A Sunday Drive to Arouca

Today we took a drive to the region outside Porto known as "Serra da Freita" (Freita's mountain). There we saw some really lovely landscapes and also the very interesting rock formations locally named "Pedras Parideiras" - something like CHILDBEARING STONES. We then were lucky enough to have dinner in Arouca at their local festival "Feira das Colheitas".

Views of Porto

I am staying in Porto for the remaining week of my stay. Today I visited the famous Livraria Lello bookstore, in my opinion the most beautiful bookstore in the world...

I also took some time to wander around Porto a bit...Even the views from my hotel room were gorgeous.

The Old University Town of Coimbra

Today, after a most civilized breakfast by the pool at my hotel, I gave a talk on late-life anxiety and driving. Afterwards my colleagues Horacio and Mario gave me an excellent tour of the University at Coimbra. A terrific day!

A romantic story...

Today almost immediately after my arrival in Porto, after a brief lunch with my wonderful hosts at the Unifai ageing centre, I caught a train for Coimbra, an historic university town. My host Professor Horacio Firmino was kind enough to provide accommodation in the most wonderful Hotel Quinta das Lagrimas, or "The House of Tears". This hotel (palace, really!) is the backdrop to the romantic story of Pedro and Inez, Portugal's version of Romeo and Juliet, which you can read here.

The Marvelous Town of Sintra

The best castle I have ever been too in my entire life - the Castle of the Moors in the city of Sintra, not far from Lisbon. It was beautifully situated on top of a hill overlooking the countryside...

I next visited the National Palace of Pena, which you can see from the Castle of the Moors. This palace is amazing - around every corner was another amazing vista.

Finally I took a longish bus trip out to Cabo da Roca, the Westernmost point of land in Europe. (I even splurged and got a certificate verifying I had been there!). The views were spectacular...

Lisbon Sights

Today I spent the day seeing the sights of Lisbon - a street market, St George's Castle and the Museum of Tile. Dinner was in the restaurant district of the city...

The skyline of Lisbon is really wonderful...

First Day in Portugal

Today I landed in Lisbon and even though I was bone-tired, could not wait to get out and see the city! Walked around town, went to the amazing Santa Justa Elevator, and the amazing Lisbon Oceanarium.

Not only was the oceanarium museum beautiful, it was filled with both amazing fishAND amazing birds, including the Inca Tern below...

Am flying to Portugal today. It has long been a dream of mine to travel to Portugal, so I really can't believe I am going! I will spend a few days seeing Lisbon, then travel to meet with research colleagues in Porto, Coimbra and Aveiro.

Dementia Conference

Attended a conference in Sydney on dementia research yesterday and today. Heard some amazing speakers and am very pleased Australia is trying to address the issues associated with dementia through innovative research.

Broken Pipe

This weekend a pipe broke at the sewage treatment plant near our house and a TON of (treated) water overflowed into our backyard. But no damage was done...

15th Wedding Anniversary

Today Tim and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with a 3 day weekend at the Gold Coast. We stayed in a great hotel called the Phonecian, right across from Jupiter's Casino (my Evelyn's favorite spot in Australia!)... We had a terrific weekend!