Hotel Dona Inas Coimbra

<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>

... plastic bottles around the edges. They were obviously expecting stormy weather. They left great heaps of rubbish all over the site.<br><br>We visited Aveiro the nearest town which lived up to its publicity we took the one photograph of their famous boats which was all the brochure had to offer.<br><br>We have become a novelty attraction as there are no other British around. After the activities of the weekend we moved on.<br><br>

It's amazing how a bit of sunshine lifts the spirits and makes everything look better! Our new campsite, at Figueira da Foz, on the coast about 125 miles north of Lisbon, was just what we needed. Set in pine trees behind the dunes, it was peaceful and relaxing, with the distant sound of the Atlantic breakers to lull us to sleep. There was a brand new and very comfortable toilet block, free wi-fi in the bar ...

... enough just to fit a car.<br><br>We then drove back west to Alcobaca. The Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria was closed, but beautiful enough from the outside. Even at Batalha the Monastery was closed but the square around, was beautiful for a short rest stop. Tired by then we thought of dropping Fatima, but decided to drive up, as it was not far from our ...

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 ...

... sajandi kellatorn, mida kutsutakse a cabra (kits), sest igal aastal toimub seal esmakursuslaste rebasteks ristimine. Ristimine ei seisne mitte füüsilises, vaid vaimses piinamises. Noored tudengid reastatakse kellatorni juurde üles ja seejärel hakkavad vanemad kursuslased neid sõnadega mõnitama ja alandama seni, kuni ristitavad panevad padavai kodu poole jooksu, ehk siis nagu kitsed kabuhirmus.<br><br>Praegu elatub linn kolmest T-tähega allikast: tanning, textile, tourism ...

... a baby, sometimes a dog, sometimes three dogs - I couldn't tell for sure which lived there and which didn't. I was initially assigned to sleep in the attic, but luckily I got un upgrade to the library and a second upgrade to an empty room they found. I was especially glad to be upgraded before the first night when I saw the sign on the attic door that read: "keep closed, rats inside". There was even one of those ancient contraptions that are ...

... ma non c'è posto. La nostra buona stella (e la nostra preziosa guida) ci fa trovare una pensioncina in una delle più belle piazze del centro storico. Coimbra è deliziosa: ci aspetta una cena favolosa, un dopocena di Fado e Vinho verde e una passeggiata incantevole. Andiamo a dormire pregustando la colazione alla Pasteleria Nicola. Frase del giorno: Tudo tem sentido (Titolo della canzone ascoltata in un programma TV)

Hello...<br><br>I'm in Portugal now. Last I wrote was in Toledo, I think...I took a night train to Lisbon, where I stayed for one night. It's nice, as far as big cities go, but it's a big city. It's very diverse and the people are real laid back. <br><br>After that I went to Sintra, just west of Lisbon. It's a little town in the mountains. Lots of shade, green, and fresh air. I spent many more days there than I planned to. The first night I arrived ...