Coimbra (Santa Cruz)

It was a hot night, but having separate double beds helped. At 9.30am we had our fully loaded breakfast in the garden area. After breakfast we tracked down laidback Luis & paid for the previous night’s dinner. We bought a bottle of his white wine for €10, but declined the opportunity to pay €45 for his full bodied red.

We hit the road on a circular route recommended by Luis. Firstly we headed north to Vila Real, then headed east towards Sabrosa. On this leg of the journey, Jackie had a triple whammy of disasters. Firstly she lost my cricket commentary, secondly she sent me miles out of our way on an unnecessary diversion to the nearest petrol station & thirdly she decided to clean the car windows with a hose without realising (allegedly) that a rear window was open & I got saturated by a jet of water, whilst minding my own business sat in the driver’s seat.

The road from Sabrosa down to Pinhao was stunning with numerous viewpoints into the Douro Valley. At Pinhao we got out to see the blue & white tiled railway station, which depicted various Douro Valley winery scenes. A train had just departed, after depositing a very diverse looking bunch of passengers.

We followed the southern bank of the Douro River back to Peso da Regua, then headed south to Lamego, considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in northern Portugal. We parked up & had a quick liquid lunch. Lamego would have been beautiful, had it not been for the considerable amount of litter blowing through the main boulevard. It would seemed that there had been a recent festival of some sort & the clearing up process was still ongoing.

At the end of the boulevard were 686 steps up to the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios church. These steps are known as the Stairway to Heaven. We climbed the first three flights, then decided we would return to the car & drive up to the church. The statues at the top of the steps were impressive & the church was nice too. A sign asked that no photos be taken in the church. I did only because someone else already was.

Our journey continued south to the old university city of Coimbra. We booked accommodation on the way & to my delight there was free parking just a short distance away. We actually parked outside the newer Coimbra Cathedral. Our apartment was down a cobbled street and on the corner was a house covered in what appeared to be anarchic slogans & graffiti with several ‘anarchists’ loitering in the front garden.

We dumped a bags in our apartment & walked to the nearby series of buildings that make up University of Coimbra at the highest point of the city.

Founded in 1290, the University of Coimbra (UC) is one of the oldest universities in the world and the oldest in all of Portugal. Up until the early part of the 20th century, it was also the only Portuguese-speaking university in the world. In 2013, UNESCO declared the university a World Heritage Site, noting its architecture, unique culture and traditions, and historical role.

We walked through the Porta Ferrea, the main gates into the huge courtyard with it’s statue of João lll, Clock Tower & Royal Palace. We found that we were able to wander around some of the university, where we located the students refectory and bar.

Afterwards we strolled through the rest of the old town & had a beer in a town square outside the old Cathedral of Coimbra. Jackie informed me that she yearned for a steak for her dinner, so we went in search of a suitable restaurant to only return to the same square & sit down at a restaurant called O Trovador.

The waiter was a little bit too brusque for my liking, but as it turned out the food was incredible & we both agreed it was our best proper meal of the trip so far. Jackie had steak, whilst I had pork, both in mushroom sauce, with fluffy chips & a vegetable spring roll dressed in a balsamic sauce and black & white sesame seeds. It was accompanied by a basket of assorted breads & olives as well as a decent white wine.

It was a very happy ending to another long day.

Song of the Day : Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.Read more