Coimbra

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Coimbra: September 14-15

From Salamanca we caught another bus to Portugal, where we were staying in the Portugese university town of Coimbra. Our accommodation had a terrace on the roof that looked out over Coimbra, affording great views of the houses and university that was built into hillside.

The streets were hilly in parts but this is the norm in so many towns that I think I will miss my daily treks up and down the steps. As we arrived late in the day we interrupted our orientation walk to have dinner in a cafeteria style restaurants frequented by the students of the town. The university year had just begun and there weren’t so many students around yet, but those that were wore black capes quite like the students in Hogwarts!

The next day we went to a nearby town where there were some Roman ruins being excavated. The setting was lovely, and it is always interesting to imagine the life of those that lived 2000 years ago.

I experimented with my lunch ordering and chose by using my favorite number (19) as there was no English menu. What came out was a hotpot of black meat that had been cooked in red wine, I think it may bave been goat as the ribs looked too small for pork. It was tender which is how I prefer meat, but really strong in taste. Next time I’ll try the method that some others used, which is to look at what was on the other tables and then point!

In the evening we went to a performance of Fado, which is a Portugese musical style, using mostly the Portugese 16 string guitar, the Spanish guitar as base and one or two male singers (sometimes female and some songs use piano or accordian). Fado has a melancholy style or gentle lullabies.

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Photos

Coimbra monument
We sat at the tables in the distance for our dinner