Lusitano Hotel Coimbra

... desserts and all this for 15 euros. The women got much thanks and a big tip as we left with our stomachs full and satisfied!

We decided to make our way to Tomar and do some more sightseeing before calling it a day but unfortunately when we got there what we wanted to see was closing. We got ourselves a campsite in the city so that we could go visit in the morning.

Arrived after a short uneventful journey. Campsite similar. Weather changeable.

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.

The local beauty spots, like every where else, that we did go to were covered with ingrained litter.
We are moving on tomorrow.

We arrived without incident after a short and pleasant journey. Odd campsite mainly permanent encampments! Most of them looked like they had been there for many years. We were entertained by families arriving over the weekend to pack up for the winter. They cleared out all the rubbish that they had accumulated over the summer. They then covered their caravan.awning and covered area with tarpaulin and tied it down and put stones ...

... And boy, we are glad we did not miss it. The Igreja da Santissima Trindade (Church of the Holy Trinity) here could easily be compared to the Vatican in Rome. It was simply awesome with huge grounds in the front & was lit up well. There was some Christmas ceremony going on inside.

Finally, we drove to Hotel Oslo in the University town of Coimbra. More than half ...

... other students have already attended a monthly course of Portuguese. So everything I would normally have to arrange myself, was already waiting for me thanks to my good friend who found us an apartment and subscribed us both to academic courses. Our apartment in Portugal was a student-standard place with all the basics we needed to survive. We didn't complain until the winter came and we suddenly noticed ...

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 ...

... Kõikidel inimestel oli käes palmioks, kirikuisa pidas loengut ja inimesed kordasid aeg-ajalt tema järgi mingeid sõnu.

Algselt plaanisime Coimbras veeta ka öö, kuid kuna me polnud midagi broneerinud ja jätsime endale nö lahtised käed, siis kohapeal olles tundus see väga mõistlik otsus olevat. Peale mõningast luusimist istusime autosse ja sõitsime edasi. Ilmselt nädala sees, kui kõik üliõpilased on ka kohal ja hängivad tänavatel, on seal linnas rohkem melu ja elu.

... of vantage points. The students here must be in fabulous shape as the streets are all cobblestone and incredibly hilly (mostly without any signage of course). We stopped at what we figured must be the popular cafe and bar area for a 1 Euro beer and some student watching. After waiting patiently for our second wind, we headed out to find the stadium where a traditional "fado" concert was being put on for the tourists as it ...

it was great to stop in a smaller city and see all the culture of coimbra, centred around its famous university which the locals are so proud of. i then moved on to oporto, another picturesque hillside city, full of more museums, and the parks and riverside where also fun to explore.

Hello...

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.

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 ...