Day 9 Coimbra

Something I was really looking forward to was breakfast at our country manor, which promised to be one of the nicest around. It did not disappoint. We had lovely pastries and cheese and juice and coffee and kiwi, in a beautiful country room.

From there we drove to a small town to see a huge monastery, Alcobaca. Its spartan stone pillars and intricate marble carvings were something we don’t see every day.

We enjoyed our bit of sun as we continued to the small beach village of Nazare. We walked along the beach and sat at a cafe for a coffee before moving on.

Our next stop was another monastery, this time in Batalha. We saw similar architecture, but with the addition of gorgeous stained glass.

We tried to visit a small town called Lieres, but it was congested and we didn’t feel so safe, so we passed on to the even smaller town of Pombal, that sees very few tourists, and where we had a more traditional meal of Portuguese sausages.

From there we drove straight to our hotel in Coimbra, the University town, and were able to tour around and even peek into several classrooms before the deluge came in earnest.

After waiting out the rain in a series of doorways, even windows, and a few cafes, the pallor lifted and we tried a local pastry before heading across the river back to our hotel.

Whew. I have to admit, we’re exhausted. We have our night here in Coimbra, then one night in Porto, then we’re off into the Douro Valley to our country Casa and a half marathon along the river.

Here’s our room, a nice place to relax after a long journey.