Portugal, Spain and Dubai Day 1 Lisbon Portugal 16 Sept 25

I woke at 4am, Deb was awake around 3am, it’s a travel day, a new country awaits us.
We checked out of our hotel and were picked up at 6am and taken to the airport for the domestic leg to Istanbul where we transited for our Lisbon, Portugal flight.
On the way to the airport we saw the balloons flying at sunrise. It was a magic sunrise and the silhouette of the balloons against a dark reddish sky was magical. It looked like there weren’t as many balloons up as yesterday but it was still very special.
We arrived at the airport at 6:30am. The first passengers in the terminal. We went through security no problem and then waited for everything to open up. We checked in and waited, yes even a little hydrating was done. Departure time was 8:50am, we boarded at 8:25 and were in the air at 8:55am and on our way to Istanbul. It was a 65 min flight.
We landed at 10am caught a bus straight off the plane and we in the international terminal by 10:30am and through emigration, security and in the lounge by 10:40 after spending our last 500TRY on chocolate. Alas. No bourbon & coke and a GnT to be found in the lounge to celebrate.
We left the lounge at about 11:45, our gate D12 was about a15 mins walk away. We were on board and seated at about 12pm, they closed the doors very soon after and we were in the air on time a bit after our 12:20 departure time.
The flight was about 4hrs 40mins, I watched a couple of movies, and Deb read and slept a little.
We landed at 2:50pm and were off the plane by 3pm. Immigration took a while as there were only 3 passport scanners working. We were through immigration by 3:40, and went to get our bags, it was then that Deb mentioned getting her passport stamped, I missed that bit! So I did a quick u-turn and left Deb to sort out our luggage while I finished off getting into the country properly!! I guess that added another 5 mins to the whole process. By the time I got back Deb had our bags and was waiting for me at the bottom of the escalators in the baggage collection area.
We walked out through Customs, nothing to declare, and found our driver, a young well dressed male. It took around 25 mins to get to our hotel.
Our hotel is a small, 40 room, quirky establishment. They have no restaurant, but the bar is open 24/7. At check in we were told that the port in our room is complimentary, as is the port, madeira, tea, coffee and pastries in the bar lounge area. Deb thinks I’m in my element!!
After we unpacked, we went down to the lounge bar for a drink and cake. Deb got us some water and cakes, while I got a coffee and Port. The cakes were an orange syrup type cake and some small Portuguese Tarts. Deb then got herself 2 cups of tea, yes two! The first was a chamomile Tea bag, and then when she noticed canisters of fresh tea, she made herself another chamomile tea as well. We sat, drank and ate. I tried both the house port and madeira, the madeira won!
We then went for a walk up the main Street and back again. As with other parts of Europe we have been to, there is a distinct smell of urine on the streets, particularly near the street parks. There are lots of high end shops, restaurants and businesses in the area, a well as a collection of homeless people. An interesting area for the next 5 nights.
And that was our day, we begin exploring Lisbon tomorrow