Hanging out in Lisbon

For these two weeks, I am teaching Monday through Thursday from 10 - 12:45. The routine is familiar -- sleep in the Marriott across the street from the University, spend the morning at school. Afternoons are for using the Marriott's recently upgraded fitness center (hooray for new LifeFitness machines!!!), seeing friends and students back at school and generally just hanging out. Dinner is either at a favorite place nearby or a short metro ride away, like last night's return to Pizzeria Lucca on the river. At some point even deliciouslly grilled deliciously fresh fish gets tiring.

When my class ends today, though, we will change into tourist mode once again. For the next few days, we will head to Spain, to the city of Trujillo, well located in Extremadura (the region southwest of Madrid and north of Sevilla/Andalucía). I have walked through many of these cities, but am looking forward to seeing Mérida and its Roman ruins, Cáceres and its beautiful Renaissance historic core, untouched and well-preserved, and maybe Guadalupe or Yuste, two places with history aplenty. It's about 4 hours drive from Lisbon to Trujillo, home of the conquistador Pizarro, where I snagged a very good rate in the Parador. This place was built in the 16th century as a convent, and today is a nice hotel.Read more