Coimbra and a Special Lunch

The drive from Nazare to our next destination in the Douro Valley was about three hours. Along the way we stopped in the university town of Coimbra and for a fantastic lunch of crispy pig.

Coimbra is a beautiful town that sits on a hill on the Mondego River. We were there on a beautiful day.

Although the place where Coimbra is has been settled sinced the Roman era, it is best known as the home of the oldest university in Portugal (technically started in Lisbon in 1290, but moved to Coimbra in 1308). After having coffee and a traditional pastel de nata at a cool old cafe, we wandered uphill through the town toward the university. Along the way, we saw a student in the traditional university cape, which supposedly inspired JK Rowling to use such capes for the students at Hogwarts (it is true that Rowling wrote some of Harry Potter in Portugal).

The main university square is quite impressive, and the entrance included information about student resistance to the Salazar dictatorship, which added to the knowledge we began to acquire at the Resistance Museum in Peniche. As you can imagine, the University was a center of protest from early in the dictatorship as students resisted moves to undermine faculty and student control of academics.  

Coimbra is a city of many churches. This was originally the Jesuit Church of the University, but later the bishopric seat was transfered here from the city's old Romanesque cathedral. So, it is now know as the "New" Cathedral even though it became the cathedral in 1772.

We did not actually spend any time touring the many churches of Coimbra, because they all charged entrance fees, which is something we don't really believe in. We've seen too many churches during our travels and honestly can't remember most of them distinctly anyways (especially the insides). As a result, we had time to get lunch at a restaurant recommended by our friends at Lisbon Winery: O Rei Dos Leitoes. 

O Rei Dos Leitoes is known for its crispy pork, so of course we had to order that, and it came with a (small) salad, and really delicious homemade potato chips. Generally, we do not get excited about potato chips, but these were fantastic, and were even served warm.

The restaurant's wine list was like a telephone book. Fortunately, Adriana at Lisbon Winery had recommended a bottle of sparkling wine to match with the pork. It was fantastic.

After lunch, I somehow managed to drive the last hour or so to our friends' finca in the Douro Valley. More on our adventures there soon.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana