update
Lisbon
During the past week, I spent a wonderful 5 days in Lisbon, Portugal. Upon arrival, I immediately felt the kind of comfort that one associates with a place you could call home. Part of that is my familiarity with the city from many previous visits. But a bigger part of that is the people that I now know here.
Lucky for me, Georgiana is currently based in Lisbon, and that automatically makes my visit more than worthwhile. Then, her gang of friends, who I've now met up with in a variety of locations around the world, also welcomed me into their circle.
There was an excellent group dinner at Mona Verde, a beautiful rooftop restaurant overlooking the city. One evening, Georgiana and I met up with a couple other friends, took the ferry across the river to Cacilhas and enjoyed a fresh seafood meal at one of our favorite places,
Solar Beirao.
On Sunday, a group met up at the
Praia Irmao Beach Club in Caparica to attend the DHB Portugal Event with such DJs as Satori and Bedouin. The result was an impressive setting, spectacular sunset from the beach and such good music that even I danced until after midnight (that does not happen often)!
That's not to mention the delicious brunches, long walks through Lisbon's picturesque streets and parks and even time to spend at the beach yesterday afternoon.
This Lisbon visit was a huge success and I'm now leaving Portugal extremely fulfilled!
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Baghdad
Today, as this email is being sent out, I'm now on my way to Baghdad, via Istanbul.
I'll arrive late tonight and then have a day of rest. Following that, I'm excited to start meeting the arriving guests for my second Wandering Earl group tour in Iraq!
Over 13 days we'll travel all over the country. We'll visit a very long list of fascinating locations and more importantly, meet an endless list of kind, welcoming people ready to share their culture with us. This trip offers the kind of genuine first-hand interaction and eye-opening activity that provides the best education possible. It's truly a memorable adventure.
I'm so very excited to get back there (especially for the food) and to travel with a great group of travelers!
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After Iraq, I'll return to my apartment in the US for almost a month. And then I'll hit the road again on a trip to India in November.
