24 hours in Coimbra

Early this morning, it was time to leave Faro and head up north to Coimbra. It was great to be able to get on the Alfa high speed train, but it left at 7 am. Since I only have one night in Coimbra, I wanted to get there early and make the best of it. The high speed train was pretty cool. It got up to 220 kmph, which my my calculations is about 143 mph, I think. It didn't even seem like it was going that fast, but it lists the train speed in the front of the car. There was service and wifi on the train. I ended up getting a pretty great hot breakfast for 6 Euros - including Orange Juice and hot tea. I also ordered a water in all Portuguese. It was my very first full interaction in all Portuguese on this trip. The wifi was great to have. It tended top be spotty, but it was really nice to have on a nearly 5 hour journey.

Once I got to the train station, that's where my real journey started. Since I was heading to Porto the next day, I had to get a reservation on the train. When I arrived in Coimbra, I went to the ticket counter and asked to get on the train tomorrow. It was then that I realized the ticket agent didn't speak a lick of English. I asked if any of his colleagues did. Nope. OK, then. I'll speak all Portuguese then. I couldn't remember how to say 32 to ask for my 1:32 pm train, so I pulled up the schedule on my phone, said the date (which he still didn't get and I had to write it on my Eurail pass) and then went through the rest of the conversation in my limited Portuguese. I had a strong feeling that they probably don't get many English speaking visitors and I might have to be speaking a lot of Portuguese here. 

I made it to my hostel a bit later after a very big hike up many stairs and cobblestone ramps. What is with the cobblestone streets and these towns built on hills? My calves had just stopped hurting 3 days after Sintra and this just killed them all over again. I'm pretty sure I will have legs of steel after this trip. The hostel was located next to a beautiful Moorish-like Cathedral called Se Velha in this cobblestone square. It was nice to get checked in and get back out on the town with my limited time. 

I immediately went to find a place to eat. After walking through the University of Coimbra and down the road on the other side, I found a cute little place with tables outside. Our entire interaction from the time I ordered until I asked for the bill and paid was in 100% Portuguese. I was very proud of myself. I think I'm definitely getting more bold and confident in my Portuguese speaking. However, I have noticed that if people start off a conversation with me in English, it's been difficult to go back to speaking any Portuguese - even saying thank you. They almost seem to set the precedent that this will be a conversation in English and that's that. 

After lunch, I made my way back towards the University - first stopping at the botanical gardens. What a beautiful place that was. It reminded me a lot of the Secret Garden with all of the old stone structures and steel gates with plants growing all around them. It was so quiet in there also. I sat for a little bit and just listened to the birds chirping all around and nothing else. It was quite peaceful and I loved every second of it.

Next stop was the prestigious University of Coimbra. Think of it like the Harvard of Yale of Portugal. It sits atop a hill and overlooks all of the city of Coimbra. I can't imagine being a student and climbing that hill everyday! But what an amazing university. This location has been going since the 1500s, when it moved up from Lisbon. The students also wear the traditional uniform with a black cape. School is out for summer, so the only students I saw were those leading tours.The university grounds are just fantastic. There is one particular square that was the original part of the university and where all the students used to study. One of the buildings has a grand staircase with beautiful decorative iron railings. In between buildings is a clock tower that still has working bells. There is also a gorgeous cathedral right on the campus.

Back at the hostel, I had booked a Fado performance for later in the evening and I wanted to eat nearby. In my Lonely Planet guidebook, a restaurant in the northern part of the city was recommended for good food and great location. They weren't kidding! It was right next to a beautiful structure that had a small fountain in the middle surrounded by 4 towers with all the water cascading into large pools on either side of each tower. It was definitely not a bad view for dinner. And the dinner was great too - roasted duck and rice.

Later in the evening, it was finally time for the Fado performance. I showed up early and was the first one there, so I got a great table in the front. Apparently with the ticket I bought at the hostel, I got one drink for free. The really nice server recommended a couple of great wines to choose from. They weren't even on the menu! But they opened the bottle for me. I chose the red wine from the Douro Valley - a popular wine making area just east of Porto. When I was all set with my wine, the performance started. Wow. Absolutely incredible. Fado is definitely this hauntingly beautiful music that can just captivate you in an instant. There are different ways to do Fado - some have instruments and/or singing. This performance had a Fado guitarist, bass guitarist and a singer. In the background, they showed old images of students at Coimbra. Fado has been very popular with students for many years. Overall, I loved this performance and couldn't stop smiling the whole time. It was really nice to see something that is so popular and unique to Portugal.