Hotel Inglaterra Estoril

... been to many aquariums but this was by far the most magnificent of all. I think we were there for over 2 hours and we were both disappointed when we left. It was a free-standing structure that was built on posts in the river and had a center huge lagoon that had to be at least a half mile wide with misc. environments around the perimeter. They were all so well done. They grew their own coral and the entire exhibit was incredibly clean ...

... telling me how much they like it there, and now I know why! I went with two girls who are in the same program as me, one of which I hadn't met before! Luckily we all got along and we had a good time.

So, we arrived Friday morning and spent the first day in Lisbon. Since Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, I was expecting a big, busy capital city. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I found quite the opposite! My first ...

... all a very busy schedule! I have met a number of people (especially other graduate students/post docs in the field) over the past couple of years, so it has been great catching up with them. I have also met many of the faculty this year. It is always interesting when you work with Debbie (Spector) at these meetings, because everyone always has something to say about that! She is quite well known in her field, and certainly ...

And after going all the way around I was back to the starting point (aka London), from where I took a flight back home. After... - 11 weeks - 7 countries - 7 currencies - 4 languages - 9 books - Over 1000 photos taken - 52 hours by plane - uncountable hours by bus - painful hours by boat - living twice the same day - eating sticky rice - sleeping on a jungle - chatting with monks - cold showers - too much insect ...

... lectures were over and we had all gathered outside the entrance to the school, the professors came down to say goodbye. The main professor who had done most of the talking and all of the socializing was really the only one to make real contact; the other two shook a few of our hands and said obrigado and left. But the first one shook all of our hands and gave each of the girls a kiss on each cheek - very European and very classy. That evening ...

... te vertrekken, er staat een forse zuidwester en die heeft in het verleden al heel wat masten doen breken bij kaap Cabo da Carvoeiro op de hoogte van Pensche zo'n 20 mijl zuid. Onze havenmeester Captain Mike, Ier en vroeger tanker kapitein, is niet te onderschatten, hij heeft ons,samen met zijn vrouw, geweldig geholpen en ook zijn nautische kennis durf ik niet in twijfel te trekken. We blijven en maken kennis met een echtpaar van een Engelse boot, hebben gezamenlijk koffie gedronken en ...

... it was again a large difference in temperature. We had only traveled about 1 1/2 hours. It was back to being 25.C in the day and the night time was cooler, but still comfortable enough to walk with just a light jacket. It was a nice town, some cobbled streets gave it a charming feel, yet it had some modern shopping and restaurants. There is a walkway along the ocean that goes all the way from Cascais to the next town of Estoril. It's about 1 to 1 1/2 hours walk ...

... quickly because at the end of the day you might have to depend on these people to save your life. This relationship allows you to connect with your subject and fill the frame in every sense of the word. Angles become repetitive quickly, even with a 16mm lens on a full frame dslr and I found myself depending on the light at the extreme ends of the days to change things and found myself stretching my compositional ideas which resulted in the best images. The crew was eager to help me ...

... a black man who was kickin' to get free. They tied him up and escorted him down the stairs. All the passengers boarded and once we were seated, the Russians came back on with the wild man in a strait-jacket. I found out latter that supposedly many people try to leave the country illegally and this is how they are retuned -- kicking and screaming (and I'm going to work there, YES!!).

... nice with an amazing view over Lisbon and this medieval castle which is up on the hill not far away. I saw Israel (my friend....not the country) yesterday, and today after he pays his parents a surprise visit, he is going to show me around - I´m very keen to go up the Elevator Santa Justa which is basically a viewing platform on top of a pole, but it was built in 1902 (i think) and looks nice and ...