Coimbra

Coimbra takes a bit of getting used to. The key observation is that it doesn't cater to tourists mainly, but students. (The university is one of the oldest in Europe, but it was started in Lisbon and then moved here.) So it can be confusing trying to find out info a tourist needs. For example, Coimbra B station is also called Estação Velha in bus schedules, the new one being Estação Nova of course, but you would need to read a tourist guide to know that.

The upper town, where the Grande Hostel is, is near the Praça da Republica, the centre of student nightlife. They were quite er, lively, last night. The hostel warden said well that's the start of 2 months of partying. Freshies in black gowns were seen all over the upper town. I was told by a hosteller who is a research student finishing up said that it's only in the first year that they wear gowns and indications of their faculty. Like Harry Potter, she added.

In the morning the key decision was whether to tour the University first or the lower town. I reasoned that the light would be better in the morning for photos so I should do the Uni first, lunch in the lower town and go back to the hostel for a siesta when the heat got too much. This turned out to be the right order.

I have to say that architecture is not my thing, so I can only comment that the old Uni buildings looked impressive.

I was tempted by the roast pork sandwiches sold by a cafe specialising in that, but decided to go for a full lunch as I had not eaten much for breakfast. The bread, butter and other spreads are not free but will be charged on the bill if you partake, but you can always leave them alone. The round cheese you see in the picture is a chunk of Rabaçal cheese, a specialty of the Coimbra region. Under the upturned bowl are olives. Usually there will be some kind of fish paste, like tuna or sardine. It wasn't too hard to finish the crumbed pork, but I think the 375 ml of house red was a bit too much. I don't remember much of the rest of the afternoon... There might have also been a coffee and a nata (Portuguese tart) afterwards...