Eilidh has struggled with flights on this trip, especially around takeoff and landing when she is forced to put on her seatbelt. With our flight to the states departing late in the afternoon, we hoped she would find some time during the 8-hour flight to get at least a little rest. This hope was only that, and she was up most of the flight, spending most of her time with Amanda but occasionally favoring Gee Gee or the kids for a few minutes.
TAP Portugal has legitimately generous food portions compared to any other domestic or international airline we’ve flown. Emmie exclaimed, “this stuff is so good, I love it!”
Of course, she finally found asleep after we landed in the states, allowing for a solid 10 minutes of napping before we had to pick her up and work our way off the plane and through New York JFK’s airport to go through customs and retrieve our bags. That experience was relatively efficient, in stark contrast to our journey from the airport to the Fairfield Inn in Long Island City.
Eilidh eventually got some sleep… at the very end of the 8-hour flight.
With UberXL showing a price near $100, and the combo AirTrain/Subway option $70 cheaper and only 25 minutes slower, I decided we’d skip the car and go with public transportation. In retrospect, I chose the worse of two AirTrain stations to connect with the subway, and the time elapsed between getting on the AirTrain and getting to the hotel totaled nearly 90 minutes.
Eilidh remained asleep as we went through customs and made our way to the subway stop.
Amanda had to work hard to keep a sleepy Noah from falling over, off the subway seat.
The hotel check-in process was smooth, and we all took the elevator to the 14th floor to drop off the majority of our bags. Amanda and Gee Gee were spending two nights in the hotel, while the kids and I were staying with our friends Caley, Caleb, Nola, and Nina. The Uber ride, which featured me, three kids, and four bags crammed into the backseat of a midsize vehicle, wasn’t always the smoothest, but we made it to the Lewis household a shade before 11:00.
Nola posed with the bracelet Emmie had made for her earlier in the (very long) day.
When we arrived, the McMillin kids seemed to get second or third winds, and they were soon all happily playing in the girls’ room. Although Elsa’s Lisbon apartment had a handful of toys, and our Porto Santo guest house had a great yard and beach access, this was the first stop on our trip that felt like a home to the kids. Caley had brewed a pitcher of iced green tea for me, baked homemade cookies for the kids, and had their space all ready for our stay.
Caley picked up Eilidh’s fourth sippy cup of the trip, which happened to be Peppa Pig, Eilidh’s favorite character. She was immediately in love.
The kids were entertained with everything from playing with LEGOs to playing “sardines,” which was appropriately-named since we planned to sample some Portuguese sardines tomorrow. They finished their night with a viewing of Matilda, as Caleb set up a temporary TV in the girls’ room so the kids could spread out and watch the movie. Eilidh was the first to go to sleep, around 1:30, with the rest of the crew calling it a night shortly after.