My Uncle Doug's Visit

My Uncle Doug came to visit us a couple weeks ago, on his way home from Iraq. We had a long wait at the airport, but he finally arrived. In five days, we went to most parts of the city, and to Belem and Sintra. Some of the sights: the acquarium, Pena Palace, Jeronimos monastery, Gulbenkian museum. Sounds: Mozart and Beethoven rehearsed by the Metropolitan Orchestra (see below) and I taught him a little bit of Portuguese. In the final strip of my comic, Uncle Doug is showing off his Portuguese. The translation is below, adapted as if a Portugese tourist in the USA were saying it.

1: Surrey, where is iiis de Bathrooom?

2: "I don't speeek Portuguese. I speeek Engleesh."

3: "Would you like sunglasses?" "No."

4: "Would you like ice cream?" "YES! YES! YES! YES!"

On the last night, Uncle Doug ordered calimari, seafood stew, steak sizzling on a stone, and custard in Carnide. I thought he was underestimating the size of Portugese dinners, but I was underestimating the size of his apetite.

During my Uncle Doug's visit, I made it to two concerts. The first, with my Dad, was a performance at the Gulbenkian of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, parts of which I'm also singing with my choir at the Instituto Gregoriano. "Gloria" was glorious, but I dreamed other parts of the concert--literally, since it only started at 21h30 (time, recorded in Portuguese). I've attached below my sketches on the program from the Orquestra Metropolitana rehearsal I attended, with Uncle Doug and my folks, Ike (watching and listening in astonishment) and Kati (sleeping through most of it, like I had the night before). It was amazing to sit two meters from the orchestra and watch them work with the conductor. And, I had a chance to talk to Ana Claudia Serao, whom I'd heard perform earlier this year at the Museu do Oriente, and who also studied with my cello teacher, Anne Hernant.