Lisbon Bound

Today I'm off to Portugal in search of my other linguistic, geographic, biologic, and gastronomic roots.  Did that cover it?  I haven't been to Lisbon or the Azores since I was about 20 months old, and finding myself unable to organize my family to take a trip there in recent years, I've taken the bull by the horns (I have a feeling bull references will ran rampant-ha-the next three weeks) and have decided to go on my own.  The photo above is at a beach outside of Lisbon-I hope it's just as beautiful now!

I'm going to spend the first weekend in Lisbon with Shawn before starting a crash course in Portuguese on Monday while staying in a host family with a kind dog-owning widow (so they tell me).  And then before I know it I'll be off to Terceira to stay with my grandmother for ten days and see the island where my mother and ancestors were born.  As my cousin Marisa encouraged me, "really everyone is related to us...so don't be shy."  I can't wait to explore the island, have linguistically broken heart to hearts with my grandma, and eat a boatload of bacalhau and sopas.  More baby photos and all kinds of photos to come.