So we have two friends to visit, Karmenlara Ely, a dancer, linguist, erotics professor who is currently teaching acting at Østfold University College in Norway, & Dan Gresham Glover, a recently retired sand sculpter creating graphic novels out in Portugal. I attended middle & high school with them both, & because it’s Wendy & my 6th Anniversary, we’re making a big trip of it.
Itinerary: Fly out of NY, quick stop in Reykavik, land in Bergen. Stay the night, then take what is supposed to be one of the great scenic train rides / fjord ferry trips of the world, into Oslo. Take the train from Oslo to Fredrikstad, where Karmen lives. Hang with her a few days, visiting the small towns, shopping in Sweden, etc, & then a quick hop to Paris for 4 days. Yep, & after that, an overnight to Barcelona for a 2 night stay, then an overnight to Madrid for a 2 day stay, then Seville for 2 nights, & then Faro, Portugal with Dan for 3 days, & 1 day in Lisbon before hopping to Heathrow & flying back to New York, where I will be met with hundreds of submissions & duties disregarded.
It should be a hell of a trip. I’ll try updating the blog with thoughts as it happens.
Ah… Faro! While I traveled in Portugal for 6 months in 1999, I spent a few brief but blissful weeks in a broken down trailer in the quiet hills of Tavira not far from Faro. If you have the chance (might be tight,) please try and get to Sagres, which is considered “the end of the world” and Lagos, which was a quaint little town many moons ago. Have a wonderful time and I hope to see you when you get back.