KNACKERED BUT HAPPY

This 3 week trip covered about 1,800 km. Click on this link to see the map.

The journey home kept me on the move for about 13 hours. Maybe it was a wrong choice to get a flight from Lisbon, via Budapest, to Prague but it was a very good price. The trip has been a very enjoyable one considering the lousy weather for the first 10 days. It ended with days of sunshine and that's what counts. The last day was spent in Lisbon, one of my favourite places to be, and the hostel, Be My Guest, made it a perfect end of the trip.

Cascais. Sand castle maker from Plzen!!!!!

I have just received a 70th birthday card for that swiftly approaching day which reminded me of the last day in Lisbon. Not wanting to spend the day in the city, I decided to head out to Cascais (by the sea) once again. 
Being over that age I have made a point of asking for reductions. Got a train ticket from Coimbra to Lisbon, half price, for 7 euros, and just over 2 euros for a return to Cascais. Spurred on by this wonderful perk I decided to dash back to Lisbon and get the train to Sintra, again at a bargain price. But not so lucky with Sintra palace, which I didn't enter and probably never will. 

The Convention of Sintra, signed in Sintra in 1808, goes down in British history as one of those strangely English farces. A bunch of geriatric senile British commanders allowed Napoleon's defeated army to return to France complete with all their weapons and war booty, by courtesy of the British Navy. 

And the much superior Seville Alcazar (palace/castle) is free for me!!!!

The Lisbon police were having a practice for some sort of celebration and I wondered how many there were left in the city. 





Been to Sintra a few times before. Its always a feast for the eyes with the old town and the Moorish castle standing high above on the hill. Somehow, I have always ended up in a small out of the way cafe for a dinner. You get a friendly service from the ladies who work there. The cafe, 'a Pendoa', is down the steep narrow street beside the white painted English phone box.

  
That's it. The end of another trip. Next planned trip to Norway in June but there are a lot of days till then.

Leaving Sintra again

FROM COIMBRA BACK TO LISBON

It was a bit too sunny and warm in Coimbra to spend any time doing this blog. Also the Grande Hostel de Coimbra is near the top of my list hostels. Not only that its near the top of a hill with grand views of Coimbra.
This is an old well established place which students at the university often use as a temporary base before finding more affordable accommodation.






My one and only full day there was taken up by wandering up through the park at the top of Placa de Republica which took me up to the same level as the University building, the highest point in the city.

Gate to the park

As far as the aqueduct goes, it has been a bit confusing bit I am sure I will get there in the end. I think it has to be Roman, like in Segovia, Spain. Once risen above the this area, the Coimbra University monumental buildings begin.

The guilded library is inside this building and the university is one of the oldest in Europe, founded in 1290. No photos allowed inside the library but managed a sneaky picture in the graduation hall nearby.

And then the view from the university.

Coimbra has a long history and was the capital of Portugal in the middle ages. The long established university has also given the city a high status in Portugal. 





Most people know something about Lisbon, Porto or the Algarve, but this gem only 200 km north of the capital seems to be left out of most itineraries. It definitely has a lot going for it and well worth visiting. 


Anyway, finally, breakfast before I left for Lisbon.

A coffee and a very tasty pastel de natas. Deeeeelishus

AVEIRO AND COSTA NOVA

The wet Porto experience came to an end yesterday when I took the train down to Aveiro. 

The night before, dodging the showers, I managed to get some pictures of night time Porto, but my heart wasn't in it. Just longing for a day when I didn't have to dry out.


Aveiro didn't look very promising and, yes, it started to rain almost as soon as I got there. 



But Wednesday morning dawned a little cloudy and went progressively from worse to better. Aveiro has a happy sort of atmosphere with some strikingly unusual architecture. Here's the Aveiro Rossio Hostel which is one of the best I have found in my travels. 

Then there are some of the scenes around this town, often referred to as the Venice of Portugal.

There is a local bus service from near this canal that goes down to a little cheerful colourful place called Costa Nova. Its on a spit of sand, on one side lies the Atlantic and on the other is a salt water lagoon where shellfish collectors go out at low tide. 






During the summer Costa Nova is crowded with holiday makers but today, even though the sun was shining, I felt like I was the only visitor. Many houses are extraordinarily colourful like a stereotype seaside town.

 


The old and the newer blend in together making it a fascinating place to see. 















On the Atlantic side its a completely different place. The severe previous winter gales have thrown up tons of sand, covering many of the board walks that traverse the dunes.

I SAW THE SUN TODAY

From the start it looked like being a much more pleasant day. Apart from a few normal showers, the sun burst through after so many days hardly seeing it. 

Porto is, weather permitting, one of the most photogenic places. The Port wine houses on the south side of the river are numerous, with all the famous names such as Sandeman or Taylors clearly visible from the city, north side of the city. Without actually doing a tour, the entrance hall to the Ferreira house has an aroma of that traditional product and wooden vats well big enough to drown in. What a way to go! Must get some port, perhaps duty free and a bit less expensive than these bottles.

The views are always great here.

And the seagulls very big and very brave.

This one is just turning into an adult

WEATHER....DO YOUR WORST

Not very much to report for the past few days except being hit by lousy weather. Yesterday, the bus brought me here to Porto, via Aveiro, from Salamanca through torrential rain over the central highlands of Portugal. Stopped at several places along the way including this service station where prices were not sky high.




It wasn't rain that made my last day in Saramanca a difficult one but it was a bitterly cold wind that drove me back to the hostel much sooner than I would have liked. Even so I got some pictures down by the river and the long Roman bridge that crosses it. 

And also, as have mentioned before, the storks love it here.

But as far as memories of Saramanca go, the monumental structures are impressive but other experiences such as the hostel and the many things that irritated me about it, have left me feeling very unimpressed in general. I think this picture of the hostel says it all. Not exactly oozing old worldly charm, is it.  










When I arrived in Porto yesterday evening, the rain was having a rest which made it possible to find an eating place. Tapas, the bits and pieces that are so popular here, always seem to turn out more expensive than you plan for. But I was hungry so it had to be. Obviously the rain returned with a vengeance today.



Got exceedingly wet very quickly and not wanting spend the day in the hostel I decided on a train trip to Braga and back. For about 7 euro got myself two and a half hours in a comfortable warm place to dry out in. 

SALAMANCA IN STYLE

Its always a wrench to leave for another place. Five days in Chueca, Madrid, with some great company made me feel sad to be leaving. However, once I had got a ticket and found the bus it all became easier . The avanza bus ticket costs about 20 euro and with 25% off for oldies it became a very reasonable price. But the bus was real luxury with only 3 seats across with padded simulated leather that would not have looked out of place in an upmarket car. 


The bus pulled into a rather shabby old bus station, unlike the new modern ones I'd got used to in Madrid. Out on the street I was once again frustrated by misinformation as I tried to get a bus to the hostel. Information on the web site said No 4 bus, and in reality it was No 13 I needed. Not speaking the language makes problems like this infinitely worse. ROUTE



After an hour of sleep headed out into the old city which does seem to have a few too many cathedrals for a city of this size. Saw several storks already in residence on their twiggy makeshift nests. Perhaps the towers and spires appeal to them.

FREEZING IN SEGOVIA

Snow covered peaks are visible from Madrid but I didn't expect to be amongst them. Segovia lies just on the other side of those wintry peaks and has a weather to match.

Getting there is pretty straight forward with a bus from Principe Pio bus station, which is on the metro system, and costs 15 euros return. The train is probably more expensive and also the train station is some distance from the old centre of Segovia, unlike the bus station which is less than 10 min walk from the Roman aqueduct.  

An impressive structure indeed considering how long ago it was built. Segovia is small so the walk past the cathedral to the castle, or Alcazar, takes little time through some typical narrow Spanish streets.

It is said that Walt Disney got the idea of the castle for Disney Land from here. It does have a similarity from certain angles. Its 5 euros entrance and 2 more to go up the tower but I paid 3 euro reduced rate and the tower didn't really appeal being so cold. Segovia is just below the snow line looking at the nearby hills behind the aqueduct above. 

Excellent views from the castle windows and some pretty fancy ceilings inside. Its had a long and complicated history starting with the Romans, then the Arabs and then to the Royalty of Spain. It was even a prison and a military school for periods of time. Of course rather a lot of renovation took place after all that. Cant imagine a prison looking like this.  

A view from the Alcazar

Before I set off for Segovia the guy at the hostel reception suggested I try the suckling pig that Segovia is famous for. The prices here are all way up and this delicacy was sure to be an experience to avoid, unless I wanted to spend the next 4 days food budget on one meal. 

A piglet looking somewhat deflated, or is doing the breast stroke?

A coffee shop to warm up in.

 

The snow on the return to warmer Madrid and then moving onto Salamanca tomorrow morning.