Jet leg is not for the faint of heart. When planning this trip, I must say that traveling alone with four kids abroad and jet lag were both at the top of my list of concerns. I suppose if we made through that hellacious journey from LA to Lisbon, what was a little jet lag to contend with?
On the first night, I don't think anyone slept much. Catherine, Graham and Miles may have slept for 5 hours, Garin 3-4 hours and me, well I slept for about an hour. It was brutal. You would think that after such a long and stressful journey to get here that we would all conk out, but not so. Jet lag is devious in that way. You are exhausted at the times you are not supposed to be and wide awake when you're supposed to be sleeping.
Luckily, at my behest, Garin had planned a mostly doable day, out of the gate. As he planned all of our daily itineraries, weeks before we left, I warned him of the potential jet lag, so he went easy on us.
We spent our first day at the Oceanário de Lisboa https://www.oceanario.pt. Except for a few expected travel hiccups, it was a perfect day.
We had a wonderful day and Garin's planning was impeccable, as always. We were all so grateful for his attention-to-detail and great care in making sure that everything went off as planned.
Getting everyone roused and out of bed was no easy feat on our first morning, but somehow we managed.
Catherine, Miles, and I walked to one of the many divine bakeries in our neighborhood, just down the street from our apartment, to pick up some goodies for breakfast. Croissants, scones, and other delicious pastries, each one better than the one before.
After breakfast, we headed to the metro station, which was clean, easy-to-use and only a few blocks from our apartment. My kids fell in love with getting around by subway after our trip to New York last year. And Garin is a master at negotiating public transportation, even in foreign countries, it would seem, so we are fortunate. We arrived at our destination in no time at all.
Before heading to the aquarium, we checked out the surrounding area, where the World Expo was held in '98. There were many treasures to discover.
After lunch, we arrived at the aquarium, which boasts itself to be the largest indoor aquarium in Europe.
"Hi, I'm Vasco. I was born on June 8, which is the World Oceans Day. I love the oceans, where I can dive and discover a fantastic world!" The kids were enthralled by the aquariums mascot, Vasco. He popped up in the most unexpected places as we made our way through.
The sea life and exhibits were second-to-none. We have been to a number of aquariums and this was one of our favorites. If you ever find yourself in Lisbon, it is worth a visit!
The aquatic art, throughout the aquarium, was marvelous as well.
Garin couldn't have chosen a better activity to ease us into our first day.
Right next to the aquarium, we rode the Telecabine Lisboa. It runs in a loop for three quarters of a mile, 100 feet above the Tegus River. The views were amazing!
On the way home, we stopped in our neighborhood and had some delicious Indian food, before heading home in an attempt to get some sleep. I was obviously quite tired when I shot this less than optimal photo, but you get the idea.