The Munchkin's Notebook

On June 28 th , I was supposed to do an on location shoot with Sara and Natalie at the Washington, DC National Cathedral. It was going to be beautiful with them in their Italian Renaissance gowns and beautiful stonework; however, the weather had other plans.   As I headed out to the location, it started raining hard, thankfully I had my husband/assistant in the car who was able to text Sara and Natalie to ask if they were ok, switching to my home studio to shoot.   Everyone was good with the switch; I turned the car around and rushed back home to set up my studio in 60 minutes.   It turned out beautifully and no one got rained on. For this session, I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Westcott FJ400 Strobes 2 c-stands 2 Rectangular soft boxes 1 Backdrop stand 1 Graphic (wall)Backdrop Sandbags Clamps Laptop Teather cable Continuous light t...

We arrived home in the evening of Friday, May 29 th after two flights, one from Lisbon to Heathrow (London) and the second from Heathrow to Dulles International (DC).  I will say getting out of Portugal was slightly annoying because the airport isn’t well organized, the check in desk didn’t open till 2.5 hours before the flight and the airline recommended 3 hours before the flight, and they you must go through a ticketing screening and border control to leave the country.  Thankfully, border control (basically like going through TSA security check but with passport verifications) only took us about 15 minutes, apparently it can sometimes take up to hour.  If you are not expecting it, Lisbon Airport will trick you, because they put all the duty free after the ticket scan but before border control, but you need to pass boarder control to get to your gate.  It is not like other airports where duty free is on the same side as the gates.   I also discovered I r...

Today is the official last day of our trip, we head home tomorrow.  We didn’t set an alarm because we didn’t have anything scheduled for the morning, thus we didn’t get moving till 7:30 AM.  Breakfast at the hotel was ok, but I wasn’t impressed; the previous hotels had better buffet selections.  After breakfast we checked into our flight and repacked all our luggage for the flight tomorrow.  Afterwards we walked up the hill, because there is always a hill, to go to Casa Santa Maria, but it was closed so we went to the small museum across the street.  We also tried visiting the Citadel, but it appeared closed as well.  It was getting hot again, so we headed back to the hotel.   Cascais is a beach resort town, really not our thing. I should have had the tour company put us back in Lisbon for the day, so we could have seen the things we missed.   Cascais was the tour company’s idea, and if I had known better, I would have had them change it...

View of Lisbon from Christ Statue Today we got up a little before 7:00AM, with no need for the alarm and packed our stuff up before heading down to breakfast.  The breakfast area was busy today, because there was a bus tour staying at our hotel, so there were way more people than yesterday.   After breakfast we went back to the room and had to wait about 30 minutes before checking out for the grocery store to open, that way we could pick up another 6 pack of water before heading to Cascais.   We have gone through a flat and a 6 pack of water so far, because it is hot and a little dry, just not as dry as you would think.  I must say I was very disappointed in the recommended stops for today. The first was supposed to be Casa Da Bala where we were supposed to taste wine, but it is just a tourist information center, plus the receptionist was not helpful.  The receptionist rather be making a phone call than talking to the people standing right in front o...

Roman Ruins in Evora Today we got up at our usual 7:00 AM time, had breakfast, and got ready for the day.  Our walking tour started at 9:00AM to avoid the heat of the day.  Today’s high is expected to be 97F with bright direct sun and 25% humidity, and since everything is white it is very reflective making the streets feel hotter.   Our tour started at the top of Evora, near the Roman ruins, then continuing over to the Cathedral of Evora.   The cathedral and attached convent were nice and did not have a bunch of Baroque architecture.  The cathedral also has 2 of the 11 known pregnant statues of the Virgin Mary.  Several were destroyed when the Catholic church hit its peak of power, with the logic it didn’t make Mary special if she looked pregnant like every other pregnant woman.   Inside the convent Inside the convent Inside the church Pregnant Virgin Mary Statue From there we walked down a few streets to the main town square,  stoppin...

Overlooking Coimbra from the top of the elevator We got up at 7:00 AM like usual, got breakfast, finished packing up our stuff, and checked out of the hotel.  From the hotel we started to drive south towards Evora, with a stop at Coimbra.  The stop at Coimbra was recommended by the tour company to see the oldest university in Portugal, established in 1290.   You need to take an elevator to get there or walk a very steep hill.  The main draw I think is the Baroque Joanina Library, which you get to spend 10 minutes in and not take any pictures.  Not taking any pictures sucks because it is a beautiful library, prettier than then one in Ireland.  We also got a tour of the old royal palace which was on the site before the university was established as well as the chapel.  It should be noted that the pipe organ in the chapel was meant for another larger church, so it is too big for the space.  If they play the pipe organ at full strength it breaks ...

Great Hall of Palace The alarm went off at 7:00AM, but I wasn’t ready to face the day.   I woke up with a stuffy nose and a soar throat, and just feeling tired and no way going to be able to climb the steps of the church we were to visit.  So, we canceled the planned excursions for the day and just stayed in Porto.  It was a good thing we canceled the excursions for the day because the one location we were going to go was raining and the second location was going to be close to 90F.  I don’t care if we were going to be on a river, 90F is too hot for me.   Thus, today we walked down to Palaco da Bolsa and the Church of Saint Francis. The Palaco da Bolsa is the home of the commerce office, so it is still used for government affairs.  The tour was interesting and we got to see items used by Eifel (the guy that built the Eifel tower), from when he was living and working in Porto.  Also, one room which we didn’t get to see well, because it was b...

  View across the river Today started like usual with us getting up at 7:00 AM and getting breakfast.  The breakfast at this hotel, in my opinion, isn’t as good as the breakfast in the last hotel.  Also, the air condition in our room basically sucks, when I set to 18C I expect to be cold not lukewarm.     We started with a walking tour of Porto, thankfully it was rather cool and overcast this morning, and Porto is rather tiny if you are looking at just important buildings. The tour started with a trip across the street to the train station which is very pretty.   From there we walked about a minute over to the Avenue of Allies, then another minute over to the first church of the tour.   We then walked a little more to see the hidden house which is sandwiched between two churches, one we could go into for free and the other we would have to pay for.  From there we walked to the past of the famous bookstore Livrarie Lello, with the ...

Crossing the Bridge into Porto  Today we got up at 7:00AM, had breakfast and packed up our stuff to start the journey to Porto.  The first thing we had to do was check out of the hotel, then call an Uber to take us to the rental car place.  Just a small shout out to the staff of the hotel for being able to accommodate receiving an Amazon package for me. I was able to order a camera battery charger off amazon and have it delivered to the hotel, the staff checked the address to ensure it was correct and received the package for me. Great service in that regard.  Now back to the trip.  We picked up the rental car from AVIS around 9:30 AM.  They gave us a little Citron hatchback which is about the right size for driving around Portugal and its cities, while still handling all our luggage.   We did get the extra insurance, just for piece of mind.   From there we exited the city of Lisbon and got on their version of a freeway.   Ou...

Old Morish Castle as Seen from Penna Palace Today we got up at 7:00 AM and had breakfast downstairs, then prepped for day’s tour.  The tour company hired us a private car to drive us to Sintra to see Penna Palace.  The only way to really get to Sintra if you are tourist is if you are on a tour, have a driver, or take the train then catch a taxi to the palace.  Since we had a private car/guide, they were able to drive us up to the palace and guide us through the entrance.   We had “fast pass” tickets to the palace plus transfer tickets.  The transfer tickets let you ride the small bus up to the top of the hill where the palace is located, without making the 15-30 minute walk up the hill.  Trust me, the transfer is worth it.  Once at the actual place you make your way through the hoards of tour groups to find the entrance where they take your ticket.  Now the ticket says skip the line, but it is a lie, you still have to wait in line till your t...