Blogs from Coimbra, Central, Portugal, Europe - page 5

I still can't upload pictures, but I'll tell you what I saw on my way here to Coimbra. I use the train for two reasons, one--the buses share the roads with all sorts of crazy drivers, two--I like seeing people's backyards with hay bales that look like the ones in the states (all wrapped in white), chiuckens, sheep, goats, ponies, huge lilies that grow like weeds, red clay dirt like in Georgia, cat tails, a lumber yard with the logs stacked with lots of space to dry, trees planted in rows like the ones in Washington and Oregon that grow near rivers and get harvested every seven years or so, and of course clothes hanging on lines. Here in Coimbra, I experience my first thunder. The rain has really cooperated with my schedule. I seem to ... read more

This weekend we went on a field trip organized by our university. We went to four smaller towns south of Coimbra: Batalha, Alcobaça, São Martinho do Porto, and Óbidos. It was a fun trip because most of our classmates and friends went (there were around 60 of us on a big double-decker bus) and so there was lots of time to hang out and goof around with them while checking out some new places in Portugal. Our teachers/tour guides also did an awesome job organizing the trip - we had just about the right amount of time at each location and enough time to have a leisurely Portuguese lunch in Alcobaça. Batalha and Alcobaça both have large monasteries (from the 14th and 12th centuries, respectively) and they are Unesco World Heritage sites, which means they are ... read more

Last Sunday was the grand opening of the pedestrian bridge at the park near our apartment. We walk by this bridge all time, but it has always been closed, even though the sign says it was supposed to open in March. So, needless to say, this was big excitement for us. They had a really big flashy show with actors in costume, fireworks, lasers, and music (some trendy dance music and some traditional fado). For the grand finale, a marching band of knights, dragons, and bagpipe players (don’t ask me) crossed the bridge, and then they let all of us Coimbrians walk/run across the bridge to the other side of the river. - Jason ... read more

It’s been awhile since we last posted, and we don’t actually have all that much to report. We’re finally settling into somewhat of a routine, just in time for Christmas and our trip back to the states to shake it all up again. We thought that we would post some more pictures of our little world here in Coimbra and talk about some of the good and the not-so-good things about living here. On the whole, I think we’re both enjoying it here, and we were saying the other day how lucky we were to have picked Coimbra, considering how little we really knew about it when we decided to come here. It’s a good size for us - big enough that there are things to do, but small enough that we feel like we kind ... read more

This last week has been an interesting one here in Coimbra. The annual Festa das Latas (Party of the Cans - doesn’t translate so well…) started last Wednesday and culminated with the “Latada” last night. The Festa das Latas used to be held at the end of the school year, when law students finished their exams before the other schools and ran through the streets with cans tied to their legs to irritate all of the students who were still studying. Now it’s held near the beginning of the year and is a way to welcome the freshmen, called caloiros, to the university. The festa started last Wednesday night with a big fado concert at the university, and all week long there have been concerts at the stadium with some pretty big name Portuguese and European ... read more