In Which I Don’t Get Lost

September 16, 2022 Conference day today. That means plenty of time spent sitting in hard, uncomfortable chairs and processing information, both new and old. And that means a mostly boring conference lunch. Still, there’s just something great about international conferences, learning different perspectives and other approaches to similar problems. This is my first conference since […]

My First Task In London Is Shopping

I’ve said it before and I’ll reiterate that sentiment: conferences aren’t great fodder for blogs. I’ll further state that neither is sleep deprivation, which has been an issue over the last week leading up to this trip. I’m once again in London, bidden to come here by a conference. This is the same conference I […]

Unpacking from the Trip I Didn’t Take

Greetings, readers! Labor Day is now well behind us and the summer days are winding to a close. This means the rains of fall have returned to Ann Arbor, night is falling quickly, the overnight temperatures are dipping ever further toward winter, and the morning drive is darker. I can feel the seasons pressing forward […]

The Draw of Lisbon

People love Lisbon. I’ve had so many people tell me they love it here, and I can see why. Lisbon is easy. It’s a great place for wandering, munching, drinking, and just being. It was mostly destroyed in the earthquake of 1755, so it feels relatively young. Transportation is simple, and the town itself is […]

A Perfect Day in Portugal

The guidebook suggested I take a bus, or maybe even a taxi if I wanted to visit some of the sites peppering the mountains surrounding Sintra, but the sign as I walked into town indicated the Moorish Castle was a little over 1,000 meters away. The sun was bright, the clouds were wispy, and the […]

When It Rains In Lisbon

The “coffee” machine in the hotel breakfast room doesn’t really make cappuccino. They call it that, but that’s not what it is. To be honest, I’m not entirely certain what it is, but I suspect hot chocolate, or maybe mocha. None of this keeps me from having some, but I’m at least honest about what […]