so i'm lazy but here are some pictures

as i untangle the jungle of new code that is movable type 4 to customize these awful templates, here is the first batch of photos from my most recent trip. i spent a fortnight being kay, traveling for two weeks with the sketchiest of plans and just two known knowns -- i was to fly into lisbon, portugal on dec 25 and leave from casablanca, morocco on jan 7. here's the beginning of a great time...

On Christmas eve, I boarded an overnight plane to Lisbon. I landed at dawn on christmas morning. The taxi took me through the lit streets of lisboa. I had the city to myself. Kay was already at the hostel, sleeping but awoke to welcome me and we had a nice laughy reunion before i stretched out on the bed in luxury and slept deliciously until the afternoon. Then we ventured out. Though rainy, we walked around to see the Se Cathedral and clambered over the ruins and ramparts of the Castelo on top of the hill ("this way -->"). As it was Christmas, nothing was open so we had a Yuletide dinner at an Indian/Italian restaurant. We cheered Jeebus's birthday over korma, naan and Cobra beer.

The next day we walked around the Bairro Alto, Baixa, Alfama, Estrela and other 'hoods. We got lost trying to find the Monastery but got to see this ridiculous watchtower -- the Torre de Belem -- built in the ocean before finding the monastery at last. We returned to the Lisbon Lounge hostel and cooked dinner, featuring Indian curry veggies from a can, microwave rice, naan, cheese, olive tapenade, a can of baked beans and my very special vegetarian pate in a tube which I put on everything. We drank and read all night, trying to plan the rest of the trip(s), including our day trip to Sintra the next day.