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Apart from travelling about and eating, what else did I find to do in northern Portugal at the end of October?
I was lucky because the weather was very kind to me, and placed no limitations on what I got up to. In Porto it was sunny and around 20º. It was a little warmer inland in Coimbra, and a bit warmer still (25º) in Lisbon.
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Another factor was how content I was just to be somewhere else, and somewhere outside the UK as well. It was a massive factor, to be honest.
Everything else was almost a bonus!
The first day in Porto I dug out my Lonely Planet and followed one of the walks it recommends. As well as seeing stuff, I thought it would help my general orientation in the city. It took me a couple of hours – slowly so I could soak up the rhythm of the city, and without going into any of the sights along the way.
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The next day I took a wander around the Centro Português de Fotografia. Entry was free. It has a wonderful collection of old cameras, and even a Photomaton! We are always learning (assuming we choose to) and on this visit I learned the Photomaton’s inventor was born in Russia but had migrated to Hungary at an early age.
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Those of us who are old enough will have lots of memories of cajoling those machines into producing the instant (well almost) passport sized photos we needed. Yes, I am old enough to remember tobacco advertising too.
A real highlight of Porto was visiting the Livraria Lello. I invested in a priority ticket, and was glad I did. At 5 minutes before opening (09:30) on Sunday morning the other queue was 150m long. I love a good bookshop, and this one is special.
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I had my food tour and port tasting on other days.
Coimbra is another city where just wandering around is sheer pleasure. I covered the University area that way on my first day, without stopping for anything more serious than coffee (and pastéis de nata). On the second day I visited the botanical garden, and enjoyed my meanderings there.
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Easily the highlight of my brief time in Coimbra was a guided tour of the University by Sara from Go Walks Portugal, taking in the Biblioteca Joanina, Paço das Escolas, Capela de São Miguel and Prisão Académica.
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Her knowledge is amazing and gave me some fascinating insights.
https://www.gowalksportugal.com
Coimbra is certainly on my list of “places to go back to”.
I only had an afternoon and evening in Lisbon. I saw quite a bit of the city during my previous visits, so I was content to relax in and around my hotel while trying not to get anxious about my flight home the next morning.
ⓒ iain taylor, 2021
🏴🇪🇺🇵🇹