Coimbra

This week we hopped on the bullet train and headed north.

 Halfway between Lisbon and Porto is the charming, medieval town of Coimbra. 

There were 'treasures' to be found in our walk around town -

 Delicious chocolates!

 Portuguese tile painters!

And to-die-for Portuguese Sweets!

After our walk around town, we took the climb up and up and up the narrow winding streets to the University. 

Views from the top.

 The University of Coimbra is the oldest university in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe - founded in 1290. 

An iron gate leads into... 

...a large courtyard, the Pátio das Escolasa, with...

...an imposing statue of King João III looking proudly at the university buildings.

First we visited the St. Michael's Chapel which dates back to the 16th century and was probably built upon an ancient chapel of the 12th century.

Our next stop was most impressive - Biblioteca Joanina - their baroque library, one of the world's most resplendent. It was built in the early 18th century with rooms rich in gilt and exotic wood, and lined with 300,000 books.

And FYI - They use tiny bats in the library, instead of pesticides, to keep insects from eating their irreplaceable collection of ancient books.
Who knew?!

And hey, all you Harry Potter fans, are we at Hogwarts or what?

As I recall, young witches and wizards at Hogwarts had a strict dress code, which called for a white button-down shirt, a tie (with one's house colors), a sweater, dark trousers or skirt, and a full-length cape.

Well, you’ll find students in a near-identical uniform of a black suit, tie, and cape at the Universidade de Coimbra!

 J.K. Rowling has never said, but she wrote  part of what would become Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone while living in Porto, Portugal, in the 1990s, and just may have been inspired by this Portuguese tradition!

(We peeked into one of the classrooms.)

Then it was back down the hill and across the river to 
Portugal dos Pequenitos 
(Portugal of the Little Ones)
This is a park consisting of miniature versions of Portuguese houses and monuments and has pavilions dedicated to the former Portuguese colonies.

One last picture...

Just in case some of you are thinking that we are on a "Missioncation"...

This is where we spend most of our time.😊

Just saying.