Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit

Here’s what happened our last two days in Porto! Yesterday we did something very fun… we took a surfing lesson! We got to go surf in the Atlantic Ocean. We booked a group lesson through our hostel and ended up with a private lesson, just the two of us. Our instructor was lots of fun, he really knew what he was doing… although his driving was questionable to say the least. Getting ready to surf Happy in the Atlantic Ocean! We went to a beach in the smaller city of Matosinhos to surf. This town is still in the district of Porto and has many fancy restaurants and great beaches. Surfing was a blast, we both had a lot of fun catching waves and falling over. It was definitely much warmer than surfing in the Pacific off Tofino! The beach where we surfed We had a relaxing afternoon, and then went out for a walk in the evening to Gaia city. As I mentioned before, Gaia is just across the river from Porto, so it has beautiful views of the city. We also accidentally came across about four markets ...

 Today was our first full day in the city of Porto! The name Portugal actually originates from the name of this city. We arrived here yesterday afternoon after a pretty miserable travel day, but the taste of port wine helped us forget about late busses, lost things, and exorbitant ATM fees. Port wine originates in Porto, but was actually invented by the British as a way to help wine survive the journey from Portugal to England. This fortified wine comes in several varieties. The main two are “Ruby” and “Tawny”. Ruby is generally more fruity and has a more vibrant colour, whereas tawny is aged in oak barrels and is more nutty and honey tasting. We both enjoyed the tawny more than the ruby. Sampling white, ruby, tawny, and reserve port wines This morning we took a “free” walking tour through the old city of Porto. Our guide told us many interesting tidbits about Portuguese history and society.  The city has many beautiful buildings, but also lots of construction everywhere ...

 With travelling for four months, I’ve now realized that our trip isn’t only a vacation, it also has to become a lifestyle. It’s just not sustainable to sightsee everyday for nine hours and eat out every meal… and we still have real life responsibilities to attend to. In that spirit, this morning we spent an hour or so in a lovely Coimbra café, Nau Coffee, working on job applications and school documents. To power us, I had a cappuccino, Liam a chai latte, and we had a late pastel de nata between us. A nice working set up After our morning working session, we spent the afternoon exploring the city some more. We first visited some Coimbra University buildings. This university is the oldest in Portugal and has beautiful grounds spread throughout the city. One of the oldest university buildings In the university square Walking down the campus stairs The Coimbra University Faculty of Medicine When exploring, we came across a beautiful house just outside the university gardens. We paid ...

Today we travelled from Lisbon to Coimbra! Coimbra is known as the “Oxford” of Portugal as it has the oldest University in the whole country, dating back to 1537. After some no-show buses, we eventually made to our hostel which is right in the centre of Coimbra, next to the Sé Velha (or “the Old Cathedral”). This lovely church dates back to the year 1146 and has beautiful azulejos decorating the inside.  Sé Velha Walking through the church courtyard Beautiful azulejos on the walls  More lovely decorations We then wandered to the San Sebastián Aqueduct and to the Coimbra University Botanical Gardens. Walking past the aqueduct Entering into the botanical gardens The gardens were absolutely stunning! Their main purpose is to serve the student population and supplement in the learning of biology and botany. There are various plaques throughout providing information and interesting facts about the plants and their history in the garden.  Little paths through the garden For ins...