“Let’s start at the very beginning A very good place to start.”

Julie Andrews

Today I had better luck. I woke up at 3 am. I had six hours of sleep and am feeling much better than yesterday. The downside is that I have been staring at this page for about 3 1/2 hours. I am struggling with where to start with my experiences. I asked John if I seemed different. He said, “No, but you must feel different, so that’s all that counts.” Wise. And that will take some time to tease apart. So instead of trying go all Descartes on you, I’m taking the advice from one of my favorite songs. I’ll start at the very beginning.

• 

• 

I like these two pictures because they mirror how I feel after this trip: different and the same all in the same breath. I had a lot of emotions swirling around as I embarked on my journey, but I’m happy to report that I was mainly excited to finally get moving after all the preparations. I left my familiar surroundings and woke up to the red-tiled roofs of Portugal. She already felt warm and inviting. It was confirmed when I stepped out from the metro station and was greeted by this magnificient view…

I was not in Kansas anymore! Although I might have been in a Dr. Seuss book because the trees were purple. Kudos to the children who color their tree leaves purple. They do exist! I later learned that they are called Jacarandas.

I had about seven hours to explore Lisbon before I had to meet the group for dinner and drinks so I meandered around to get the general flavor of the city. I tasted my first fried sardine (I did not care for it) and my first octopus (I highly recommend). Sadly, I only took a picture of my first Portugese meal below.

Probably as memorable as meeting the city for the first time was meeting Stephanie after eighteen years. It turns out our rooms were right next to each other, and when she opened her door it was like I had left her the day before at school! I thought of the question, “How old do you feel?” In that moment, I didn’t feel a day over 18! Although we did show our age and upgrade our drink of choice from wine coolers to aged Port. Every evening we would share a glass (until we ran out) and catch up.

The name of the hotel where we stayed in Lisbon is called “My Story.” I think it is another bit of coincidence because it is where MY story begins. It has a beginning and middle, but I’m not quite sure of the ending just yet.

FA…a long, long way to run!

Note: Happy Birthday, Caroline!!!