North by Northeast

 Back home and realize I never really wrapped up the trip, so..... our last full day in Portugal was spent exploring the oldest part of Coimba in and around the university. We were able to book a self-guided tour of the Biblioteca Joanine , the University's archival library built in the 1720s. It holds more than 50,000 volumes, many of which date from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, are original (or only) editions of the world's most important printed works, and are housed in this incredible Baroque building that looks more like a king's chamber than a library. You aren't allowed to take any photos in the main library- so click on the link above to see it. Perhaps the most incredible part of this library is the BATS that live there and are released every night to keep bugs and other paper and book eating insects our of the building. In order to preapre, every night the staff covers the ancient wooden tables and carpets in the library with special towels to prot...

We left Porto this morning in our rental car headed for the Douro Valley to see some of the majestic wine country views in the mountainous region east of the city. After winding our way up and down through tunnels and twisting back roads for about 1.5 hours, we got to a well-known park/look-out and were rewarded with the incredible sight of terraced vineyards leading from the banks of the Douro River right up the side of steep green mountains. We planned to spend the afternoon in Coimbra (where we are staying tonight), so it was just a short visit and no wine tastings for us. We turned south and made our way to the highway only to be stopped dead by a car accident that had closed down both sides of the road. Just under an hour later, traffic stated moving again and an engine light on our peppy brand new VW Polo came on confirming what we could already tell was a problem with the car's engine. We had no idea what was wrong but got off the highway as soon as we could and only then r...

Or arrival in Porto yesterday tested our driving and navigating skills on narrow, steep  one-way streets, but with Jen behind the wheel we managed to check in to our hotel and park the car in a tight underground garage! After a complimentary glass of port at our hotel, we enjoyed beers at one of the 10 or so bars we can see from the hotel! Port at the Hotel Infante Sagres... ...followed immediately by beer at Café Candelabro We had dinner at Churrasqueira Moura , a small traditional Portuguese restautant along a side street that was full of local diners when we passed by. We had some delicious potato and cod croquettes that are a thing in the touristy areas in Lisbon (with the addition of cheese), but these were homemade and mostly cod mashed with a little potato. I had the bacalhau especial do dia which was a big hunk of cod cut right across the backbone covered in pan fried onions and surrounded by little pillow potato chips. Jen had a thinly cut steak with a fried egg on top a...

This morning we said goodbye to our great Airbnb  apartment, picked up the rental car, this and headed north out of Lisbon. First stop was Nazaré about 90 minutes northwest of Lisbon on the Atlantic coast. Thanks to a recommendation, we stopped here to see the spot where the world's biggest waves (biggest surfed so far was 86 f-ing feet) have been recorded and where the best professional surfers come to try to ride those giant waves. The reason this spot is so special is because of a unique 16,000 foot deep (that's not a typo) underwater canyon that ends just offshore. When the swells come in from the open Atlantic and run up through the canyon, the waves pile up when the canyon ends and the water is pushed up onto the shallow ocean floor and giant waves break just offshore. The only way to surf here is to get towed in by jet ski, and its no joke. A pro surfer died here on Thursday- it was a big news story in Portugal. Winter is when the waves are at their biggest, and the for...

Our plan for today was to spend the whole day in Sintra, located about an hour west of Lisbon. The town is located at the edge of the Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais, a national park that covers about 55 square miles and extends over the Serra de Sintra Mountain Range to the west coast of Portugal. Many Lisbon visitors take day trips to Sintra to see the small historic town center and the half dozen famous cultural sites, some dating back to the 11th century, located in the hills around the town. We had an easy time getting to town, taking the metro to the train which drops you right in the middle of the historic town center. And guess what? The Sintra Cultural Landscape is yet another UNESCO World Heritage place!  The Castle of the Moors site waaaay up on top of the mountain   I read lots of tour sites and blogs to get tips about the best way to see Sintra, since most of the cultural sites are 20 to 50 minutes (walking) apart and ALL of them are on the slopes of or on top...

 The conference ended today so I had the whole afternoon to spend being a tourist. Unfortunately, that was the exact time that on and off drenching rain and wind came through the city.  It's become apparent that we just don't have enough time to see and do everything on our bucket lists, so we ignored the rain and headed back into the old town then boarded a train for Belém. This is another one one of Lisbon's historic neighborhoods and while still within the city, it's located about six miles west of the old city center along the Tagus River waterfront. Thankfully the rain more or less held off while we visited the Belém Tower built in the early sixteenth century right on the waterfront as a defensive work to protect Lisbon from vessels entering the harbor from the Tagus. We were big on UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Canadian Maritimes (see earlier posts for proof that we visited just about every one), and here we are at anther one in Portugal.     Teeny Jen in...