

The flight was pretty smooth – a couple of times the seat belt sign went on but not for long.  As the plane got closer to the US East Coast, the pilot came on and said that we should expect a rough approach and landing.  He said that there would be no snack service and asked the flight attendants to put away the carts and buckle up in their jump seats.  Outside, everything looked peaceful – no dark clouds.

I was tracking the flight on the plane’s tracker 

and waited for the plane to start bouncing around.  It turned out that there was not a single bump on approach or landing – everything was perfectly smooth.  We were on approach to JFK around 12:30 PM local time – right on schedule.  I had only landed at JFK at night so I got a chance to see what was around the airport – actually not much.

The plane taxied over to the gate.  Once off the plane, we started another cross country hike to baggage claim.  We found out bags and then handed them back to baggage personnel manning the conveyor belts who perform some kind of customs magic and put them on your connecting flight.  The signage at JFK was informative and made the whole process pretty easy.  Our luggage was on its way to ORD and we were on our way to our next flight.

The terminal for our connecting flight was another bit of a walk and we were getting hungry.  I had this pica for a Micky D’s Filet of Fish so I got into a long line at a less than desirable looking restaurant and ordered a fish sandwich and coke ($9.23).  Ellen decided to order a milk shake that we shared (the line had gone down a lot).

We were in a lower level terminal because our flight, DL4807, was on a CRJ900, which needed a jetway that was a little closer to the ground.  The waiting area looked brand new and because all the planes out of that terminal were small, it was not that crowded.  We found a seat and waiting for our departure, which was at 3:50 PM with boarding starting about 30 minutes before.  In fact, when we got to our gate, the previous flight was still there and was just about to depart.  Our plane did get there a bit late and so our boarding was delayed about 30 minutes.

The CRJ is a twin engine aircraft (engines in the back) similar to a small MD80.  It is a 2 and 2 configuration so it seems roomy.  We are in seats 10A and 10B, which cost us 2000 SkyMiles.  When we got to the gate to board, the agent said our boarding passes were wrong – when I started to show concern, she told me we were “upgraded” and were now in 8A and 8B (in the same section – how is that an upgrade).  The seats were OK and roomier than on bigger jets.  There were two flight attendants and a pilot that I could actually understand – a plus.

The takeoff was smooth and I got a nice picture of the Manhattan skyline.

The rest of the flight was uneventful – I did get a Mr. and Mrs. P Bloody Mary cocktail mix along with some pretzels – just enough.

We landed pretty close to schedule around 5:40 PM and our bags came off the carousel in a reasonable time.

I called for a cab – I thought we were in Terminal 2 but we were actually in Terminal 5.  I cancelled the first order and re-ordered and got the same cab.  That's the process, I guess.

Our taxi came as indicated on the app (the same cab number that I had cancelled) and in about 40 minutes we were back in our castle on the lake.

A totally wonderful cruise and post cruise stay in Lisbon. 

Glad to be home, though, and very happy that we were both able to take another long trip successfully.

March 31, 2025 – Post Cruise Day 2 – Lisbon, Portugal – Partly Cloudy – 70s

The room was indeed quiet – no earplugs required.

I went down around 6:30 AM for another wonderful breakfast – this time out I tried the sunny side up eggs (they were good with the automatic pancakes) – (the number of pancakes you order is controlled by a wave of your hand in front of the apparatus (pretty cool).  The pancakes, themselves are pretty good.  Again, Ellen came down later and I had some of their fresh bread with some more coffee.  All good.

Our destination today is the Bairro Alto (“Upper Neighborhood or District”).  The Bairro had a complex history of construction in the 1400s and 1500s. The area consists of narrow streets built on the hilly terrain of Lisbon. 

There are buildings still standing from the 17^th century but there are also many restaurants, parks, and bars.  The neighborhood had a sketchy history but Lisbon has put money into cleaning up the neighborhood. Bars used to be open all night but now they need to close at 3 AM due to noise restrictions.  The area is safe but we always never allow anyone close to us (pickpockets) and secure our valuables in non pickable places (in our zippered combo pants).  No fancy jewelry or cameras, either. 

We made the decision that we would use Ubers to get around today – the trains are OK but I want to save my steps for the area and the train route to Bairro Alto is not as straight forward and simple as that to Rato and takes a bit longer (more than 45 minutes). 

We have taken Ubers in foreign countries before but not in Europe or in big European cities like Lisbon.  Using the Uber app, I requested a ride from Melia Lisboa to Bairro Alto. We would be picked up in front of the Hotel is just a few minutes by Andreia (in a gray Mazda, I think) in the “Green Ride Uber” Category.  We were picked up right on time by Andreia (a grown woman not a kid like we find a lot in the States) who spoke almost no English but got us through the rush hour traffic to our destination safely.  The car was comfortable. The ride costs $13.00 (E9.99 plus E2.00 tip) and took 26 minutes. What was nice was that she had pre-written texts indicating she was on her way. 

She dropped us off on a major street (only two lanes but major for this area). The side streets were typical of the narrow passageways of the Bairro.

I checked out Google Maps to see where we were.  Up the hill a little ways was an overlook, Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara and its associated Garden.  We decided to go there first – maybe even find something local food to try.  It was only a few uphill blocks to the Miraduoro.  There are two levels to the Garden.  There are food booths but nothing that would work for us.  There was also a pretty impressive fountain.

The top level, where we went first had benches with some shade.  

We settled in on the top level and spent some time listening to a guitarist and enjoyed the view, which was spectacular. There is a 180 degree view of Lisbon (Avenida da Liberdade and all the way from the April 25 Monument to the Vasco de Gama Bridge on the Tagus).  You can also see the Castel de Sao Jorge. There were lots of teenagers about – mostly eating take away that they got from the several food vendors at the Miradouro.  I took a lot of pictures and a nice panorama shot.  The air temp was perfect and the benches comfortable enough. There was a tile on the pavement that gave away the year the garden was opened – 1876.

We went down to the lower level, 

features some grassy areas (that could use some care), an interesting fountain – called the “Fountain of the Guardians” tucked into an alcove. 

It is more of a decorative structure and resembles a grotto.  The garden area was lined with several statues – I tried to identify them but their inscription had weathered away.  One of them was supposed to be Vasco De Gama but I couldn’t tell. There was no shade on the lower level so we didn’t stay as long.  I took lots of pictures.

We started walking down the hill North of Bairro Alto – this time looking for something to eat.   There were a lot of motorcycles parked alongside the buildings.

As we went along, we stopped at a large park in the “Royal Prince” neighborhood named for the area Praça do Príncipe Real.  The park is home to a huge umbrella shaped 150 year old Cypress Tree that is supported by a cage like structure so it is safe to sit under. 

Not too far from the tree is a Monumento de Homenagem às Vítimas de Homofobia. The monument depicts a closet with cutout male and female figures. 

There was a restaurant at the far end of the park and we actually sat down and checked out the menu. There were too many smokers there so we couldn't stay - I did take advantage of the facilities.

We came across a small middle eastern restaurant called the Kebab Hut, which had reasonable prices and atmosphere (there were only three or four tables).  The people were friendly so we got the last available table in the back up the stairs but near a fan.  We ordered two falafel sandwiches (combo with fries) and a can of Coke Free – it came to a total of $14.10.  

The falafel was really fresh and good (crispy falafels) – the pita was soft and the tahina sauce tasty.  The fries, which came in a huge pile, had just come out of the fryer.  It was a good meal and worth the price.  The place was a little tight but the fan kept the air moving and the atmosphere was authentic.  Not only that, but the people preparing the food all wore gloves (one of my requirements not always met).  Ellen took home part of her meal – I finished mine.

We kept going down the hill – across the street was an interesting building I identified as the Palmela Palace.  

What caught my attention were the two figures in front – I thought they represented Athena (a book in hand) and Hephaestus (Vulcan) (hammer in hand).  Some of my interest came from the fact that Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth was also fashioned by Hephaestus and divinely transformed by Athena and other Goddesses.  I could not find any information on the statues (some sources said they were two women – didn’t look like that to me).  The Palmela Palace itself in a very impressive structure – it took two years to build and was finished in 1794.  It started off as a private residence but today is the home of Portugal’s Attorney General (since 1980). 

We continued down the R. da Escola Politecnica, passed by the Thai Spa we visited yesterday and got to Lago de Rato (the street the Synagogue was on).  Basically, we had gone full circle.  The Rato Metro Station was across the street but it was getting to be rush hour and we decided not to mess with the trains. 

Instead I called for an Uber.  He had our location but I texted the driver and told him to meet us in front of Rodas, a restaurant on Rato – this would give him a place to pull over.  He said OK.  I tracked the car’s progress and got a good feeling for how the traffic patterns flow around the area.  It took the Uber a little while to get there.  Our car this time was a white Tesla Model 3 driven by Jose (who did speak a little English).  The pickup was perfect and it took about 25 minutes to get to the hotel.  The car was comfortable with the exception of the huge sunroof which was most of the roof of the car – too much sun on the passengers.  The ride came to E7.91 including an E1.00 tip ($9.66).  It would have been a much less comfortable experience on the Metro.

I confirmed our flights for tomorrow on my phone.  Our flight is at 10:00 AM so we have to be at LIS at 7:00 AM to allow enough time to go through all the lines (mostly security) so that we will be able to board on time. 

We didn’t unpack much so we are pretty much ready to go in the morning.  The shuttle runs continuously and the breakfast opens at 4:30 AM.  Shouldn’t be a problem.

Ellen had her falafel for dinner and I found something to eat in the food goody bag.

I requested a wakeup call from the Front Desk for 5:30 AM so we could get to the airport and start the three hour window.

The room is still quiet and the toilet has been behaving.

March 30, 2025 – Post Cruise Day 1 – Lisbon, Portugal – Party Cloudy – 70s

Slept pretty good since the room was quiet - not even the usual hotel ambient noises. 

I don’t know what time zone Lisbon is on (guessing Western European Standard Time) but at 6 AM, it was pitch black outside. I got ready and went downstairs to the breakfast area.  Our room is close to the second set of elevators and lets out right at the back entrance of the breakfast room.  I opened the door and could not believe what I was seeing.  A huge room (not that crowded yet) full of all sorts of food.  Here are the offerings – several cold cereals (and milk), oatmeal, an automatic pancake maker, two different kinds of scrambled eggs (one without meat), sunny side up fried eggs, lots of jams and jellies and assorted breads, cheeses of all kinds, pastries of all kinds. And both standard coffee dispensers and espresso and latte makers.  This was our usual hotel breakfast on steroids.  I got a nice window seat, watched the sun come up,

 and wound up having pretty much what I ate on the ship – dry cereal, three pancakes (they are small), scrambled eggs, and coffee. It was all delicious – the best breakfast buffet in a hotel in who knows how long – certainly not during our cruise careers.  Coffee refills were easy. It was great.  I came down with Ellen a bit later to have some more coffee.  Made up for our wonky dinner last night.  I should also mention that they had at least four staff handling the tables and making sure things were OK as well as someone in the kitchen (you could see it) making sure that all the food was replenished. 

After breakfast, we headed out on our adventure in Lisbon.  We walked up the hill to the Aeroporto Metro Station to buy round trip tickets for the day.  Our experience at the Metro was not pleasant. The ticket machines are not intuitive and the agents not all that helpful.  We did get in line to buy tickets from a ticket agent but a student in front of us purchased 650 Euros worth of tickets and each one had to printed out and stapled to a receipt.  We spent over 40 minutes in line. We finally got our tickets (4 euro pp round trip came to $9.11).  

Our destination was the only synagogue in Lisbon and that the Metro stop closest to that would be Rato (per the hotel desk clerk).  Lisbon does not have a massive transit system and we figured out the system map and saw where we had to change trains and where to get off..  The trains were clean and fast and we got to Rato in about 30 minutes or so.  It's a young crowd riding the trains; we might have been the oldest folks on the train.

We found the shul, Shaarei Tikvah, quickly – it was essentially across the street.  It did not look active and all we could get was a picture of the sign. 

The Rato area is also Little Thailand with lots of Thai restaurants and some spas.  

With the long wait to get tickets and the time to get to our destination, I needed to find a bathroom.  We were also getting hungry so a place to eat was also on the search list.  We wound up in a huge supermarket – Continente Bom Dia Lisboa - and with some help from a store employee, who spoke some English, found some ready made sandwiches that would could eat. We bought tuna and hardboiled egg sandwiches and a coke – total cost $7.52.  The check out clerk spoke perfect English (must have been an US expat).  The bathrooms were also very nice and clean.  Success.  Ellen couldn’t finish her sandwich so she took it home. We figured it would last until we got back to the hotel.

We had not had a massage in over three weeks so we stopped at a Thai Spa that was 50 Euros for one hour – we had a very nice couples massage that ran $134 (including a ATM service charge) – the place was clean, the people were straight from Thailand (not much English) and very nice.  The whole experience was positive.

Nice and relaxed, we started our walk to the Maques de Pombal Turnabout, located between Avenida da Liberdade and Eduardo VII Park.  

We found the turnabout named for the powerful Prime Minister who ruled Portugal from 1750 to 1777 (the First Marquis de Pombal)

at the bottom end of the Parque Eduardo VII.  

We went across the street to the Parque and found some seats in partial shade.  I got some nice pictures looking up at the monuments at the top of the hill (the April 25^th Monument). There were lots of people on the grass like it was the beach.  There were a number of hop on hop off busses parked so this must be a popular destination.  

We stayed there for quite a while – not too hot and a nice view – clean air.  Why not?

The way back to the Rato Metro Station was all uphill.  So we did get some serious steps in.  We found the station, which has a very interesting escalator (all lit up and almost a work of art). 

We hopped on (a bit more crowded later in the day), transferred, and got off at the end of the line – Aeroporto.  Downhill to the Hotel and back in our nice and comfortable room (it had a state of the art thermostat).  

There was still some sandwich left so we shared that for dinner along with some goodies donated by the ship.  

A nice day in Lisbon.

March 29, 2025 – Lisbon, Portugal – Mostly Sunny – 70s

Our terrific cruise is over and here's where we sailed.

Up early to catch the arrival into Lisbon 

and to get to La Veranda for their early disembarkation breakfast.  I got the same breakfast I have had for the last 16 days (with only the type of egg being different).  More crowded this morning (as expected) but I still enjoyed the breakfast.  Ellen had her breakfast delivered a little later.

We vacated our suite around 8:45 AM and waited in the Coffee Connection (enjoying a farewell Iced Mocha) 

and Reception area until Yellow 2 was called. Andy told us that there would be a bit of a delay as no one could leave the ship until all of the luggage was in the terminal area.  Still it did not take that long to get that done and soon our number was called.

Disembarkation was easy – a quick scan out (we had picked up our passports a couple of days ago – they were held and scrutinized by immigration) and then on to our bus, which we found pretty quickly.  And we were on the tour (a nice bit of negotiating with Destinations to get on this tour because this is really meant for people flying out of LIS).  We got good seats on the bus and we were on our way.

Lisbon is made up of seven hills and walking the city can be tough (something we will try over the next few days).  From the pier, the bus drove by the Praca Don Pedro IV – the “Rossio”, (“Commons’') the name locals call this square.  The tower and statue date to the mid 19^th Century.  There is also a fountain (with statues from Spain) and the square was paved with Portuguese Mosaic. We didn’t stop but I did get pictures.

Our next stop was the Jeronimous Monastery, which was constructed in the later 1500s. I took some pictures but they have somehow vanished. 

In 1880, the remains of Vasco da Gama were interred in the Monastery close to the tombs of King Manuel I and King John III, who had supported the explorer.  When we visited here last, our guide told us that da Gama’s remains were not in his tomb – I guess he was not quite accurate.  The place was packed with visitors but there was a gift shop with facilities so that was a plus. The square is also home to the Navy Planetarium – too far away to walk and we only had about 30 minutes here.

The Monastery is not to far from the Tagus (Tejo) River so that was our next destination.  The bus parked pretty far away from the river – it was really crowded today and the bus couldn’t get any closer.  We walked about a block to get to the Monument to the First Aerial Crossing of the South Atlantic commemorating the 1922 flight by Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral. 

It’s an airplane made of stainless steel on a concrete base.  There is, according to the description on line, a sextant in the monument but I couldn’t find it. 

We walked across the street to a very large square that abuts the Tagus River.  There were a lot of little sailboats out there today and lots of people, as well.  It was hard to get a picture of the April 25^th Bridge, built along the designs of both the Golden Gate Bridge (the Orange Color) and the Bay Bridge (design).  

It was completed in 1966 and named the Salazar Bridge (Ponte Salazar) after dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. The Bridge was renamed following the “Carnation Revolution” in 1974 to the April 25^th Bridge after the date of the Revolution.  The bridge spans about two miles across the river.

The other is the Monument to the Discoveries, a large structure in Belem, honoring Portugal's Age of Discovery (in the 15^th and 16^th Centuries) and its maritime explorers. The stone memorial resembling a caravel was built in 1940 for the Portuguese World Exposition. It was officially recognized in in 1960 to celebrate the fifth centenary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator.

There are several navigators/explorers 

on the monument: Bartholomew Dias – who turned the Cape of Torments into the Cape of Good Hope; Vasco da Gama – who discovered the maritime route to India; Pedro Álvares Cabral – who discovered Brazil; and Magellan – the first European to cross the southern Pacific and circumnavigate the globe.  Henry the Navigator leads the line of explorers while Vasco de Gama is in the third position.  Magellan is about a third of the way down the line (you would think that he would be near the top). 

There is a map of the planet on the pavement of the monument but it is difficult to get a picture with all of the tourists wandering around.

We then walked across another square and by a lot of food trucks to the Belem Tower. 

The Tower was built by King John II in 1519 as a fortification for that section of the Tagus River.  It was also used as an embarkation and disembarkation point for Portuguese Explorers headed out on their voyages.  The limestone structure is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

We found our way back to the bus and a bit of a ride to our next stop, the Parque Eduardo VII.  

The park was name for the English Monarch following a visit from him in 1903.  It’s current configuration dates back to 1945.  It is a huge park (64 acres) that runs from the top set of monuments (April 25^th Monument) to the Marquis of Pombal Square and roundabout.  The bus let us off near the April 25^th Monument, which gave us a view all the way down the twin grassy sections.  There was a maze not far from the top.  We took a lot of pictures but our time here was limited. 

On our way to the airport, we passed by Praca do Commercio, with its iconic statue of King Jose 1 on his horse, stomping on snakes.  

When we were here a few years ago we walked down the hill to this Praca and then had quite a struggle to climb back up to our hotel.  I did get some shots through the clean windows of the bus.

I asked our guide to let us off close to our hotel and she said the hotel, Melia Lisboa Aeroporto was just a short walk from LIS Terminal 1, where everyone was going to get off. It took a little while to get to the airport and the guide pointed out the hotel to us and it was right there. It was easy to spot.

We got our bags and started downhill to the hotel.  This involved crossing the turnabout and other busy streets which fortunately all had pedestrian crosswalks – the cars here are very good at stopping at cross walks.  We started off by walking to the right a bit to catch the first crosswalk and then it was easy to see how to cross the streets.  Downhill was good – we will probably take the hotel shuttle when we are going to the airport. 

We checked in which took a little while but they had all our stuff.  We did have to pay a 24Euro resort tax, which wasn’t part of the original pre-payment to Hotels.com (Expedia.com).  We had contemplated shortening our stay but the desk agent said that would have to be worked out with Expedia and I just knew that would be a major deal so we are going to stay the full time.  We are in Room 529 – 

all the way at the end of that part of the fifth floor. We only have one neighbor.  The entire hall was illuminated by motion sensor lights and by the room numbers so you could see where you were going.

The room, which I did not get a picture of (just forgot) was a typical Eurostyle room, smallish with a nice bathroom – there isn’t an actual door on the toilet space – just a translucent door that doesn’t shut completely (I could not find a vent in the toilet space).  The shower is next door to the toilet and has the same kind of door.  There is a fridge and a safe so we are OK there.  There was one bottle of complementary water in the room and lots of snacks for purchase.  We will make this work because the price is right.  We got the WiFi password and also noticed on our key sleeve that we also got two breakfasts – breakfast was not included in this reservation when I saw it on line – perhaps the on line information was not up to date.  Breakfast is served from 4:30AM (really) to 10:30 AM.  Lots of airline crews stay here so they need early options for breakfast – also people catching early flights need breakfast as well (that would be us).

We were pretty hungry at this point and checked for local restaurants and were told that the hotel across the street, Star Inn Hotel, had a restaurant – they did but it wouldn’t open until later in the evening. Our hotel also had food in the bar area so we decided to get dinner there.  We wound up ordering a Margherita Pizza and a green salad (there was only oil and vinegar for the salad).  We ordered a Euro Coke Free which came in a big bottle and was enough for both of us.  

Our waiter must have been a trainee because he literally could not get anything right – without going into details, we finally got the food and coke.  It was actually OK and enough.

We went back to the room to wind down – the room seemed quiet – no room noises.  After a while, I could hear the toilet running.  I called the front desk and told them and they sent someone (I think it was the front desk clerk) up to fix it.  It worked for a while and then another service person came and installed a new float mechanism.  That was worse as it would not flush after that repair.  Another call to the desk and he said he would move us to a different room.

It took a little while but we wound up one floor up in Room 627 – 

fortunately, we decided not to unpack so the transfer was easy.  This room was exactly the same but it had two neighbors.  Still, it seemed quiet.

The toilet worked so that was a W.

Lights were out at 10:15 PM.