Aparthotel Atlantico Figueira da Foz

<br>Arrived after a short uneventful journey. Campsite similar. Weather changeable.<br><br>Tourist sites do not always live up to the flowery language used in the brochures eg. "Musicological Nucleus of the Salt" turned out to be a Musee de Sel. We did not go.<br> <br>The local beauty spots, like every where else, that we did go to were covered with ingrained litter.<br>We are moving on tomorrow. <br>

... difficulty by buying electric clippers, and they are so easy to use that I've managed to keep him looking presentable, despite my famous lack of manual dexterity. My own hair problem is not so easily solved, so I tend to put off getting it cut as long as possible, until it looks a fright. It wasn't a problem in Spain because the high percentage of expat Brits meant it was easy to find an English ...

... another spread for breakfeast with our new friends the Conzalas family. The next day our kids finally get to see the Atlantic close up.. [PHOTO_ID_L=3_the-atlantic.jpg warm air, cold atlantic! It was wonderful to end our car journey at the beach with gelatos before leaving for our final drive... back to Amora.

Day 4 &#8211; 25/12/08<br><br>LISBON-EVORA-ALCOBACA-B ATALHA-FATIMA-COIMBRA<br><br>We left early after breakfast. The GPS proved to be blessing for 'wrong' drivers like me. As it was Christmas there was less traffic on the roads &amp; we had a smooth drive to Evora. There we saw the Roman Temple, the church &amp; the Chapel of St.Francis. The sleepy town had narrow lanes ...

... first day and my first walk around the city center, I couldn't believe I was going to live there for another six months. Nestled about 200 kilometers north of Lisbon and only 40 km from the coastline, Coimbra gained its fame as the "Portugal's Student City". About 23,000 of its population are students who come to this charming city to study in its historic University and to enjoy its unique ambience. The ...

Before I make this entry, I have to note that I cannot remember hospitality of this measure. Ever since our arrival in Portugal, we have been served hand and foot. If I get up, two people jump to their feet to see what they can get for me. Nasser, Salima, Feba, Kaka Anil, Tia Rozy, Kaka Nawas, Kaki Nafeesa - they have dropped everything to be with us and make sure we are comfortable ...

16 km kaugusel Coimbrast asuvad Conímbriga varemed, mis on vanimad nii hästi säilinud Rooma varemed Portugalis, ühtlasi nimetatakse seda ka National Monument. Varemete kohta saab ajaloo ja piltidega tutvuda ka muuseumis, kuid me saabusime sinna suhteliselt hilja ja jõudsime napilt ainult varemetes luusida. Kuigi Conímbrigat teatakse eekõige roomlaste tõttu, on tegelikult olemas ka andmeid, et seal tegutseti ...

Coimbra (120 km Portost) asutati roomlaste poolt, seejärel linn kasvas ja arenes moorlaste käe all, peale neid elasid seal kristlased. 1145. a sai Coimbrast Portugali pealinn, kuid juba sajand hiljem otsustas Afonso III, et ta eelistab pealinnana näha Lissaboni.<br><br>Coimbra on eelkõige tuntud oma ülikooli poolest, mis 1290.a asutati (esimese ülikoolina Euroopas) küll Lissabonis, kuid 1537.a kolis Coimbrasse ja on seal tänaseni. Ülikool on üks vanimaid nii Euroopas kui üldse ...

... dinner then it was time to win some of our money back. We spent about 5 hours in the casino before it shut and surprisingly I didn't lose any money didn't win either but Adam actually won some money. Then 2 guys cashing there chips in front of us where cashing out 5000 Euro so we where going to roll them up the street but then realized we didn't really want to go to jail in Portugal. After we hit the bars and until the wee hours and headed home about 6am. But first had to walk ...

... a friend, and on the bus we met two nursing students who live there. They were very friendly, took us to their house, fed us dinner, and gave us a place to sleep. <br><br>Now I'm in Coimbra, and I came here to see a forest. I should actually be going now to catch my bus. If this internet connection weren't so slow this letter would be longer. It took me a whole hour to read the 15 letters I had (50 minutes waiting, 10 minutes reading). More later