The Bearded Globetrotter

We had a full day today in Coimbra, former capital of Portugal (and according to the locals inside joke, still the capital!)

We walked through the old town a bit and got a lot of information from our guide on the history of Portugal and the city, on our way to our first stop – Fado.

Fado is a musical style involving a 12 string guitar and classical guitar being played while typically a ballad or serenade is sung. It was actually pretty good, much more enjoyable than I expected.

We continued to walk and learn through the old quarter, up the hill (and I mean a HILLS) to the Coimbra university. It’s a UNESCO site and one of the oldest universities in Europe.

What went up – the came down, for lunch! Great meal at a cod-specialty restaurant where we had… cod of course 🙂

We had previously booked tickets to see the university library, which was after lunch and BACK UP THE HILL – but this time wisdom prevailed and we took a cab up 😂😂

The library was stunning – you couldn’t take pictures, so I give you instead, googles best effort at the Coimbra Baroque Library. they don’t do it justice, but give an idea.

We also checked out a chapel on the grounds, Botanical garden, and the mysterious cabinet of curiosities – a very weird and neat capper to a good day in Coimbra 🙂