Bryan Burdett Writes

Spain, Portugal, and Writing

7/6/2026

As a teacher, I have the summer off and I went into this summer with goals. Here was my pretty short list of goals:

In an effort to keep myself accountable, I'm writing an update. Here's where I am on each of these goals:

Enjoy my Spain/Portugal Trip

My wife and I went with a group of other educators to chaperone 60+ students to Spain and Portugal. Upon sharing this with many people, I've learned that there are two types of people in this world regarding this situation: The Haters who respond with "Oh man, 60 kids? That sounds terrible" to whom I reply (at least in my head - I'm not a jerk) "I'll be in Spain next week, let me know how the office is;" and then there's The Cheerleaders who reply with something like "That sounds awesome!" Regardless if they think it sounds like their personal hell or not, they're not going to rain on my parade.

For the record: the trip was easy, incredibly fun, and despite having a packed itinerary, was quite refreshing. Cascais in Portugal will forever be one of my favorite places on the planet. I want to go back! The landscape in Spain was absolutely incredible. Thousands of olive and cork trees surrounding by rolling hills of yellows, oranges, and reds. We may have visited during a heat wave (105-110 F each day), but that didn't make it any less beautiful.

View of a cathedral in Toledo, Spain from an alleyway View of the inside of a Mosque/Cathedral with Roman columns in Sevilla, Spain

Write, a lot

I've been killing it at writing since I got back from my trip. I've set the poetry aside for the time being and I've been working on a story I've been working on off and on for some time. A teacher friend of mine is also writing a book and we've been cheering each other on and sharing chapters. In fact, this week we're going to a writers gathering to drink some cider and network a little. I'm truly enjoying the time to write.

Exercise

Here's where I'm less than enthusiastic with my progress, but I will say I'm at least owning it. I walked and exercised a lot in anticipation of my trip overseas and while we were there we walked 6-10 miles a day. Moving like that, the crazy going-going without slowing down, feels incredible! Since then though, I've been a little lazy. Do I have valid excuses? Yes. Do I need to move past those and get on track to feel like I've accomplished this goal? Absolutely. Come on, Bryan!

Okay, that's my update. I'm going to go hop on the exercise bike for a couple miles. I maintain that exercising the body keeps the mind healthy, so it's time to walk the talk (but not literally, it's really hot outside and I'm using the bike instead).