In May 2023, we returned from Portugal with over 400 photos. For this blog. I picked just a few favorites with a story to tell. A separate photo album covers our time in Magical Madeira. Arrival in Cascais The idea to visit Portugal began with an invitation from the Jacobs Foundation to attend a conference on the theme of how learners can adapt to our changing world. As the timing fit my 60th, Audrey and I decided to make it a birthday trip....
Our May 2023 visit to Madeira was a magical experience. After arriving on a quick two hour flight south from Lisbon, we soon found ourselves in a paradise of flowers, butterflies, steep mountain landscapes, flowing water, and adventure. Our first stop after picking up a rental car and checking into our hotel was to visit a lookout point, Cabo Girao. Here a skywalk juts out from a cliff, 580 meters above the ocean....
Bass players do not often lead bands, but then again, Marcus Miller is not your average bass player. It was a treat to bring Audrey’s brother’s family—Gene, Laem and Cliff—to the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, VA to see Marcus Miller lead a long and energetic set. A rendition of Mr. Pastorius was a high point of the set, although it was also the only swing jazz tune. More typical to the set was Detroit, a funky, energetic composition which Marcus renamed “Detroit DMV” for the evening....
A night at the opera! Audrey and I took Mom and Paul a double first: their first time at the Kennedy Center and our first time at the opera. The night was warm and beautiful, so we enjoyed people watching outdoors before the show. We also really enjoyed the opera. It was unexpectedly funny, and of course, romantic and tragic. The sets and costumes were not overdone, but still made for a spectacle....
Porchfest brings music to the streets, as people stroll the local Petworth neighborhood and bands perform from the porches of houses. This year our friends Pilar and Darlene joined us, and we ran into Carolyn and Octavio. The music ranged from immigrant folk to psychadelic jam to random accordion and beyond. It was a nice cool day and we had fun people watching the crowds, checking out lots of bands, and catching up with friends....