Officially known as Igreja de Santa Maria Maior, the Lisbon cathedral stands out unmistakably above the city’s pastel skyline. More like a fortification than a place of worship, its bell towers seem anchored in a long-distant past. The following text is what you’d read if I had kept this listing in the latest update of my Catholic Heritage guide, but unfortunately it didn’t make the cut. You’ll understand why…
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Here we go again! As always, I write this for personal reasons but feel free to revisit 2024 along with me. I began the year trying to avoid 2023’s stressful schedule, then somehow said “yes” to quite a bit of additional work. Uh-oh. But those trips took me to places I’d never been before, so that growth was very much appreciated. Let’s review…
Read More »year in review: 2024
Today kicks off the beginning of a month-long party —the Festas de Lisboa— & one of my personal highlights is seeing the winners of a sardine design contest. No, not real sardinhas but the shape of one. Get your sketchpad out…
Read More »lisboa: sardinhas as art
As a frequent visitor to the Prado in Madrid, I’d seen works by Antonis Mor —known in Spanish as Antonio Moro— for decades. But it wasn’t until the restoration of his portrait of Mary Tudor that I really took notice of these masterpieces.
Read More »found: antonis mor
With big-name attractions like the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita-Catedral in Córdoba or the Alcázar in Sevilla, Huelva doesn’t get the attention it rightfully deserves. Stunning architecture, an important industrial past, fantastic cuisine & the 1492 Columbus departure point are only a few reasons to visit this often-overlooked provincial capital.
Read More »spain: huelva