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Back in Lisbon

November 2021
A 16-day adventure by Laurie Read more

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  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    Last day teaching and camino meetup

    November 18, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ 14 °C

    We only had time for a short walk before my class today. First to my favorite sock store, Pedemeia (Portugal makes wonderful, high quality socks —who knew?), located right next to the Loja de Cidadão —the Citizen’s Store.

    What a great concept. Every public utility, government service (passport, drivers license, immigration, etc) all in one place on two or three floors. When you arrive, you go to an automated kiosk and get your ticket. They even have a counter for “I lost my wallet,” which is an idea Spain, with its ridiculous rate of pickpockets, ought to consider.

    As always, class sped by and then came the time to hand out the final project/exam and say goodbye. The future is opaque but I can’t bear to think this might be my last year!!!

    The special treat of the day came at 6, when five of the online camino forum got together at the Peregrina Bar. What better way to end a day than talking about all things camino!!!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    Like coming home!

    November 6, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Our flight over was uneventful. That’s a good thing. I had been unable to get our seats online or even at the Champaign airport, so when we checked in at flight time they put us way at the back of the plane. Little did I know that that would be a stroke of luck, because we both were able to snag a full row — four seats across. That made for a very nice flight, and a lot cheaper than business class. Going through Madrid airport was very easy as always, and we got a little breakfast before our flight. A quick flight over to Lisbon, a 10 minute cab ride, and we were back at the Marriott.

    Both the doorman and the guy at check-in treated us like we were returning prodigal sons. I suppose that’s not surprising since this is our 16th year here!

    Joe always likes to take a nap on arrival, while I try to power through, so I went down to the fitness center. Then a big circle walk through the neighborhood to see what’s happening.

    Biggest changes I’ve noticed are the opening of a huge Lidl store and the demolition of my favorite frutería. But I am glad to report that our favorite grilled fish place is still standing and we will eat there tonight.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    My 7 mile old town walk

    November 7, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    When we lived here for a year in the early 2000s,, we had a lot of visitors. I made up a “walking tour” through my favorite parts of the old city. Every year since then I’ve done it at least once.

    It was a beautiful cool cloudless day, so it was a perfect thing to do. A little slower than previous years maybe, but we had all day so no rush.

    More of my favorite places had closed but there seemed to be a lot of new businesses open. And the cruise boats are back, so I guess things are taking a turn for the better.

    Back to our neighborhood grill for dinner. Work starts tomorrow!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    Loving Lisboa

    November 7, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Thinking about the fact that this is our 17th visit to Lisboa, I realize that some would think it’s silly to keep coming back over and over, especially when there is so much of the world that I don’t know.

    But today’s walk through the old city just filled my spirit, if that makes sense. In part it’s because the city is so gorgeous, but it’s more than that. I’m an outsider but one who feels connected and welcomed. The foreign has become familiar. I guess I’m in love with the entire Iberian peninsula, because I can say the same about Spain!

    It’s been a while since I’ve been here when the chestnut sellers are out.

    If I’m lucky this will not be my last trip to Lisboa.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    Day 2 of Teaching

    November 9, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Well, I have to admit that teaching for three hours in a row tires me out a lot more than it used to! And dare I say that teaching with a mask on (and trying to understand non-native English speakers with their masks on) is a challenge. But I am loving it. My class is much smaller than usual, because of covid restrictions. 14 as compared to the normal 35 or 40. About 1/3 Portuguese and 2/3 Erasmus (EU). Teaching US law to a bunch of EU law students is very fun — they are undergraduates (as compared to my more jaded graduate US law students), and they are grounded in a system that is very different than mine. Being able to push back on their assumptions and challenge their thinking is a teaching delight.

    The teaching days are falling into a pattern — go to the gym, take a two hour walk after breakfast, get Joe set up back in the room for the hours that I will be gone, go teach, and then walk to dinner in a different direction than we walked yesterday. We’ll break up the routine by going to the castle tomorrow morning early, and then on Thursday we leave for the long weekend, so I really don’t have much of a pattern going on!

    Weather is absolutely spectacular, as is the fresh grilled fish.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    Tourist on a Tuesday morning

    November 10, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Since I teach from 2-5, the day is pretty well cut in the middle. But this morning I managed to get to the gym, eat breakfast, and get us to the castle by 10. We’ve been there many times, but the days are beautiful and it’s fun to re-visit. One new development since the last time we were there was the discovery of some Iron Age hill forts, covered by some Phoenecian building, covered by some Roman building, covered by some Visigothic building, covered by some Moorish building, covered by some medieval Christian building. Sheesh — it is a tough call for the archaeologists — at which level do they stop? What do they preserve?

    One of the nicest things about the hilltop castle is of course the views — out over the river, down over the Alfama (moorish section), down over the old city. We enjoyed ourselves a lot and hopped a cab to get back by 1:15.

    Uber has come to Lisbon. Cab drivers are unhappy. So we split the baby in half — one way we go in Uber, one way in a taxi. The differences are not huge. We have not been using the fabulous metro system, less because of covid and more because of how long it would take us given my limited time and Joe’s slowing pace. Good excuses anyway. :-)

    My students from Sweden and Norway received news of the first snowfall today. And here we sit in sunny and 60s. No complaints at all.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    Weekend begins!

    November 12, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    About three years ago, when we checked out of a hotel in the Algarve, the receptionist suggested we drive back to Lisbon along the western (Alentenjo) coast. We stopped in several random beach towns, each one prettier than the next and decided to come back for a weekend. So here we are.

    We left Lisbon right after my class on Thursday and were in the hotel here by 9. The hotel is not on the beach but in a great location, about smack dab in the middle of the area we wanted to explore.

    Today we walked about 10 miles and got into a routine of driving to some pretty place, getting out and walking for an hour or so, and then driving on. Sometimes up on the headlands, sometimes down on the beach itself. We had a very late and very delicious lunch in a fish restaurant in Zambujeira de Mar — one of those typical Portuguese places where you point to the fish you want (knowing it arrived no more than a few hours ago from the ocean) and then they grill it. Heaven! The bigger fishes are much easier for us ignorant Americans to debone, so Joe and I frequently get one to share.

    After lunch, a long beach walk, and then a drive to the Sardao lighthouse, where we walked along the cliffs for a couple of miles and then saw a beautiful sunset.

    Though our balcony doesn’t have much of a view, we are going to sit out there and have a few snacks instead of a real dinner. Given our lunchtime feast. Tomorrow we will repeat the routine, except we will head south instead of north!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon
    1

    Arrifana and its Ribat

    November 13, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    I knew we wanted to head south today, and when I put “Arrifana” in my Google offline maps (which work GREAT btw), up popped “Ribat de Arrifana.” With a castle icon next to it. So off we headed. But first we got detoured by signs to Monte Clérigo with binoculars next to it (symbol for picturesque). A few miles walking on headlands, café on the cliffs, and finally we arrived at the Ribat.

    As we later learned at the municipal archaeological museum in Aljezur, the Ribat was an Islamic religious site, where the ruins of nine mosques have been discovered. It was also a fortress and place where warriors off to the holy wars were blessed. And a burial site. With spectacular views!

    Aljezur has a moorish castle. We walked up to it. The Portuguese flag flies there because it was one of 7 castles in Portugal conquered from the Moors. The local museum is very interesting and has artifacts from the Iron Age forward.

    On the way home, we couldn’t resist a turnoff for the Praia (beach) and found ourselves on the other side of the glorious Amoeiras beach, which has a wide river snaking around the hills to empty in the ocean. Tomorrow back to Lisbon.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    Aljezur

    November 13, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    A lovely little town on what used to be a river that went straight into the ocean at Praia Amoeira. But the 1755 earthquake pushed the river underground and the town was essentially cut off from the sea.

    There are ruins of a Moorish castle, ruins of moorish settlements all over the place, a lovely municipal museum some beautiful pieces found in the castle from the 10C, and signs that the town is stubbornly refusing to bite the dust.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack in Lisbon

    Romans and the moorslayer

    November 14, 2021 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Weekend trips go fast! Today we decided to head to Miróbriga, site of a Roman town. It isn’t as spectacular as Conímbriga further up north, but we enjoyed walking all around, climbing up and down around the baths, the forum, the rows of shops. No mosaics, but there were a couple of rooms with some paintings.

    Then a stop in Santiago do Cacém, where there is a hilltop castle (much more impressive from the outside, because nothing much other than the local cemetery is located inside) and a church dedicated to Santiago. Not the peaceful loving Santiago the pilgrim, but the Santiago the moorslayer.

    After a lunch in a small local restaurant in the middle of the old town, we headed “home” to the Marriott. Workout done, we will go get some grilled fish in just a few minutes. Not that we have been deprived of grilled fish, by any means! Back to work tomorrow.    Read more

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