Truly a day of castles, the towns and the people of them. I’m proud of you, Sarah, for bucking up for the dawn rousing so we could watch the sunrise from the castle area of Marvao. And with the pink glow spreading from the horizon to the walls of the stone fortifications and still-quiet homes [...]
From the coast to the highest hilltop town of the Sao Mamede mountains in Portugal: that range was particularly striking waking up in the sunny, coastal town of Nazare and ending our night in the darkened and largely empty fortification of Marvao. A full day, first exploring the beach area right outside our 2nd floor [...]
Choices are hard—especially when there’s so much to see and a limited amount of time. And while we found out that Libson is certainly no exception to that rule, it’s hard to go wrong. After a bit of drama with getting our car rental at the airport (I guess one of us has to be [...]
How’s that for a titular palindrome—people of a place and place of a … well, I guess it almost worked out. Still, it has that certain ring to it. The people of Lisbon coming to the forefront this morning and evening. And an entirely different focus for the afternoon as we explored one place deeply—the [...]
It’s one of the best things about traveling– there continues to be the sense that home and your daily life are further than you would expect. So a little less than twenty four hours after flying out from Boston, with connections in New York to Madrid and finally to Lisbon, it feels like a whole [...]
Scene from a very excited and engaged 7th grade ELA classroom this week. The students clustered in groups with a timed, competitive task of writing introductory paragraphs with a hook and the right balance of background information. For round two of this activity, the topic of the importance of exercise was assigned. And besides the [...]
There’s nothing quite like going to a place off-season–with its streets and shops and ocean drives unnaturally empty. All the more reason to enjoy those spaces. Glad to be with you, Newport RI for a slow-paced, sleep-in weekend!
Guns, Germs and Steel it isn’t (sorry, Jared Diamond). But I like our version better: guns (learning to shoot ‘em), friends (kind of self explanatory) and game (the superbowl kind, not the ones that run around in sylvan landscapes). So sure, these winter days have been disappointingly non-wintry this go around. But otherwise, they’ve been [...]
A Morning in Evora and A Final Day in Lisbon
Last days come too, too quickly… but final days can also be really full ones and all things considered, I think we did pretty well. A mix of focused site seeing from the shortlist along with some time for some pausing and spontaneity. And of course, taking advantage of another opportunity to hit up the [...]