Boa Sorte

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Three days ‘til I leave! Yikes!
Pretty much everything’s ready to go. The cold weather and wind here in Alaska reminds me why I scheduled Portugal in March—to actually experience spring which I haven’t really seen since I left Sedro Woolley in the summer of ’98. As all my Alaskan readers know, spring doesn’t much happen here. We get “break-up” when the snow thaws, and the frozen ground morphs into mud and turns unpaved roads and driveways into deep brown sink holes.
Anyway, I’m counting on Portugal to remind me what spring feels like. This doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll miss “break-up,” which can happen anytime from the end of March ‘til the end of April. We had lots of snow, so it should be a doozer this year. For sure, I’ll be back in time to see the tulips and daffodils bloom. I’m always amazed at their patience, waiting under the snow for six or seven months.
Check out Andrea Pistolesi’s great panoramic photo of Lisbon’s Rossio Square in the March Smithsonian.(pp. 76-77). I’ll be staying at a pension not far from there, but I’ll never be able to take a photo like this one!
Next entry will be from Lisboa, probably from an internet coffee house. Wish me luck, “boa sorte” in Portuguese).

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