And then the rooster started up at 5:30am!!!!!!! If I had a gun that rooster would have been in serious trouble!!
Even with the early wake up call, we just lazed around and didn't hit the road until around 10:00. As we need to be at the airport at 8:00am tomorrow morning, we've decided to stay at the same Lisbon campground we stayed at when we arrived. We only had one stop planned for today and that was the city of Coimbra.
Coimbra, the medieval capital of Portugal, is best known as being home to Portugal's best University for over 500 years!!! The Universidade de Coimbra was Portugal's first University. Its founder Dom Dinis proudly stands at its entrance - he founded it in 1290, originally in Lisbon, but then it was finally settled in Coimbra in 1537. Coming from such a young country as New Zealand, some of the dates that we read about or see are staggering and quite hard to comprehend!
It holds on to a lot of tradition such as students still being required to wear black robes and capes when they attend class. There is also a very strict code of practice that all students must respect or risk expulsion.
As it was Sunday and also the fact that the University was in the middle of a break, the town resembled a ghost town when we arrived. It was pretty easy to spot the university as it is perched on top of a hill overlooking the city and the Rio Mondego. We drove up to the university and made that our base for our visit.
First on the list was a walk around the university. There were several people dressed in black/white suits, with black capes thrown across their shoulders who were acting as tour guides and advisors. Perhaps they were students trying to earn a few euros in their summer holidays?
The university is beautiful - and very big. It reeks of tradition and pomp & ceremony. Mosaics adorn the walls and the tiled and cobbled footpaths and roadways that we have seen across Portugal are beautiful. The views from the university are fantastic. Up and down the river and across the city - it was a beautiful day, so the views went on and on.
After wandering around the university, we headed down on the city side of the hill, to the Jardim Botanico - the botanical gardens. This is a beautifully peaceful area in the city which we could just imagine people escaping to for midday lunch or coffee. The gardens are fairly sizeable and include a rope and flying fox course high in the trees in the forest section. It looked like fun as we watched people swinging from tree to tree, but we opted out and instead headed back up to the university and then down the other side.
As we descended towards the river and walked around the city, it definitely had the feel of a University town - some pretty dodgy looking places that just reeked of student flats. Very reminiscent of other university towns around the world.
On the way down, we came across Coimbra's original cathedral. The newer, and current official cathedral of Coimbra, is further up the hill next to the University.
For a €2 donation, we got to enter the cathedral and attached cloisters. Built in the 12th century, it's a beautiful building, but is in need of some serious TLC, so the donation is no great hardship. It was actually built on top of the original 10th century basilica that was destroyed in 1184. Some of the art work and statues on display are incredibly old and must be priceless.
The cathedral is also the resting place of many of the bishops throughout the centuries and the founding fathers of the city, including the tomb of Sesnando who was the first ruler of Coimbra in the 11th century.
One of the things that really stands out about Portugal is that everywhere you go, you see loads of graffiti. Whilst there's a fair bit of tagging, most of the graffiti would probably be called graffiti art. We're not sure if it's encouraged, but there is loads of it everywhere and Coimbra, the university, and the town, is no exception. Some of the stuff is pretty good, but there's a lot that just looks like pure vandalism.
After our visit to Coimbra, it was time to head to Lisbon for our last night in Portugal.
The two hour drive to Lisbon was pretty uneventful. We drove on the A1 which is a toll road for most of the way. Here's a tip for visitors to Portugal. If you want to save money, stay off the main motorways. Most are tolled and pretty expensive. Our 200km journey today cost €21! Aside from the savings by staying off the motorways, the views on the smaller roads are far nicer as you pass through little villages and towns.
Once settled into our campground, there was just enough time to head into town for one last look around and dinner down at Praca do Comercio. This was a great way to end our time in Portugal.
Tomorrow morning, it's back to London
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