Off to a Flying Start

31.10.16: Portuguese Wine, Food, Music and Culture
After a copious buffet breakfast Margaret negotiated the car out of the garage which had steep slopes and tight corners. A helpful motorist called assistance for us bringing a smiling attendant arrived to let us out as we'd waited too long to go out and the barrier had come back down again . And that's how it was throughout the holiday; people were extremely kind and patient. Sad, isn't it when something like that is worth remarking on?
Margaret and I went off to visit the Roman ruins at Conimbriga about 30 minutes away. Fabulous as can be seen from the photos on Tripadvisor https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1190898-d911530-Reviews-Museu_Monografico_de_Conimbriga-Condeixa_a_Nova_Coimbra_District_Central_Portugal.html 
It took us ages to find the mosaic of a rather handsome young man that featured in my guide book as it was much smaller than we'd anticipated. Sadly we have no idea who he was. Maybe no one does as I haven't been able to find a reference on the internet; maybe he was neither a god nor a real person; just a figment of the craftsman's imagination.
It was warm and sunny, so at the end of our explorations on the site and in the museum, we settled down on the terrace of the café and had a vinho verde and nuts.

Once the car was back in the garage we gave lunch a miss in favour of another vinho verde at which point we tried to catch up with Nicole who had decided to explore the town instead of the ruins. She was our guide for what was left of the afternoon climbing up through the old town to the university area. Needless to say there was lots that we didn't see, so another trip at some point would be good. http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/coimbra-p-coim-coim.htm
We managed to catch the tail end of the sunset and great views from the terrace of a smart wine bar that Nicole had spied from down by the river and funnily enough, my inner radar found it despite the maze of narrow streets more easily than the mosaic . Yet another vinho was in order, Nicole had lemonade. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g189143-d8547128-Reviews-Passaporte-Coimbra_Coimbra_District_Central_Portugal.html
Came back down to get our cardis and found a bite to eat near our hotel. It was a simple place but Margaret and I who were starving by now, had a very tasty dish of veal in a spicy sauce. Nicole ate the smallest of salads having had a good lunch.
Next came our search for a bar where fado is sung. Coimbra is the only place in Portugal where men sing fado and a man toting for business for his restaurant took us to a great wee bar called the "Diligencia". We had to wait about an hour but the barman didn't hassle us to buy more than the one drink that we made last. Between us we tried two local liquers; ginjina (a cherry brandy) and Beirão (made with herbs and seeds) and this time Nicole joined us. Hope you enjoy this You Tube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XLCGQqnns
There was a great ambiance with local folk arriving to sing when the resident singer took a break; whats more one of them was a woman!
Weather:
27°, whispy high cloud

30.10.16: Taking to the Skies

Still woke at the normal time so there was no benefit of an extra hour of sleep. The day started cool enough but the drive over to Carcassonne airport for our flight to Porto was in glorious autumn sunshine. The vines looked lovely and the idea of going on holiday, actually took root. Although I've had trips away to visit family and friends, it's over 3 years since I've been a tourist and the only time I was in Portugal was in 1985 when an ex and I went with Suzanne and Eddie on their honeymoon! This time I was off with Margaret (English) and Nicole (French).
We didn't have anywhere in mind for lunch and we took what we could find ending up in a village bar on past the airport serving simple fare. Still, the patron was a friendly type and the food was fine. The flight went without a problem and we arrived a little in advance which was just as well as we found ourselves heading to Coimbra, our first stop with the GPS set (unbeknown to us), to avoid motorways. The 100 miles seemed to take forever so it was dark when we arrived. Still, we found our hotel, set between the river and the old town, easily enough and it didn't take long for us to drop off our bags and head for a much appreciated glass of "vinho verde". http://www.hoteloslo-coimbra.pt/en/
Wandered around the through the narrow streets of the old town where we spied lots of boutiques and cake shops. Finally settled on one called "Brasileira" that had a restaurant upstairs. Unsurprisingly, the charming waitress who spoke excellent English, was from Brasil. Margaret and I settled on omelette and chips, Nicole on a salad; Margaret and I went for more vinho verde, Nicole for water which set the pattern more or less for the rest of the trip. We were all impressed with the linen serviettes which not only had the restaurant's name on them but a buttonhole in one corner to attach them to a garmet. Now, that's what I call a good idea; something like that would have saved Christian a number of spoilt shirts!   https://www.facebook.com/CafeaBrasileiraCoimbra/photos/?ref=page_internal 
Weather:
23° at 5pm in Portugal, sun