Great Day in Portugal

Yes, I am in Coimbra! This is located on the university campus.

This is a view of the town from campus.

This is the library at the university.

Here is the front of the math department building. What else could be in this building.

Today was a very nice day. The weather is warm/hot with mild humidity. I was able to get up in plenty of time to walk to the conference. I met another person in the lobby who was also headed to the conference so we went together. He was from London and we had met yesterday. The talks were very interesting and I was able to renew some connections with several people and meet others for the first time. I had lunch at a little restaurant down the street from the conference location. I had a ham and cheese omelette. I stopped at a book store and purchased a Portuguese-English translation book. I hope it helps with some language issues I have, particularly with regard to food. The conference has some great pastries for the breaks, probably the best of any conference I can recall. After the talks for the day I went to the local market for some cerveja and chocolate. I drank the cerveja at the hotel before dinner. I zipped back up the hill to the university for dinner.

One artist has carved some mathematical structures from alabaster.

Here is the start of the zome tool sculpture.

Tonight was the conference banquet at the local archaeology museum. We toured a large underground crypt and tunnel system that dates back to the Roman occupation of Portugal. There were several Roman busts and other architectural carvings. The museum is also the site of this year's zome tool sculpture build. I worked on putting some pieces together for a few minutes before dinner. Dinner was a buffet with a variety of main dishes and desserts. I am sure Amy will be disappointed to hear that she could have sampled the snout, ear, or foot of a roasted suckling pig! I had a fish dish and a pork/rice/sausage dish. The sausage was almost as good as the sausage from Delmont. For dessert there three like flan/creme brule and a rice pudding - all were very good. I sat at a table with some people I met earlier this year and some others I met for the first time. One is on the Journal of Mathematics and the Arts and she encouraged me to submit a paper on the work I have been presenting at the Bridges conference. I then walked a new way back to the hotel in record time.