We took a train along the Connecticut shore to Old Saybrook (former home of Katherine Hepburn and Vin Baker...), where my mom and step-dad met us at the station. A big storm hit on Sunday, luckily after church. The hurricane force winds knocked out power to much of New England, but we were spared...just a lot of branches and leaves down. On Monday, we walked around the historic part of Old Saybrook, where I learned some new history! On Tuesday, we drove to UCONN to have lunch with my niece who is a junior there. On the way, we drove through Willimantic, the site of "the battle of the frogs", and the "Frog Bridge". Willimantic is known as being home of the infamous "Battle of the Frogs" in 1754. To paraphrase the legend: One hot summer ... read more

Portugal, we loved your people, your food, your history, your beaches, your weather, your public transportation, your reasonable prices, and your beautiful women (Bill's comment). Everyone we met was so nice and helpful...and were patient with my attempts at speaking Portuguese! (Even the woman at the ticket counter in Lagos was polite when she asked me to use English since there was a long line behind me...) While Lisboa was too crowded at times, it was fun to be in a very cosmopolitan European capital again...Sagres was wild beauty...Porto ended up as our favorite..not too crowded, great food, and the wonderful river cruise! On our last day, we visited the market and bought a few gifts, and then took the #500 bus to end of the line in Matosinhos, at the mouth of the Douro. This ... read more

On the banks of the river Mondego, Coimbra is famous for its University, the oldest in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe. Among the many archaeological structures dating back to the Roman era, when Coimbra was the settlement of Aeminium, are its well-preserved aqueduct and cryptoporticus. Similarly, buildings from the period when Coimbra was the capital of Portugal (from 1131 to 1255) still remain. During the Late Middle Ages, with its decline as the political centre of the Kingdom of Portugal, Coimbra began to evolve into a m... read more

"Located along the Douro river estuary in Northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centers, and its historical core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. The western part of its urban area extends to the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Its settlement dates back many centuries, when it was an outpost of the Roman Empire. Its combined Celtic-Latin name, Portus Cale, has been referred to a... read more

Yesterday was the last sunny day for the near future, so we headed for the main beach after brunch. On the way, we checked out the bike rentals in town and decided to rent bikes on Monday. The young man in the bike/surf shop was Scottish, and his father lives in Aberfeldy, where I lived in 1973! There were quite few people on the beach since it was Sunday, but it was very rough due to the effects of Hurricane Ophelia passing by on her way to Ireland! I sat in the edge of the surf, but didn't dare swim... A few surfers attempted to go out without success. The beach is golden sand, with almost no litter and no shells. After the beach, we walked to the port, had a beer in a restaurant overlooking ... read more