We asked the hotel desk clerk to suggest a
place for lunch.  She immediately led us up
the lane to a small restaurant with four or
five tables, the Restauante Vieira.  Here we
enjoyed an excellent custom-prepared fish
lunch.   We later came back for other meals.
Lisbon to Coimbra
4 September 2009
After breakfast at the Residencial Florescente we checked out of the hotel and walked to
the nearby Restauradores station to take the Metro for the ten-minute ride to the Santa
Apolonia railway station.  We bought our train tickets to Coimbra and soon were on our way.  
Through the windows we saw mostly a scrubby countryside with occasional olive or cork
orchards, Once in a while we passed through small irrigated areas with intense farming of
fruits and vegetables.  Our train made three or four station stops during the two-hour trip
to Coimbra.
The hotel had been favorably reviewed in
our guidebooks.  After a quick look we
chose a small double room with attached
bath for 40 Euros ((US$60) per night
including breakfast.  The room was clean,  
quiet, and well maintained, up two or three
flights of stairs,   The hotel had an ideal
central location.  The owner/manager spoke
English very well and was one of the few
persons we met in Portugal with whom we
were able to carry on a real conversation.
In the afternoon we went to the nearby tourist information office to obtain a Coimbra city
map and also get the bus schedules to Fatima and Nazare, our next destinations.
We came to Coimbra mainly because we had heard that it was a very pleasant town.  It was
Portugal's medieval capital for more than a hundred years, has the country's oldest and
leading university with beautiful architecture and scenery.  With a population of about
100,000 it is Portugal's third largest city, yet has retained much of its historic architecture.
   It is in central Portugal with excellent train and bus connections.  The city is surrounded
by beautiful green hills and has the scenic Mondego River running through it.
The train arrived at the "Coimbra B" station located at the edge of town.  There we took  
connecting shuttle train to the "Coimbra A" station in the center of town.  From there it was
a five-minute walk to the small "Residencia Coimbra" hotel on a cobblestone pedestrian lane
about two yards (2 meters) wide,  Rua das Azeiteiras 55.
Rua Das Aceiteiras, location of "Residencia
Coimbra" and the "Restaurante Vieira".
Coimbra and the Mondego River.  The large building at the crest of the hill is part of Coimbra University.
Pedestrian bridge over the Mondego River
View of Coimbra from Coimbra University