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Month: May 2022

Next up: San Juan Islands

Posted on May 28, 2022June 5, 2022 by Ella

A reunion with three old university roommates in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest (U.S). June 7 through June 14. Margaret, Claudia and I shared an apartment in Berkeley in 1970-1971. Nancy and I have known each other since the 4th grade when we were in Campfire Girls together. The last time the…

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Color us home

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Ella

With only minor ripples. Like, our flight from Lisbon gets held up on the taxiway at Newark because a stalled catering truck is blocking the way in. In Newark, we clear passport control in 5 minutes with our Global Entry but we needn’t have hurried. Our flight to Denver is delayed by 30 minutes because…

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Photos: Lisbon

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Ella

Photos of Lisbon gathered over the last week. There are a bunch. https://photos.app.goo.gl/7BpKUYVpmtpZtyVo6

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Was it a good trip?

Posted on May 3, 2022May 10, 2022 by Ella

A resounding yes!  Maybe part of the magic was simply being able to travel again and it would have been a great trip no matter where we went. But Portugal is a fascinating place. A month is not enough to really get to know a different world. But we got a taste and it was complex: savory,…

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Wake up and smell the cheese

Posted on May 3, 2022May 3, 2022 by Grubb

Sheep cheese. Or what was left of the creamy delight after last night’s snack. I told Ella that if she could smell it, she didn’t have to worry about stressing over the rapid antigen test we were to take later in the morning. My reasoning wasn’t comforting. As she pointed out, whether I was right…

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Did I freak out? Moi?

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Ella

Depends on who you ask. I might not have slept well last night…worrying. I might have sighed heavily when I couldn’t get the pick up location right for the Uber. Maybe I paced back and forth through the halls of the Fado museum. Did I raise my voice when Grubb wandered off to take pictures…

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The eyes go click

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Ella

Sort of the last day. Tomorrow is the real last day but we have to get our Covid tests and then deal with the results. Both of us feel absolutely fine but then so did Kamala Harris. But back to today. Turned out to be lovely. Weather wise and otherwise. The Museum of Pharmacology, a…

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Fountains beneath our feet

Posted on May 2, 2022May 3, 2022 by Grubb

A late morning rain was predicted to all but disappear by early afternoon, so to avoid getting wet we decided to drop into the Pharmacy Museum during that time. The museum is at the top of a hill located above a tiny veranda-like plaza that looks out over the steep neighborhood streets leading to the…

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Contemporary kitsch, Asian finery, Italian dining

Posted on May 1, 2022May 2, 2022 by Ella

Wow, it’s May 1st. Remember May poles? Bright ribbons and flower garlands? Not the same thing here. Nope, it’s Labor Day. That means more things are closed. And Labor Day here is similar to Labor Day in the U.S. Celebrating workers. Except in the U.S., we’d never take it on a Sunday. We make it…

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My man in Macao

Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 2022 by Grubb

May 1, International Workers Day the world over, is Labor Day in Portugal and observed as a holiday. This reflects how the Socialist Party has dominated the political scene since 1974 when the Carnation Revolution ended Salazar’s dictatorship. So, like Easter Monday, a lot of venues were closed and, with the increasing tourist traffic loving…

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Trash Animals

Posted on May 1, 2022May 10, 2022 by Ella

What’s with the trash sculptures emerging from walls as if from another dimension? I’ve come across four of them here in Portugal. So similar in structure and style, they MUST all be created by the same artist. A little internet research turned up  artist Bordalo II (Bordalo Segundo). Bordalo II uses our discarded stuff to construct…

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Select Blog Topic

  • Silently in Japan
  • Découvrir la France
  • Into Argentina and Uruguay we go
  • Road Tripping in New England
  • Sampling Scandinavia
  • Meandering in Morocco
  • Puttering through Portugal
  • San Juan Islands (WA)

Recent Posts

  • What a journey
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  • You know it’s time to go home when…
    by Grubb
  • Japanese-style Korean (or Korean-style Japanese?)
    by Ella
  • Unicorn Gundam
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  • Hokusai highlights
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  • Map of the Day, last day in Japan
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  • Sign of the times
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  • Chastity High
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  • Tokyo from ground level
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  • Ginza walk, camera store dining
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  • Water goblins
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  • Map of the Day, Sumo Saturday
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  • Morning with sumo
    by Ella
  • Big as a Buddha, but slammin’
    by Grubb
  • A few museum favorites
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  • The beauty of Japanese words
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Recent Comments

  1. Ella on Japanese-style Korean (or Korean-style Japanese?)May 4, 2025
  2. Ella on Map of the Day, last day in JapanMay 4, 2025
  3. David Jones on Map of the Day, last day in JapanMay 4, 2025
  4. Chinle on Japanese-style Korean (or Korean-style Japanese?)May 4, 2025
  5. Ella on Map of the Day, last day in JapanMay 4, 2025
  6. Ella on Map of the Day, last day in JapanMay 4, 2025
  7. Ella on Japanese-style Korean (or Korean-style Japanese?)May 4, 2025
  8. Henry Shapiro on Hokusai highlightsMay 4, 2025
  9. Henry Shapiro on Map of the Day, last day in JapanMay 4, 2025
  10. Charlie on Japanese-style Korean (or Korean-style Japanese?)May 4, 2025
  11. wynette on Map of the Day, last day in JapanMay 4, 2025
  12. Grubb on Big as a Buddha, but slammin’May 3, 2025
  13. Ella on Morning with sumoMay 3, 2025
  14. Ella on Map of the dayMay 3, 2025
  15. Ella on Machine LoveMay 3, 2025
  16. Ella on The beauty of Japanese wordsMay 3, 2025
  17. Ella on Rainy day TokyoMay 3, 2025
  18. Marc Sitkin on Morning with sumoMay 3, 2025
  19. John on Big as a Buddha, but slammin’May 3, 2025
  20. wynette on Map of the dayMay 3, 2025
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