The Sackler Gallery hosted one of my all-time favorite exhibitions – Encompassing the Globe – about the Portuguese maritime explorations in the 16th and 17th centuries.

My mom and I attended the opening of the exhibit back in June and since then I’ve gone through the collection of maps and paintings and furniture and religious relics about two dozen times. I’m particularly fascinated by the armillary spheres.

I thought I had a good understanding of Portugal’s history during the age of exploration – but this show proved my knowledge at best inadequate and at worst disgraceful considering my parents were born there. I really need to bone up on my world history.