Coimbra, Coimbra District, Portugal
We’re presently sitting on a balcony overlooking the city of Coimbra enjoying pre dinner drinks on Maxine and Garry (thanks, guys!). They sent Sheila a birthday gift of dinner out somewhere. She’s been saving it for something special. I’m lucky to be the hanger on in this scenario! We enjoyed a fabulous meal sitting on a balcony overlooking the Douro River in Porto at O Muro Restaurant and tonight we’re spending the remainder of the birthday money at Alta Restaurant. Lucky me! Dinner was delicious even if the service was very slow.
Sheila took the wheel this morning for the first time. She overcame early nerves and was quietly confident by the end of it. We did a bit more exploring of Lamego before we left this morning. We could see the steps leading up to Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios ( our Lady of Remedies) from our apartment balcony but since Manuel had told us that there were 690 steps to the top we decided not to tackle it on foot! Manuel’s apartment is called Remédios. He’s a pharmacist. The name seems very appropriate. Sheila got some early experience of narrow streets, cobblestones and steep paths but we made it to the top without incident. The view over Lamego is magnificent from up there.
Our first stop after leaving Lamego was Aveiro. The town is undergoing a revitalisation and will be a fabulous tourist destination in a couple of years. Now it’s a charming small town honouring its previous working history with its colourful small boats that were used to harvest seaweed in the past.
Nowadays they’re using them on the canals to take tourists for rides. For some reason all the boats seemed to feature voluptuous maidens in suggestive poses. I didn’t find out the reason for that! The town was very pretty too with colourful houses and narrow streets paved in stone. We had coffee in one of the cafes and tried the local delicacy, Ovos Moles, simply soft eggs. They are made from egg yolks and sugar and wrapped in rice paper in nautical themed shapes. Delicious. We also had to stop for cod cakes which are very popular here also. Sheila, with her Newfie background, loves cod cakes. I’m not as addicted to them as she is.
Five kilometres down the road is the seaside town of Costa Nova. They’re also tizzying up their town by painting coloured stripes on all the buildings. It’s very pretty.
Sheila had been reading that Coimbra was once the capital of Portugal and has quite a large population. She decided she didn’t want to drive in the city so relinquished control of the steering wheel to me with about 30 kms to go. We’d also lost the apple CarPlay connection in the car at this point so were relying on the phone for our navigation with no map view on the car’s screen. It wouldn’t be a day driving in Portugal without some hiccups! The navigation to our Airbnb led us to what looked like a pedestrian street but after our Porto experience, when we saw some cars parked in the street we confidently drove down it. Wrong! The street got narrower and narrower and when I could see a sharp right hand turn that our car was never going to make we realised we had to stop and back all the way out again.
Thank goodness for reversing
cameras! I managed to avoid hitting pedestrians, shop displays and parked cars. Phew! We drove out, found somewhere to park on the street and phoned Alphonse, our landlord tonight. He came to the rescue on his scooter. Thankfully, he directed us to a parking station and we walked the rest of the way to our apartment. The apartment is very comfortable although it’s up three floors with no lift, 36 steps, I counted. We were worried about Alphonse with his artificial leg and one lung but he made it.
We ventured out again a bit later and found a coffee shop that Alphonse had recommended in the main thoroughfare of the town. The Santa Cruz Cafe could rival the Majestic for old world charm but perhaps the Majestic would win for glamour. The Santa Cruz is built into the alcove of an old church with the ornate ceilings and big stained glass window. Worth a look just to see the toilet doors!
More wandering eventually found us up the top of the town at the University. We had to scale a horrendous set of stairs to get there.
Luckily all that Camino training came into good use. Sadly we were too late to make it in time to visit the library which from all accounts is spectacular. The University buildings are beautiful though and worth seeing anyway.
We found our dinner spot on the way down from the uni. There was a big downpour while we ate dinner. Thankfully it had stopped by the time we started walking back to our accommodation. After my fall in the last rain I was a bit paranoid on the now wet pavers and stones we had to negotiate all the way down. I’m pleased to report no more falling incidents. My back can’t take anymore! It’s still in a state of recovery.
We’re off on a new adventure tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll be able to remember where the car is parked!
Marl
2023-06-08
You are having some adventures there with the driving! Portugal looks like a great place to explore and beautiful. Those stairs do look horrible though! 🤣
Ange K
2023-06-08
I didn't realise driving in Portugal would be so adventurous! Sounds as though you are doing fabulously. Delicious unusual food seems to be becoming a delightful theme too. I just love all the colourfully painted houses.
Ange R
2023-06-08
All looks lovely. You sure pack a lot into a day! X
Allan
2023-06-08
What a delightful looking city / Spanish and Portuguese universities seem to be very interesting places - Salamanca university has an amazing library too. XX
Liz Davis
2023-06-08
What a lovely day you had despite the narrow streets. Such beautiful buildings and restaurants. Glad you are letting us know what local delicacies you are enjoying as you travel along.
Jackie
2023-06-08
Oh our cafes here in Brisbane are going to seem so boring after all these ornate ones you have been to. Full marks to you both for driving-would give me a heart attack! This City does look beautiful & not too crowded.
Margot
2023-06-08
I love the architecture of Portugal, and the tarts, but I don’t get their love of all things cod. Their national dish, Bacalhau, gets called ‘fiel amigo’ which means faithful friend. 🤮
Karen
2023-06-09
I have never had a cod cake. Tell Sheila we can really experience your adventures by making them for our next bridge night.
Beth
2023-06-09
Full credit to you with the driving you're doing, Leanne. What a super time you're both having. Love the photo with the front of the boat in it. X
Suzanne
2023-06-09
Another interesting and fun day. The driving certainly adds another adventure in its self. The colours are beautiful.
Helen L
2023-06-10
Love the colourful towns you are visiting and driving on those narrow streets is a real challenge but it certainly gives you some good conversations over dinner and a good reasont o have a drink to calm your nerves!
Karry
2023-06-26
That town looks so pretty