Coimbra and Porto

Coimbra has been amazing and I'm sad to leave already. Since my train didn't leave until about 1:30 pm, I had some extra time to spend in Coimbra in the morning. After breakfast, I went down to the river and walked along the waterfront for a bit. I'm glad I crossed over to the other side of the river. What a fantastic view of this hilly city. Of course, I couldn't resist walking up into the heart of it again. The cathedral, Se Velha, opened up at 10, so I made my way up there for a tour. The guy at the front was so excited to have an American visit that he just couldn't stop talking and telling me all about the cathedral and what it meant to the city. The construction was financed by the King of Portugal out of his personal account in the 12th century. Portugal was actually recognized as a country by the Pope as a result of the cathedral being constructed. After the tour, he asked me what my true feeling was of this place. I realize that English is not his first language, but what a strange question! I said it was beautiful and I loved the Gothic style of the cloister. There wasn't much else to say. It is definitely worth seeing, but it is just another cathedral - maybe only slightly different than others in Europe due to the hand painted tiles lining the walls. As I left, I tripped on the threshold and fell. This would not be shocking to anyone who knows me. The poor guy came running out of the church to check on me. He told me I should come back inside and sit for a little while. Bless his heart. I was already standing and feeling pretty OK, though. Maybe just a little embarrassed after tripping in front of everyone in the square.

It was finally time to leave Coimbra and start the next part of my journey. I got on the train to Porto that seemed way to short compared to the rest of my trips. It was only and hour and 15 minutes between the cities, not including the short 4 minute rides to get to the correct station at each city. I was hoping to take a quick nap and got about 20 minutes in.

I arrived at Sao Bento station in Porto a little before 3 pm. What a beautiful station - definitely the nicest that I have seen since I've been here. The architecture of the station is just incredible. I was so rushed to get to my hostel, I really didn't get a chance to take it all in like I wanted to. I will go to the station a little earlier on the day I leave to get a better look.

It became clear very quickly that Porto was another city that would require a lot of walking and climbing. As soon as I left the station, I was hiking up to the hostel. Thankfully, it wasn't very far at all. My bag is getting heavier as I buy more souvenirs (plus olive oil and Port wine). After I checked in to my awesome, wine-themed hostel, I walked down to the river to see if I could reserve a scooter for tomorrow. I made it to the shop after taking a few wrong turns. Unfortunately, they don't do half day rentals as advertised on the website. But the full day rental was only 8 Euros more than the half day anyway, so I decided to still reserve one. At 28 Euros, it's a little on the spendy side, but I figured it was very worth doing as I have never ridden a scooter before. So, I have it all reserved for tomorrow. I'll pick it up when they open at 10 am and then return it just before they close at 7 pm. I can't really complain about 9 hours with a scooter.

I kept walking from the shop and went down the waterfront where I had purchased a river cruise for 10 Euros. All the river cruises go cross under the 6 bridges of Porto. It was actually a very nice cruise and the sights were good to see.

When I got off, though, I saw a sign for a cruise that had Port tasting included at the tasting shops. Tastings are generally at least 2.50 Euros and up, so that's a great deal for 10 Euros. I'm not sure exactly what that includes, but it must be some kind of tasting for them to put that. Oh well. I still made my way to the tasting shops (most of which were closed at just before 7 pm when I was going). I did find one open and tried a couple of tastes there. The "tastes" are very different than American standards. We would consider that an ounce. They consider it half of a small glass. That made the price a little bit better.

At the tasting shop, a man came up to me and asked what I thought of the 2 different Ports since he only had one. It turned out that he was a ski instructor at Whistler in BC, Canada. We ended up having a great time talking and walked back up the treacherous hills together. Like my roommate in the hostel, he was doing the Camino de Santiago trail. He had started in Spain and walked his way here. I had never heard of this, but by the end of the night, had met 4 people in town who were doing the trail! It is called the Way of St James and is a pilgrimage trail that is all walking. The walkers usually end up staying in hostels are are of all ages. They finish in the city of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. There are several routes and each of these people I have met all seem to be on different ones. They say it's a journey of the soul. The Australian woman I met, whose daughter is only a few years younger than me, describes it as a soul-searching journey. I'm not sure I could walk for 800 miles over 6 weeks or so, but I would definitely like to read more about it.

This is Susanna, from Brisbane, Australia:

My new Australian friend and I had a fantastic time talking in the hostel this evening. We talked all about our 2 countries, the importance of travel, and this Camino trail. I got to know some other people in the hostel too. An older Canadian man, who is twice my age, is also doing the trail. We spoke of our hometowns a lot. He said he had been to Portland and it was a beautiful place. The kid next to him from Quebec said he had seen "Portlandia" and wondered if it was really like that there. Yes, I told him, it is pretty accurate for some people in the city. They are weird and very proud of this fact.

It's been a fun day in both cities. I have now tried to 5 Port wine tasting at the hostel and had a Pink Lady cocktail (pink port and tonic). I think it is time for bed so I can get up for my big day on a scooter tomorrow.