Coimbra - day two

Today has been a delightfully relaxed day mooching around Coimbra. We slept in until eight and then clambered down the narrow stair well to the little breakfast room in our pension - like most buildings in the old city it is more vertical than horizontal. 

The two dutch women who run this place are delightful and friendly. They have even offered to pack us a breakfast for tomorrow because we will be leaving so early. Time and time again we have been the recipients of hospitality in this wonderful country. We decided on a blue theme today!

And on the mantle piece of our little breakfast window... The whole place is painted and decorated like an Alice in Wonderland house.

After breakfast, we wandered up to the palace-turned-university on top of the hill, in order to visit the famous library. 

Before going inside we climbed up to the parapet for some stunning views of the city.

This is the dome of the old cathedral.

An enticing glimpse of the cathedral cloister.

The dome, from street level this time.

And a smaller one below it.

And here's the new cathedral, less than a hundred metres from the old one. We went in a little later just in time for the sung psalm in the middle of mass - it was beautiful and the service was well attended.

From a distance or close up, the skyline of Coimbra is amazing...

As is the great hall in the Universidade de Coimbra. The university was founded on 1 March 1290, and for three centuries the location of the General Studies alternated between Lisbon and Coimbra. Finally in 1537, the University settled permanently in Coimbra. 

Nothing quite like this at UC or even ANU. 

Students are still required to defend their thesis in these chairs. If they pass, they receive their degree here too.

We were not allowed to take photos in the actual library (above) but just for the record it was stunning, full of old books held in the most ornate shelves, guilded against multi-coloured backgrounds (green or red and gold, etc). Down below there is an academic prison for students who have done misdemeanours (unspecified) - perhaps failing to submit the annual PhD progress report or pay their student union fees!! It was in use until 1832. Since then, apparently, discipline has gone out the window (luckily for people like me).

A building down on the flat in a very ordinary part of town.

This busker has been playing here every day since we arrived. I'd love to be able to play like he does. Mind you, he was almost drowned out at times by the piano accordion at the bottom of the steps. C'est la vie...

It was lovely to have a restful afternoon and a bit of a snooze, and to feel the weariness from the past week of walking gradually work its way through our bodies. Like much that happens on the Camino, a lot goes on beneath conscious awareness but it felt important to take this little pause before we move into the next stage. We sense there might be some work of integration still to do, but a quiet space has been helpful now.

So, tomorrow we walk on, following in the footsteps of Ilja and those who left this morning. It was another hot day so we hope they went well. Geoff is chaffing at the bit to be off. We are too, more or less, and the generosity of our hosts here in preparing an early breakfast for us before we leave will surely help with energy and inspiration!!

Bom caminho,

Neil and Sarah