Safely home

It is never a good idea to travel through airports at moments of 'heightened security'. Airports are chaotic at the best of times. When bombs are falling in the Middle East they become even more so. We'd allowed extra time to get through the additional checks which proved to be a sensible decision. Our flights left on time and were booked solid. At Heathrow there must have been all of thirty large Gulf and Israeli widebodies parked on the tarmac waiting for hostilities to cease. At Edinburgh, a quieter place, two large Qatar 787's stood on the apron near the rental car outlets.

Things we didn't know.

Portugal is big on pineapples. There are two types. The regular variety and smaller ones grown in smoked filled greenhouses in the Azores :https://azoresgetaways.com/en-us/destination/azores/islands/sao-miguel/azores-pineapple These are considered to be a delicacy and sell for a premium.

Portugese cuisine was good. It was great on fish . Restaurants seemed to get busy earlier than they would in Spain.

You see shops that you wouldn't see elsewhere. Small countries with large neighbours tend to guard and maintain their differences. This is something Scots can relate to.

Sunday night prime tv had a 1960's era 'wholesomeness' that JD Vance would have enjoyed. Accordion playing toddlers are a thing here.

We would go to Portugal again. The people were friendly, the wine excellent ( although like Italian wine it may not travel well to northern climates ) and Lisbon pleasantly chaotic in the way places used to be before corporate universality took over. Late March rather than late February might be a better choice weather wise.

We arrived home late last night. Today will be spent unpacking and getting ready for normal service to resume tomorrow. The news this morning leads with the story that our mild mannered and lawyerly Prime Minister is no Winston Churchill.