Mittens 2014 Portugal - 19-26 July

[cat]

We booked our flights!

Don't forget to get one of the reasonable offers while they are still available, flights usually don't get cheaper

Edit: just checked a few destinations, there are flights from London for £115, Milano â,¬127, Amsterdam â,¬202 and Warszawa â,¬218.

[bicilotti]

Edit: just checked a few destinations, there are flights from London for £115, Milano â,¬127, Amsterdam â,¬202 and Warszawa â,¬218.

Thanks for checking!

[tampie85]

Good idea Cat! We have booked our flight too.

We (Arj0n and me) arrive at Lisbon Airport at July 19th 13:45 and depart at July 26th at 19:55

[AGA]

London Gatwick to Lisbon
Dep Sat, 19 July 2014 09:55
Arr Sat, 19 July 2014 12:35

Lisbon to London Gatwick
Dep Sat, 26 July 2014 20:05
Arr Sat, 26 July 2014 22:45

[cat]

Updated first post with arrivals and departures.

Some more destinations:
Oslo kr 2185, Zürich SFr. 297, Göteborg 2492 kr

[Snarky]

Thanks cat! I can take a hint.

Though I think the flight you were looking at was either just the one-way ticket (Swiss does that: only shows the price one way until you pick the return flight), or some sort of 18hr layover in Paris. I had to pay quite a bit more for a reasonable connection, anyway.

Regardless:

ZRH-LIS: Sat Jul 19, 2014 09:05 â€" 11:55 (CEST)
LIS-ZRH: Sat Jul 26, 2014 20:00 â€" 22:45 (CEST)

[Disco]

Are you flying easyJet Berian? I checked the flight times but just want to be sure. I will try and get the same flights.

[AGA]

Yup!

[cat]

@Snarky, I found an Air France flight with one stopover and 5 1/2 hours total in one direction. But if it is any comfort to you - our flights were also very expensive (since 18h in Paris were no option for us either)

[Snarky]

Don't worry about it, I was just teasing. I looked around and got, I think, the best deal available given my requirements; and then it costs what it costs.

Let us know when we should pay you our share of the rent.

@Snarky, I found an Air France flight with one stopover and 5 1/2 hours total in one direction.

Yeah, that was the one cheaper option that didn't look absolutely impossible (and even so it's now showing up as 339 CHF + whatever fees). But stopovers both ways, spending effectively the whole day traveling there and back, probably only getting to Mittens at around midnight? Not worth it.

[MillsJROSS]

I booked my flights, I'm coming in Lisbon at 9:45 am July 19th and leaving at 12:35 pm July 26th on luxurious coach seat that may or may not be an aisle seat.

[Andail]

Goodie, there's now a direct flight from göteborg to lisbon. Cat, how much should I paypal you for the villa?

[AGA]

So is anyone planning to drive, or to get a rental car?

[cat]

Cat, how much should I paypal you for the villa?

I'd say we do that once the final payment is due, then we also know how much to pay for each person. It's less complicated and will save us transaction fees. If you confirm that you are a definite, I'll put you on the list.

So is anyone planning to drive, or to get a rental car?

I don't think we need to. It's about 1 hour by public transport from the airport to the villa and we can go to Lisbon by train (on weekdays there should be a train every 15 minutes). Also there is the historic tramway that can bring us to the beach. And I think there is plenty of stuff to see in Sintra as well.

[AGA]

I was thinking more of shopping trips, but as long as they're in walking or public transport distance that would be fine.

[tampie85]

There seem to be a few supermarkets nearby:

- Baptista & Costa Lda - 1000 metres (Rua Arco do Teixeira 9, 2710 Sintra, Portugal)
- Loja do Manal- 650 metres (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/portugal/lisbon/sintra/shopping/food-drink/loja-manel)
- Manuel Afonso Faial - 600 metres (Avenida Movimento das Forças Armadas 1, 2710 Sintra, Portugal)

Nearby might not be close enough to carry >10 peoples foods and drinks.
I don't know whether shopping carts are common in Portugal.
If I zoom in at Google Streetview it might not be.

Edit:
I just spoke to Arj0n and we decided to rent a small car for doing the shopping for the whole group.
I think that would be most convenient for all of us.

[Disco]

Not a bad idea, but is it entirely necessary? As a tourist destination, Sintra is certain to have a decent taxi system.

If for instance we do three big grocery trips for the group during the week, the cost of taxiing the food/drinks back would probably not even be half the price of a single day's worth of car rental. With three supermarkets all withing 1km, we could all walk and then call a taxi and send two or so people back. Simpler shopping trips could be done entirely on foot.

Edit: Sintra Táxis+CP is 350m from the house, near the rail station.

It seems like most everyone is arriving in the early afternoon, which is great news compared to some years. Has anyone managed to find any takeaways nearby? I have only seen restaurants and the supermarkets Tamara listed. It is nice to not do grocery shopping the first night so we can relax and catch up.

[Pumaman]

Count me in! When does the deposit need to be paid?

[cat]

Wheeeee! Great - will you come alone or the two of you?
The first deposit is already paid, according to the website we have to the next payment two months before Mittens, so no need to hurry.

[Disco]

We have one more coming! My sister wishes to enjoy Mittens with us this year. She was a potential attendee of the 2008 Mittens in France, but was unable in the end. She is now a member of the forums as well.

Please join me in welcoming violetnotpurple to our forums!