My Inner Muse

Parque Eduardo VII So far on this trip, Lisboa has been my favorite city. I think it may be too big for me in the long run (500K population), but it is definitely a place I will want to visit and revisit as it has so much to offer. Here there is history, modernity, wonderful scenery and climate, a very cosmopolitan scene and friendly residents. A week was definitely not enough time here but it has given me a sense of what living in Portugal would be like as an ex-pat and one who really would try to immerse myself in local culture. The Portuguese language is an interesting one because even though it is a Romance language with Latin roots, mainland Portuguese (from Portugal) has gone through different linguistic transitions compared to Spanish, French, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese. Portugal is more geographically isolated than its Mediterranean neighbors and so its language has been more resistant to linguistic changes. I found this endlessly interesting and frustrating as I really w...

 Nazare - idyllic beach town (on the verge of being taken over by foreign investors) Nazare is a historic fishing village in Portugal's central coast. I had read a lot about the town and how beautiful it was but knew it was quickly becoming a main tourist destination. I was a bit hesitant to visit Nazare during the peak summer season as I worried about crowds, so I decided to stay on the cliffs of Sitio da Nazare, which overlooks Nazare beach. This was a good call as my surroundings were more laid back, but I had very easy access to Nazare through the Ascensor (a vertical tram that runs all day every day from Nazare to Sitio).  There are three nearby beaches in Nazare - Praia do Norte, Praia do Nazare and Praia da Sul. Norte is north of the cliffs and is the site of the largest recorded "surf-able" waves in the world. I learned that visitors from all over descend on this beach during April when the surf is at its highest. It was mostly deserted during the week I stayed he...

It has been six weeks on the road in Europe now and I am noticing some subtle and not so subtle shifts in my approach to being abroad. While in 'vacation mode' for the past month and a half, I have been able to be more present-focused, soaking in the sights, sounds, smells and textures of the places I am visiting (Germany, Malta, Sicily, northern Portugal). I have been eager to explore early in the mornings, settle in for a midday siesta, and then explore again at night. I have been content to people watch in the plazas and listen to the multitude of languages spoken all around me.  My brain has been full of the new things I am attending to - unfamiliar words and expressions, bus and train schedules, familiarizing myself with the variety of Euro bills and coins, tracking my location in Google maps so I don't get lost in new areas. My muscles have been sore in the evenings with all of the daily walking and my yoga practice has been slow and deliberate to stretch out, feel li...

I haven’t run across too many noticeably homeless folks in Malta, Sicily, Italy and Portugal. I have been approached by only a handful of people and have seen a few more sitting on corners with a cup out. This is a notable contrast to all of the big cities on the West Coast of the US where we have have blocks of tent cities. It is clear that there is a different kind of safety net here where folks who fall on hard times can get support from family, their community, their gov’t or all three. What I have seen is a lot of buskers, playing their music in the plazas, and near the outdoor cafes, where they create a lively atmosphere and provide free entertainment night after night. The patrons benefit and so do the cafe owners. I don’t see cafe owners or security threatening or removing them. This is also different back home. In the US, no one can earn a living without paying someone - getting a permit, renting a space, sharing a commission to someone else. This is ironic given that we pride...

This is very cute town 1.5 hours south of Porto (by train). It is known as the "Venice of Portugal" for its many narrow canals traversed by wooden gondolas.  There was a compact, pretty, touristy areas at the center, which gave way to clean, well-maintained residential areas along with several parks. This prompted me to consider Aveiro as a possible longer term residential option if (when) I return to Portugal.

  Porto Days 2-4 3 days of seafood (garlic shrimp, delicately pan-seared bass and herb-battered cod) plus red sangria and I am captivated by Porto. Today I am visiting Foz do Douro, which is where the Douro river meets the Atlantic ocean. Small sandy nooks dot the coastline up towards Matinhos, not really big enough to call beaches, but they do anyway.  🥹 I learned about Porto’s history as an old Roman port city (Portus Cale) which changed hands numerous times before becoming the first capital of Portugal.  Today it was foggy and windswept — which was a delightful break from the humidity a few days earlier — and it lent an ‘untamed’ quality to the coastal scene. Sailboats dot the horizon and their sails are full, even tilting the slender boats nearly over. As I walked up the coast to Matinhos, I came up a terraced restaurant/lido overlooking the ocean and whiled away a few hours enjoying the view. Something I appreciate about being in Portugal specifically, and in Europe...

What a lively and clean city, steeped in history. I love the cobblestone sidewalks, the beautiful, tiled buildings, and the large plazas. I am staying in the Fountainhas area about 5 minutes from the Douro river. It is near some elegant churches and historical landmarks, and the city has a fabulous network of trams, buses and   metro stations.   I knew that Porto was hilly but I didn‘t think about the banks of the Douro being so steep. There are windy streets and unexpected staircases everywhere. The intermingling of old and new structures from many eras works well here and it does seem that older buildings are getting a facelift while crumbling structures are being torn down to make room for modern ones. As I sat at a coffee shop people-watching today I saw more brown and black locals and tourists than I had seen in Italy. South and East Asians, Brazilians, Africans (perhaps from the former Portuguese colonies), along with the Spanish, French, Italians, Germans, Swiss and Bri...

La Valle dei Templi (Agrigento, Sicily) x This a an UNESCO heritage site nestled between the western Sicilian coastal city of Agrigento, and the serene blue waters of the Mediterranean sea. The archeological park houses a museum, subterranean caves and numerous Grecian temples in the Doric style with many columns and structures still standing. (Top to bottom: Temples of Hera, Herakles, Concordia, Dioscuri) I was a bit ill-prepared to visit Agrigento as I hadn‘t done much research and didn‘t have a car. Fortunately, I found a couple of helpful  websites to figure out the Trasporti Urbani Agrigento system. I took the 2.5 hour train from Palermo to Agrigento Centrale, walked 10 min to Piazzale Roselli and caught the #2 TUA bus to the Valle dei Templi biglietteria. The park is well organized and majestic. I felt a reverence as I walked among the ruins of once-grandiose Greek temples to honor   Hera, Apollo, Hercules and others. The surrounding hills were planted with what looked l...

Today I leave Italia after a week in Sicilia and two weeks in La Marche region of mainland Italy along the Adriatic coast. Soaking up the good vibes here has been nourishing - the calm, azure waters, wonderful food including my favorites (lasagna and tiramisu), the friendly and warm people, the beautiful architecture, the fabulous historic centers, and so much more.   The last time I traveled solo in Italy was in 1991 after graduating from UCSD as a Linguistics Major with an emphasis in Romance Languages (Spanish, French) and a Minor in Japanese Studies. I based myself in Napoli for 2 months, staying rent-free in a historic granite- and wood-embellished apt that my friend, Daniela (who I had met and lived with in Japan in 1989-1990) arranged for me. From Napoli I visited Roma, Firenze, Pisa, Siena, Capri and smaller towns in Calabria. I spoke to everyone in Spanish until I started learning the correct Italian words.    People were patient with my language skills and I som...

Palermo I stayed in the Sicilian capital of Palermo for 3 nights, mostly because it’s a convenient and well-connected transit hub close to the Punta Raisi airport and important sites in the western side of Sicily, including Il Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, where I am headed today. Palermo, in and of itself, is the least favorite place I’ve visited on this beautiful island.  As the current capital of Sicily, it is filled with important buildings and museums from Baroque, Gothic and Renaissance eras which have been recognized by UNESCO.  However, despite my appreciation for these historical works, as well as the very clean and well-organized Stazione Centrale, the city is dirty and forlorn, compared to many other capitals I’ve visited. With the exception of a few neatly maintained streets in the area pedonale in the city center, neighborhood after neighborhood was awash with trash, graffiti, dog poop on the sidewalks, weeds growing through cracks in the concrete, etc.  Sad...