We made a stop at Aveiro, considered the Venice of Portugal. It was once just a little town that used their traditional Monliceiro boats to transport the salt and seaweed. Salt prices are such today that the town could no longer sustain its economy. So, they turned to tourism. The boats are colorful, and the canals take you on a tour around the town filled with a number of art deco buildings. It was a nice little place to spend half a day.
Bart and Lisa 
The Ribbon Bridges 
The Naughty Panel
We also heard about Costa Nova, a nearby beach town famous for its striped houses. So, we took a drive and got some more beachy views of the Atlantic and all those striped houses. What was interesting is that some of the houses have painted stripes and some use tile to create their stripes.
Finally made our way to Coimbra. The town famous for having the oldest university in Portugal. The university students in Portugal must wear the capa e batine (cape like uniform) to attend many of the popular academic events. We did see some students out and about in capes as there was a welcome back to class festival going on when we were there. It really does remind you of the Hogwarts kids from Harry Potter.
This is a photo from Lisbon, didn’t get one of the students we saw in Coimbra.
The location of the apartment was probably the farthest away from the city center that we had thus far. Plus, the temps in Coimbra were in the low to mid 90’s. Really hot for this region at this time of year. We managed to visit the vast majority of sites in the historic center. We tried to follow a route that started in one of the higher points in the city and work our way down. That worked to some degree, but it was still a lot of ups and downs. We all went back, and we’re done for the day having been done in by the heat.
Birthplace of Fado (Portuguese Folk Music) 
On to the Batalha to visit the Monastery. It is Mosteiro da Batalha. Built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. The building started in 1386 and ended in 1517 and was never finished. It is one of the most beautiful monasteries to visit in Portugal.
King & Queen 
It was then on to Nazare. While we had been enjoying the little to no road traffic on a Sunday afternoon. It was a different scene in the beach town of Nazare. Finding parking was incredibly difficult. Our accommodations were in a great location just steps from the beach, but with that comes the usual caveat there is also a lot of steps and a lot of noise in these prime locations. Nazare is famous in the surfing community as having the largest waves in the world. They didn’t set any records the days we were there, but it was a red flag day. Red flag means high risk and dangerous conditions. It was a nice beach day otherwise. We just kicked back in the sand for a couple of hours.
he’s done walking 
old Portuguese fishing boats 
Drying Octopus 
The funicular to take you up the cliff was out of commission as they are trying to stabilize the hillside above. So, it was only Larry and I that chose to hike the trail up and see what was up there. The views were great, and the other side is where most of the surfers gather to catch their waves.
A Little Chapel 
the inside 
Home of the Biggest Waves 
The Funicular 
Larry enjoying the swing. 
Surfer catching a wave
Our last night in Nazare
With our beach time up we drove on and spent a couple hours in Obidos. It’s a medieval walled village. I did a little wall walking. We explored the castle a little. The castle is currently a hotel, and some areas are restricted to hotel guests only. The main drag has many little shops and restaurants. The town was lively and full of tourists. We did manage to try ginja, which is a cherry liqueur. Most often it is served in a small chocolate cup. I enjoyed this one.
Hello down there
Former Church 
Turned into a bookstore 
Wall walking 
Beautiful tile at gate entrance 
Dad telling his son, this is what happens when you’re bad.