We continue to explore and get to know our adopted country. One of the great things about living in Porto is how easy it is to visit other towns without owning a car. In July we took two one-night trips. First to Coimbra and then to Águeda.

Coimbra is the fourth largest city in Portugal. It is known for having the oldest university in the Portuguese-speaking world. Established in 1290, the University of Coimbra is very highly regarded and attracts many international students. You can recognize the students by their heavy black capes worn over their classic black & white “suits” – worn even when it is beastly hot. This very hilly city has many old Roman structures and was once the capital of Portugal. We only spent one night here and barely scratched the surface of things to see and do.  It deserves another visit.

In contrast, Águeda is a charming little town that has figured out how to market itself to tourists. Each summer the town is decorated with hanging umbrellas and other outdoor art that makes it a destination for many folks – especially photographers. The whole month of July is packed full of scheduled events including concerts and street performers. We spent one night there on the last Saturday in July. That was the perfect amount of time. In spite of stepping off the train into pouring rain, there were enough moments of sun to appreciate and photograph it all.  

Below are a sampling of photos with a Links to a full page of photos for each short visit.