portugal: lisbon, sintra, and porto

When I first started planning my summer, I wanted to come to Portugal to see a sight in a town called Sintra, not too far from Lisbon. I didn't want to go to Portugal for just one day, so I decided to stay three nights, two full days. I'd been to Lisbon that one time previously, but I was staying in a different area of the city, so I knew everything would seem new at first.

My flight landed on time, and it was easy to ride the metro into the city. It was easy to get to my accomodation, and check in went smoothly. I hung out for a little while, then went for a walk. I needed a proper meal, and the weather was nice.

I slept well that night, mostly because I was tired from traveling. (The day trip in Hungary, then the metro and bus to the airport in Budapest, then the flight to Lisbon, then the metro into the city.) The food was average, but adequate. I should mention that I ordered a Greek salad, but when it arrived there were no olives (I didn't miss those since I don't like them anywho,) no cucumber, no feta, and no tomatoes. I never figured out what was supposed to make it a Greek salad. 

The next morning I woke up super early, partly because of the time change. Kyiv is two hours ahead of Lisbon, Budapest is one hour ahead, and I've always been one for waking up early.

Although I didn't get out quite as fast as I'd have liked, I did get out faster than I normally do. At least, according to the local clock. 

I started my day with a couple tasty Portugese pastries, pastels de nata. They're soooooo good, its a good thing I don't have access to them all the time. The typical cost in Lisbon is right around 1 euro, so they're perfectly priced and perfectly sized.

My first thing to do for the day was find a place to print a photo a friend had sent me. Back in the day this sort of place would've been easy to find, but nowadays not so much. Back in the day people printed photos, but nowadays not so much. Eventually I succeeded.

I walked to an area along the water, passing through a giant platz first. The platz has a large arch on one side, I think it's the arch of justice or something along those lines. In the middle of the platz is a statue of a guy on a horse. Nothing exciting, but a good place to watch people.

One side of the platz is a street, the other side of the street is on the water. It's not a port, or a marina in that spot, but it is an area people hang out. There are often busking musicians, which can be good or bad.

I asked someone to take a photo of me, which went really well until waves splashed my feet. I didn't much care about this until I realized the water had washed over to where I'd put my purse and food bag. Whoops!!

The guy taking my photo laughed, as did I. I raced the few steps to the bags before they were too wet, and nothing was ruined.

At that point it was just short of noon, so I walked toward a restaurant I'd read about on a travel app. It promized authentic Indian food, something I love. There is no sign on the street, but a few of the reviews had mentioned this, so I knew where to go. The food was indeed authentic, or at least as much as I know about Indian food. Yum.

After eating I walked back toward the water, and from there I turned right. (I'm terrible with directions, and since it wasn't long after noon I don't know which direction I was walking.)

This walk was long, which is what I intended. Along the way I stopped in a church that caught my eye. The front gate wasn't open, but the side gate was, so that's how I got in. The side door of the church was closed, but unlocked, so I walked in.

The interior of the church wasn't super impressive, but I loved the ceiling, which was made of wood. I'm used to seeing paint and gold on ceilings, but the wood was much more impressive because I could see how it was handmade. I could see where it was slightly warped in a few areas, and I could see the grain of the wood. Beautiful. 

Eventually I got to where I wanted to be, technically a different town called Belem. (Though as far as I know, everyone pretty much still calls it Lisbon.) The walk was over an hour, I could feel the sun on my shoulders the entire way. I walked through the gardens on the outside of the monastery of the Jeronimos, and watched the big fountain for a while. Very pretty.

I crossed under the street, and walked to a museum on the water. It's not a normal looking museum, it looks more like a big Soviet war memorial. I didn't want to go in the museum, despite it being a history museum. The weather was so nice I didn't want to go inside anything. Instead I took photos, then continued walking.

I looped around, and made my way to the Tower of Belem, not too much further away. It looks like a castle, and I think you can go in from time to time, but that wasn't happening when I arrived; this was fine since I didn't want to go inside. I took my photos, even a couple with the time delay function on my camera with no one else in the frame. Yay!

At that point I started walking back to where I was staying in Lisbon. I followed along the water the entire way, because I love water. Also, the weather was still amazing. I think I could've taken a metro or commuter train back into the city center, but since I love walking, I did what I love.

The walk back was an hour and a half I think? Something like that, I'm not really sure. By the time I got back, my feet were pretty tired.

I found a small supermarket and bought some food for breakfast the next day, as well as more water. I found double stuffed Oreos, which ended up being my dinner. Don't hold that against me.

Not too much later I got back to my room, and basically settled in for the evening. My Fitbit told me I'd walked almost 33,000 steps, a whole bunch of kilometers, so it isn't surprising my feet were so tired.

The next morning I woke up early of course, and actually got moving not too much later. I walked to Rossio train station and caught the next train to a small town called Sintra. Sintra is known because there are a few castles to visit, as well as gardens. Each of the castles has a different appearance, very different. One is called the castle of the Moors, another is Pena Palace. I think there is another one as well.

I went to Sintra because I wanted to visit a specific set of gardens. After my train arrived this was my first sight. I walked there, arriving a little bit after 10 in the morning

Inside these gardens is the specific sight I wanted to see, a well. Its called the Initiation Well, and has spiral stairs around the edge, going all the way to the bottom. I'm not sure what used to happen in the well, but now its a tourist sight. To get to the well you get to go through a couple tunnels in the rock, which get pretty dark at times; there are lights in the tunnels, but they're not bright. The views from both top and bottom are worth seeing. 

I explored the rest of the area, which had fountains and small ponds, and a few more tunnels. There were a couple towers that looked like fairy princess towers, if that makes sense; think of Rapunzel and the singular tower she lived in for years.
There was also a home, where you can walk through what used to be a dining room, game room, etc... The building was pretty, and I liked the ceilings.

I walked back to the city center, and through the city center. The city center of Sintra is very quaint, but now that quaintness is totally geared toward tourists.

Cafes, restaurants, tourist/souvenir shops, and not much else. Small alleys make everything look cute, even if they're lined with souvenir shops.

Eventually I ended up where I wanted to be, at the start of a hiking trail. Sintra is a small town surrounded by green mountains and hills. I intended to climb/hike this one to get to where I wanted to go next.
The trail is cobblestone for most of the way, with a whole lot of switchbacks. It wasn't steep, but with the cobblestones and switchbacks I spent a lot of time watching my feet, making sure I didn't trip over nothing in particular.

The trail goes by some cliffs that are really popular with climbers. I'm not a huge fan of climbing, so I didn't much care. There are a few signs clearly stating that climbers need to have safety equipment, and to climb responsibly.

The trail took me to a lovely viewpoint of the Castle of the Moors, I stood there for a while. I would see the walls, which stretch along the top of the mountain. Inside the walls I knew there were castle ruins. When I contined and arrived at the ticket office for the castle, I found out that the price was 8 euros, which seemed crazy expensive to me. I thought about it for a while, but decided to skip it in the end.

I walked to Pena Palace, which is known because it is painted a bunch of different colours. When I got to the ticket office, I discovered the cost for that one was 14 euros! That was waaaaay too much, I didn't even have to think about skipping that one. 

Fortunately, I'd seen this palace the first time I came to Sintra. Unfortunately, the first time I'd been to Sintra the mountain had been covered in fog, so I'd really only seen the inside of the palace. Even with the bright colours of the outside I hadn't been able to see the palace until I was just three or four meters away, as the fog was sooooo thick. I was sad I wouldn't be able to see the exterior, (and take the photos I really wanted,) but the ticket price was just way too much.
If I'd entered all the palaces and gardens and such it could've been a really expensive day trip! I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people who do spend the money, but I was trying to stay on a budget. 

I followed another path down the mountain, and eventually ended up back in the middle of Sintra. After checking out a few souvenir shops, I bought a magnet. I found a sortof out of the way cafe for a sandwich with spicy sauce, cheese, fried egg, and other meat. Yum.

Then I walked back to the train station. The next train back to Lisbon left about 10 minutes later, I'd timed it perfectly.

When I got back to Lisbon I visited a couple more platzes, and saw a couple big statues and fountains. I'd seen both of these before, but I still went. It was nice to watch people and enjoy the fabulous weather. I also stopped at a supermarket to pick up breakfast food for the next morning.

I went back to my room at one point, and settled in. I needed to pack up my stuff before going to sleep, since I needed to get up early the next morning.

The next morning I woke up before my alarm (which was set for 0510!) and got moving. I got dressed and went to the airport. As much as people complain about Ryanair, if you follow their rules it's a great airline. Check in online, and print out your boarding pass. Keep your luggage to carryon only.

My first flight of the day was just to Porto, in northern Portugal. The flight was only 10 euros!

When I arrived in Porto I wandered around until I found a place to store my bag for the day. After getting that sorted I took the metro into the city center. The ride is only 35 minutes, and costs 4.5 euros roundtrip.

I stepped off the metro, and started walking. I was in the city center, of which much is UNESCO designated. Beautiful buildings, churches, etc...

Of course I stepped into most of the churches. I've seen a LOT of churches while traveling, and I feel comfortable making the generality that many of the churches in specific areas look similar. In other words, in one city, many churches will look similar. This annoys many people, but not me.

One of the churches in Porto is on the edge of a hill overlooking the river that runs through the city, and has a cloister area. I paid the fee for the cloister area, which includes a few altars, a chapel, and the treasury. Very pretty and very photogenic.
After the expense of the castles in Sintra the day before, I was more than happy to pay just 3 euro to enter this area. 

From that trip I followed a street until it came to a bridge, the bridge of Louis 1^st. There are two levels of the bridge, you can walk and drive along both levels; The street I was walking took me to the upper level of the bridge. Come to think of it, I've never walked the lower level, I don't know why not.

I walked across the bridge, and back. I stopped a couple times, just to enjoy the view of the buildings along the water. The lower levels of the buildings are filled with restaurants, cafes, and tourist shops, but they still look lovely.

After coming back across the bridge I found a small-ish cafe to have lunch. It was a sandwich of sorts, like the one I'd had in Sintra (Portugal) the day before. The meal was supposed to come with fries and a drink but I didn't want either of those.

After paying the bill I walked back to the metro station and took the train back to the airport. I collected my bag, went through security, and got to my gate just as people were lining up to board the plane. It worked out perfectly.

The flight was smooth, and landed about 20 minutes early, yay!

Though Portugal isn't high on my list of places to return to, it's on the list, and if someone planned a trip or I had the time, I wouldn't say no. It's small, but has heaps of history, culture, and beautiful landscapes. 

portugal: lisbon again

the next morning i took a bus back to lisbon for the last couple days of my trip...it was easy to get to and easy to find my hostel, and i was able to check in straightaway...i relaxed for a couple hours, to get over the travel and early morning i'd had...
i finally figured out how to get to a church i'd wanted to see, but ended up balking at the entrance fee, so i only looked at the outside...well, i visited the church itself, but didn't pay the entrance fee for the monastery/museum part of the sight...
lunch was the house special at a nearby cafe...codfish and rice...pretty good:) (but lacking in vegetables, as usual)

for the rest of the day i walked toward belem again just because i could, and the weather was nice...i love to walk...at some point i turned around, then shopped for a while, just to kill time...i remember trying on four dresses in one shop and hoping the mirror was a bad mirror, as i felt like my legs looked quite large...i'm not normally one for shopping anywho...
the next morning i woke up early, but was really really slow about getting out the door...i walked to the parque dos nacoes area of town, as the description in the guidebook sounded nice...i don't know if it was the weather or the season, but i was disappointed...the gardens were hardly worth mentioning...there was a big mall, which was great for people watching, but otherwise nothing worth mentioning...
as i got back to the city centre i visited several souvenir shops in search of the cheapest postcards...when you buy them in the quantity i do, a small difference in price can make a large difference! i bought so many at one shop that the owner gave me a free keychain...how awesome is that?

the next morning i was up early, waiting for the shuttle i thought i had arranged to take me to the airport...the scheduled time came and went, and no shuttle arrived...ugh...i walked a bit to a fancier hotel, and grabbed a cab to the airport...it cost me more than twice as much as the shuttle would've cost, but at least i made my flight...
that was only the first mishap of the day...i'm pretty sure my phone fell out of my pocket in the cab, as i later realized i had no idea where it was, and i knew it had been in my pocket that morning...i had two flights that day, both of which went smoothly; the connection was in rome...

my bag must've decided it wanted to visit rome, as it did not make the last leg of the trip back to kyiv...i was not the only person who started the day in lisbon, then connected in rome, and finished in kyiv, and i was not the only one who did not get their bag back...i'm glad their were others in my same predicament, it was easy for all of us to get mad at the airlines together...i'm also glad i lived at my final destination for the day, as i had other clothes and personal belongings to wear/use...a couple days later my bag was delivered to my flat:)...that was almost more convenient than me getting it home from the airport myself:)

the frustrating part of dealing with lost luggage at the kyiv airport is watching the way a queue does not work...there was a queue, but locals kept jumping queue and interrupting people being served...the people working in the office would talk to the interrupters and stop working on paperwork with whoeva was sitting in front of them...it took me over an hour to deal with just my claim, even though my actual time of talking/filling out the form was less than ten minutes...argh...i hate the way so many locals think they are more important than others and feel it's okay to interrupt...

portugal: evora, beja, elvas

my transit between towns/areas of portugal took the better part of the morning this time...a train from porto to lisbon, a metro ride from the train station to the bus station, then a bus to evora...
after arriving in evora, i discovered a mixup between the listed address of my hostel, and the address of where i was actually going to stay...i basically checked in at the first location, then the manager walked with me to where i was going to sleep...it meant a lot of walking with my pack, which wasn't so much fun since i wasn't mentally prepared to do so...(not that i carry so much stuff, it was just awkward, and i was tired)...

walking from the bus station into the town center involved walking through the old town walls...evora is an old walled city, another UNESCO town...i think it was originally founded by the celts, (who called it ebora,) and was later ruled by the romans and moors...it is now home to more than 50,000 people...the portuguese and spanish fought here as well...
i dropped my stuff, then started exploring...evora is a small town in eastern portugal, not far from the spanish border...i walked past the ruins of a roman temple, which is now just a bunch of columns in the middle of a square...
i was able to climb up the tower of one church, giving me a lovely view over the area...the church itself is baroque, meaning (to me at least) a very 'busy' interior...
at this point i realized i was starving, and found a cafe at which i had a local specialty...i've forgotten the name of my food, but i remember thinking it was a portuguese version of what americans would call stuffing...and meat...(of course...most meals in portugal seem to involve meat)...I WANT VEGETABLES! how does anyone in this country stay healthy with such a regularly unhealthy diet? how do vegetarians stay healthy here?

my next sight was called the bones chapel...it's small, connected to a full church...there is an entry fee, it's basically a room whose walls are entirely covered in bones...skulls and arm/leg bones...there is 'art' in the arrangement, but it's also creepy in a fascinating way...
i was able to find a supermarket to pick up vegetables and other snacks...
i spent time that night chatting with a kiwi and a scot who were also staying in my hostel...i love the variety of accents:)...my main complaint about the hostel was that it did not have enough plugs...only one plug in my room with four beds!

the next morning i went with the kiwi to the bus station, we had decided to do a day trip...we had perfect timing, and hopped straight onto a bus bound for beja...(alliteration anyone?)...beja is another old town with a history of varied rulers...celts, christians, moors, visigoths, etc...
upon arrival we immediately found a cafe for lunch...another typical portuguese meal: meat and carbs...we had meat, rice, and fries...not bad, not at all noteworthy either...
it took us a while to find the main sight in beja, as we had to wind through the town centre...it's made up of small streets, you never know where you'll go around a corner and end up facing a completely different direction from what you intended...

the castle/tower we wanted to visit seemed open for visits, and we couldn't find a ticket office of any kind...oh well...we enjoyed climbing up what we could, trying to find interesting angles for photos...it's really small, we only spent 30 minutes visiting...
we also visited a church with manueline decoration...the ceiling was incredible...it was small, but we both loved it...i felt as though we stumbled in at the right time, it didn't seem as though it is always open...its technically a museum, not a church, but doesn't feel that way...
on the way back to the bus station we kept searching for ice cream...all sorts of cafes had signs indicating they had it, but we couldn't find it...argh...we arrived back in evora at dusk, and ended up getting lost on the way back to the hostel...ooops...

the next morning we were up early, and again walked to the bus station...this time we took a bus to elvas, another small town in the area...another old, walled city, another UNESCO town...elvas almost allows one to see into spain, which is only 15km away...it's a frontier town...
arrival in elvas meant staring out the window as the bus passed by a large, three level, ancient roman aqueduct...elvas itself is surrounded by not one but two walls with a moat (well, it used to be a moat, there is no longer any water) in between the two walls...you can get up onto the top of the wall in various places, the views over the area are great...especially since the town is built on a hill...

we walked around in circles for a while, enjoying the views, and peaceful atmosphere...
unlike the day before, our lunch in elvas was AMAZING...we stopped into a random local cafe, and ordered the daily special...not only was it only 6euro, it seemed to be unlimited servings of meat, veggies, and rice...YUM!!! i'm not likely to go back to elvas (i've now seen the whole town, there is no reason to go back) but if i do, i will find that cafe again...
there are a number of churches in the town, though most of them seemed closed...we ended up going to the information office to get help to see the churches...

a lady from the information office walked with us to two churches which were locked, she opened them for us, which we loved...one was a mosque that had previously been a church...or was it the other way around? i don't remember now...after seeing those churches she also told us where to find other open churches in the town...
on the way back to the bus station, we visited the military museum, which i really enjoyed...more views over the area, walking on the city walls, a couple memorials, etc...my travel buddy talked to a local guard for a while as i wandered...i think we were the only visitors at the time, and the guard wanted to practice his english...

at the bus station my travel buddy and i parted ways...he went on to cross the border into spain, i went back to evora for one last night...that night i had three other ladies in my room...a french girl, an italian girl, and a polish girl...

portugal: porto

another early morning bus took me from coimbra to porto...though portugal is small, the differences between lisbon and porto (portugal's two main cities) were apparent immediately...
unfortunately the weather was crap that whole day...yuck yuck yuck...as i've said before (many times) and will probably say again (many times) i hate rain...and it rained most of this day...
i wasn't able to check into my hostel, but they let me drop my bags for a few hours, and use wifi...
upon starting my explorations, i tried to find the main post office...it didn't happen...i'm guessing lonely planet labeled it wrong on the map, or perhaps it has moved since this edition of lonely planet was published...or maybe i'm just blind and missed something very obvious...

i did find a yummy pasteleria (surprise!) with a few items i hadn't seen before...of course i had to try them...i'm not a foodie, i don't go into food descriptions of pictures much, but they were yummy...and totally unnecessary, as i wasn't hungry...across the street from that pasteleria was a market, at which i found strawberries...i doubt they were in season, but it was well worth the splurge...i also found cheese, and was sorely tempted to buy several varieties...porto is known as a town in which to buy cheese and port...(hence the name: porto)...howeva the lack of refrigeration facilities on a regular basis reminded me this wouldn't be a good idea for a budget traveler...

i walked back down the hill, toward the river that flows through town, and bought a ticket for the palacio de bolsa...it was originally built by businessmen, and still functions as the chamber of commerce for porto...you can only see the building on a tour...there are paintings everywhere, the steps are built of granite, many rooms have specific themes for decoration...one room has paintings of many members of portugal's royals over the years...in my opinion, they were not attractive...the middle of the building is an area called the hall of nations, there are many flags to see...(it's always fun to play guess the flag)

the president and directors of the chamber of commerce still meet in the gold room of this building every month, and the full chamber meets once a year...the arabian room of the palace took 18 years to complete (and looks like the alhambra palace in spain) and the whole palace took 68 years to finish...unfortunately, visitors are not allowed to take photos...
from the palace i walked around the corner to the ingreja (church) de sao francisco...i started with a small museum, which led me down to the crypt...lots of tombs and bones everywhere...inside the church itself was a LOT of carved wood and gold leaf...
each time i went outside i had to deal with rain, and wind...it is difficult to take photos when rain continually lands on your camera lens, no matter which direction you face...ugh...my feet were cold and wet, and i was generally pissed off at the world...

if it hadn't been for the rain, i would've really enjoyed my walk along the riverfront...i should mention that this area of porto is a UNESCO sight...i walked for a while, then went back up the hill to see the se...a cathedral/fortressy looking building...it wasn't open, as there were no services at that hour...but it provided a nice view in several directions, and there was a break in the rain, yippee!!!
not long after i left the se, it started raining again, so i took refuge in a cafe and ate way more than i should've, even though the food wasn't wonderful...(adequate, but not great or bad...i should've picked somewhere else)

one of the sights mentioned in the guidebook is a particular bookstore...of course i visited...it's mentioned because the staircase in the middle of the store makes it quite picturesque...i wonder how many of their sales are due to tourists who just want to see what the fuss is all about? now called livraria lello, it was originally founded (under a different name, by different owners) in the late 1800s...
there was still a bit of daylight as i left the bookstore, but i was not in the mood to continue wandering, as the weather had finally gotten to me...in for the night at my hostel...thankfully there was a space heater in my room...portuguese buildings don't often have heating systems, i spent a LOT of time during this trip huddling under blankets...this space heater felt like a true luxury!!

the next morning i woke up to fog...really? argh...my thoughts were something along these lines: first i get screwed by rain and now i won't be able to see far due to fog? not fair!! fortunately, the fog quickly...i walked to the bus station (i wanted to go to a UNESCO listed town nearby,) but it seemed to be closed...probably because it was 1 january...happy new year and all that...i'd forgotten, not that i've ever been big on celebrating this holiday...trains weren't running either, argh...
howeva, since the weather was far better today, i walked, a lot...i ended up retaking many of the photos i'd taken the day before...(blue skies always beat grey skies in a photo)

as i walked by the se, i realized it was open, as there was a service going on...the inside wasn't stunning, but i did appreciate the atmosphere in general...the organ was powerful, and there is always something that gets me when i hear so many people singing in unison...i could see at least 3 priests participating in the service...
i walked across one of several bridges, it's a nifty bridge...the upper level is for pedestrian use on the sides, public transport goes down the middle...private cars and taxis use a lower level...lovely views of the river from both sides of the bridge...

i walked to vila nova de gaia, which was once a separate village on the other side of the river from porto...now it's just part of the big city, though i think the actual boundaries make it technically separate...it is known as the home of several lodges that make and store port...it was originally founded by the celts, and was once a town in the roman empire...
i didn't think much of the area, but i loved being able to look back at porto over the river...for people who have cameras with wide view lenses or the ability to stitch pictures together, it's a great place for photos...this is also where you can catch any number of boat tours along the river...(which are probably quite popular in warmer months)...

i went back to the hostel to relax for a while, then headed out again after dark, i wanted a few photos at night...a beautiful town...
i should mention that porto is known for it's restaurants, and for that reason alone i'd like to go back, as i didn't make those part of my visit at all...
not only did i not visit the restaurants, i didn't get to any of the towns around porto...my next visit to portugal will definitely include a return to porto!

portugal: coimbra and conimbriga

since portugal is relatively small, and my stops were never that far from each other, i took early morning buses during most of this trip...a bus from leiria to coimbra started the next leg of this trip...
it was raining a bit as i arrived, which i hated...i hate rain...i think it's the worst weather for a traveler, though i'm sure there are others who would disagree...despite having been a swimmer for years, i hate being wet...anywho...i was able to check into my hostel super early, and the owner gave me a good map of coimbra, as well as a lot of information on where to go and how to get there...the view from my hostel was nifty too...

coimbra is built on 2 hills, and there is a river running through the middle...when i first ventured out i crossed a bridge to go to the old santa clara convent/monastery...it sits on really low land, next to the river, so it flooded a lot, and over time was under water so it has since moved...before it was moved, the solution was to build more floors to the church, but that sort of thing never lasts long...howeva, i love ruins, so i wanted to see what i could...the part that was underwater was only revealed and open for visits in 2000...
queen elizabeth didn't found this monastery, but it was essentially dying before she supported it way back in the 14th century...she was buried here after she died...

every visitor starts their tour by watching a video in the information building/visitor center, which is followed by the chance to wander through a small archeological exhibition...(i watched the video, but sped through the exhibit)...i loved being able to wander through the ruins, though they aren't extensive...
i also visited the 'new' monastery, not much of which is open to the public...you can see the church, which is fancy, but not much else...there are signs stating that one part of the cloister is in such poor shape that there is a good chance of collapse soon, they ask for donations...

on my way back to 'my' hill, i walked across a different bridge, this one was entirely pedestrian...i got to watch kayak polo while i crossed...i've now seen camel polo, elephant polo, and kayak polo...i've never watched 'regular' polo...what other kinds of polo am i missing?
on top of 'my' hill stands the university of coimbra...since the town is old, it wasn't built with wide modern roads...going up the hill means winding along small streets and alleys...i kept going the wrong way, ending up on streets that didn't connect where i thought they should...ooops...the university is old, and well respected...it's also beautiful...

i've spent a lot of time in libraries over my lifetime...the geek in me really wanted to see the library in this university, and i'm glad i made the visit...STUNNING...there is an entry fee, and a part of me wondered at this...an entry fee to see a library??? well worth it...not only is there an entry fee, but there is a specific entry time printed on your ticket...visits aren't long, and they are well regulated...no photography is allowed...and you are not allowed to touch the books, it isn't a working library unless you get special permission to do specific research...the building was built of stone, with very thick walls, no extra climate control is needed to preserve the books and paintings...the painting on the ceilings were amazing, my neck was sore from staring straight up trying to take it all in...without pictures to show, it's hard to describe how amazing this library is, but i'm trying...

after walking though the library, you walk down stairs to what used to be a prison...based on how it is now displayed, life wasn't so bad for people who were incarcerated there...(i'm sure those folks would beg to differ)...
after exiting the library/prison, i visited another building in the university, i don't know what to call it...(i'm sure it has a name, and anyone who takes the time to visit the library is also going to see this building)...it's a big, main building, you can't miss it...many of the rooms in this building were richly decorated, including the one where PhDs are still awarded today...the views over the city from this building were fantastic...

walking down the other side of this hill led me to an old aquaduct that still stands...pretty...
on my way back to my hostel i stepped into almost every pasteleria i passed...by now i had figured out most pasterlerias have variations on the same general items, but that doesn't stop me from looking:)
i don't know how it came about in conversation, but i mentioned to my hostel owner that i love chai (as it is done in india,) and he said there was a cafe around the corner run by an indian family that does chai right...we went for chai, and he was right...it was sooooo good....why can't i make chai like that? what a fabulous way to end a really good day...

the next morning i was up in time to catch a bus to the ancient ruins of conimbriga...there is a town there, but i was heaps more interested in the old roman ruins...what i didn't know (or didn't remember from reading the guidebook) was that entry is free on sunday mornings...yahoooooo!!! not only did i have free entry, there were hardly any other people around for most of my visit...
the ruins of conimbriga aren't in great shape...without information signs, it wouldn't be possible for the average visitor to figure out what is there...some of the ruins are being rebuilt, which i don't love...i don't think it 'matches' but i understand the reasons for doing so...(educational value and all that)...i enjoyed the mosaic decorations on various floors...

the postcards available for conimbriga did not impress me...
i took the bus back to coimbra, and headed up the hill again to see a church...(i'm a jaded traveler who isn't easily impressed by churches, but i still love visiting them...something about the peaceful atmosphere i guess)...the church was pretty, as was the attached cemetary...though you cant go in the cemetary, the area just around the church provides a nice overlook...the views over the city were quiet and lovely...i loved the park i passed on the way there and back...
i visited more pastelerias, and went back to the same cafe for more chai:)