Stepping outside the terminal in Lisbon, I noticed first the sunlight. Late afternoon, clear and creamy, it shafted between buildings and spilled all over the station platform. I had almost forgotten what I was missing back in England. If I stood on tiptoe, I could spot the sea peeking on the horizon. Europe, but shading nearer my island home of the past two years — I prayed in fervent gratitude for a long weekend in a new land.

After two solid months of fifteen, sometimes twenty hour days, zooming back and forth by bike between my home outside the city to the university center, I had determined to prioritize resting on this trip. To make good on this resolve, I booked a room outside the capital, in a little town most tourists counted worthy of a day trip, for three nights of absorbing its beauties at a tranquil pace.