Fallout from The Rain in Spain ended just in time for a sunny tour of Alfama, organized by genial TASIS mom and Community Service Committee co-chair Lisa McEvoy Galvin. Conducted in English by the knowledgeable guide Marisa Filipe, whose Ph.D. thesis was about espionage in Portugal during WWII, the tour was sprinkled with tidbits from Portuguese history, beginning with the founding of Lisbon by Phoenician traders, through Roman times, domination by the Moors, the glorious period of Portuguese navigation, the horrors of the Portuguese Inquisition, the 1755 combo of earthquake/tsunami/fire, all the way to the Salazar regime and the transformation into a western-style democracy after the Carnation Revolution. As you can see, a lot of ground was covered, some of it quite hilly. Here and there, there was time for a coffee and a pastel de nata, as well as a drop of ginja (for the very brave). Lisa intends to restage this excellent two-hour tour, which all are encouraged to experience.