We’ve begun the trek back to the Algarve from Porto, a place both of us really didn’t want to leave. It’s a fascinating city the pair of us rather fell in love with. Personally, it has everything I enjoy, amazing architecture, cosmopolitan people, great food and drink – and interesting transport infrastructure. What’s not to like?

Well, maybe the weather – especially this morning as we left when it was chucking down. That said, it was a minor inconvenience. A bus to the station stopped right outside our hotel. At 07:10, it took us 20 minutes to Campanhã through sodden, deserted streets. We sought refuge in a cafe opposite the station and fortified ourselves with coffee whilst watching the locals come and go. I love people-watching and cafes and bars around railway stations are ideal observation points.

Our intercity train South arrived a few minutes late and lost time throughout, but that wasn’t a problem as (in theory) we couldn’t check into our hotel for another three hours after arriving at Lisbon Santa Apolónia. The weather was miserable throughout the trip so there was little to do but doze on the packed train. Fortunately, conditions broke as we approached the city outskirts. To add to the brightening mood we didn’t need to kick our heels in Lisbon either as the hotel had our room readily available. Oh, I forgot to mention, we hadn’t far to go as for the next three nights we’re staying at the station in the gorgeous Editory Riverside hotel! Both the hotel and station have a lovely feel to them – as I hope this selection of pictures portray.

We’ve not done a huge amount on our first day in Lisbon, mainly because our attempt to traverse the No 28 tram route was foiled by the service falling down. We gave up after waiting over an hour for a tram, but we’ll try again tomorrow.

In the meantime, here’s some of what we have been up to.

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