Porto

Really sweet soccer hooligans! S and I stumbled on to the celebratory parade for the Porto soccer team after they won the national soccer tournament. A totally non-violent celebration of the city's success, it was amazing!

Porto

Visit to Grahams Port wine lodge, yum

Porto, very beautiful, very much under construction

Douro River and Porto

Day 9, Coimbra

We arrived in the rain, with luggage to our hill-top-hotel last night in the old part of Coimbra and snagged the last room at the inn. The pigeons' room at Casa Pombal in Coimbra, I would have been happy to have never known that this was the room's official name... 

Joanina Library at Coimbra University

Visited the Joanina Library at the University of Coimbra this morning, their rare books department has a prison in the basement...  For the naughty patrons. 

Classroom at Coimbra University, Law Faculty. Seriously.

Tiles and general amazingness... Law Faculty.

Coimbra

Coimbra from the Mondego River

We've missed the Queima das Fitas, the Burning of the ribbons, by one day. It's the graduation celebration for the students at the University of Coimbra, consisting of drunken parades and lots of traditional garb. The students here wear black capes while at the university, it's a bit like Hogwarts. It would have been fun to see, but 20,000 students drinking and catching their parade floats on fire (as happens every year) may have been a little scary. 

The clouds cleared and we spent the rest of the day walking up and down the hills of Coimbra and the Mondego River. 

Day 5, Burgau, Lagos, Sagres - the end of the world

We headed out to our first big market yesterday! The monthly market in Lagos was mostly fruit and veg, though some people were selling everything from fig cakes (a new favorite) to live bunnies. We stocked up for a bus ride to what used to be thought of as the end of the known world. Sagres and the Fortaleza de Baleeira was the location of Henry the Navigator's school, Columbus and Vasco de Gama studied here before they set off on their adventures. We thought it would be a good place to go before we head out on our adventures on Monday.

In Lagos the indoor market has a huge fish area, many of the fishies fell into the 'no-clue-what-that-is' category.

Unknown fishies

The cliffs in Sagres are amazing, they rise straight up out of the ocean, fishermen with surf casting poles cling to the top, it takes them several minutes to reel their catches up from the water. This is the South-Eastern most point of Europe.

View from the Navigation school out over the Atlantic

Fishing at the foot of the cliff

Day 3, Burgau-Salema

We decided to set off on a hike today, there are paths between Burgau and the villages along the coast. We walked to Salema, which is to the West. We stopped and hid from the rain in an old fort, and enjoyed the wild thyme and rosemary which grow in the bushes here. It smells amazing!! Wine and favas for dinner! Favas were from an impromptu market which springs up every morning at the bus stop around the corner from our apartment.

Day 1, Lisbon-Tunes-Burgau

Lots of sleeping on public transport today! Somehow we didn't miss the stop in Tunes! From what we did see the, train ride from Lisbon to Tunes was beautiful, cork trees, roman aqueducts, the Tagus and poppy fields!

In the South we traveled through lemon, clementine and orange groves. The best part though was that it smells like the sea :)

Day -1, Toronto

We have made it to Toronto's Pearson airport after a great day with the Olivers!! Thanks A&L, for a great tour, tasty muffins and the ride to the airport! It was amazing to catch up with you before our trip!

Glad to have finally been to Toronto!

Off to Lisbon!