Monte Rio Aguieira Hotel Coimbra

... hours in which my host in Porto, José Martins, and I struggled to meet each other. I would have a number of such instances as Satan was really attempting to destroy the success of this trip, but God always intervened. I observed the Sabbath on April 4 in the home of José Martins, who is a long-standing member, and his family, namely his wife, Rosa ...

... enough just to fit a car.

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 ...

... Fitas (The Burning of Ribbons) which is celebrated at the end of the second semester in May. Both have great traditions and include costume parades and week-long celebrations. Coimbra is also full of historic cathedrals, beautiful lush parks and enchanting cafes. In my memories I see Coimbra through its narrow and steep cobblestone streets, laundry hanging on every balcony, thousands of cats, lemon trees ...

... which is out of the city centre. Long and short of it, took me well over an hour with lots of walking up hills and asking for directions to find the hostel. Made friends with some Portuguese people from the hostel and we shared a meal almost everynight, great nights of amazing homecooked meals usually ending with a guitar being brought out and singing a bunch of American classic rock ...

... wood. This is supposed to be better for keeping bugs from invading the entire library. Also, a colony of bats live in the building, which they actually appreciate because they also keep the bugs at bay. Certainly an interesting way to control the local insects! Coimbra is also filled with many museums and street-side shops. I wandered in to many of these, and had a picnic lunch by the river. Following that, I visited a beautiful old monastery ...

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.

Praegu elatub linn kolmest T-tähega allikast: tanning, textile, tourism ...

... wind up the hill overlooking the Mondego river. Some places are so steep, steps have been built. One staircase is known as "backbreaker hill." Alleys have cool names like "2 cat alley" and "Math Street." Pension Casa Pombal was recommended by a Norwegian couple we met in Porto and it didn't disappoint. Two lovely Dutch women run the place and when we checked in, one sat with us for a half hour to plan our visit and write on a map. She ...

... vineyards, olive groves and gum trees to the coast west of Lisbon. Spent a night at the beach before leaving Roxy on her own for a night and catching the train into the centre of Lisbon to check out the big smoke! Wowee! Lisbon is way cool! We both loved it and had a superb time. One of my favourite cities ever! We got a great room right in the centre overlooking a nice square, watched the antics on the streets for a while from our big window then ...

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 ...