A second look at Coimbra + Costa Nova

Returning to Coimbra after our first time there was a "no-brainer" - this is a city that has a special feel to it - and is worth (at least) a second visit......especially if, like us, you enjoy wandering old, narrow streets where there is always something "new" to see.
We followed the same routine as last week - straight from Coimbra station, along the river front to a café where, once again, we ate a breakfast of delicious Tosta Mistas (grilled cheese & ham) + coffee to get us started.....and then we were off. Turning our backs on the streets that lead up to the old town and university, we headed over the main road that runs by the River Mondego. As we crossed the Ponte de Santa Clara bridge we found ourselves often turning around - so we could take a look at the view of the beautiful city across the river. We made our way towards the Santa Clara-a-Nova Monastery.......unfortunately it was closed. We'd checked the website for opening times, etc. before leaving Aveiro - but it obviously needs updating - or maybe we got it wrong?
This building (from the outside) is huge and not exactly new as it was built in 1649 to replace the medieval Santa Clara a Velha, which due to frequent flooding from the Mondego river, had to be abandoned. In 1677 there was a great procession from the former convent to Santa Clara-a-Nova when many possessions were moved, including the remains of Queen Santa Isabel.
Recovery work on the old monastery was started in 1930, but the river continued to keep it in ruins until a more modern project began in 1991. By building a water containment area, the lower part of the cloisters were uncovered and excavations could be done. Although we could not gain entrance to either place - we did get some very good views from a walkway that runs above and looks down onto the site of Santa Clara a Velha. Disappointed, but happy to have been able to see something of these ruins, we moved on to our next point of interest on this side of the river.....only to find that it too was closed.......maybe our comprehension of websites needs some work?!
The Quintas das Lágrimas gardens occupies over 18 hectares, with a former palace in its centre - now run as a luxury hotel. With woodlands, areas of exotic plants (some over 200 years old) and a recently recreated Medieval garden it was to be a lovely place for us to walk. Trying to be intrepid travellers (at least in our heads), we took it in stride by walking around the area......then we went to the tourist office!
After finding out that on this side of the river, on this day, nothing except a leisure park dedicated to children was open, we followed the advice of the helpful lady there - who was also surprised that these sought after sites were closed. She offered us her apologies and pointed the way to a bus-stop where we could get an inexpensive mini-bus (with an audio tour) back across the river, through the Botanical gardens on the other side, and end up at the top of the city by the university.....we took it!
During the ride through the Botanical gardens, there was not much to see - except a lot of bamboo. We thought this strange as it's an area that cannot be walked through and only these buses are allowed.......so other than a "ferry" to the top of the city, it seemed to serve no purpose. It did, however save us a repeat climb up "back-break" hill and the audio tour supplied us with a history of the tragic love-affair between King D. Pedro I and D. Inês de Castro, who was his mistress for many years. Despite an ongoing dispute between him & his father, the affair continued even after D. Pedro's marriage. After D. Inês was assassinated (apparently on the father's orders shortly before he died) the new king took vengeance on all involved, married the (dead) lady and had all swear allegiance to her as the Queen of Portugal. According to history, the canal, in the afore mentioned Quintas das Lágrimas gardens, turned red with her blood. This "Cano dos Amores" (Canal of Love) was, according to legend, the method of transporting their love letters to each other. There is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon, which stains the rocks around the canal - a red algae grows in the canal - these gardens (apparently) stil maintain their romantic atmosphere.
Although a day of some disappointments, we did enjoy our second visit to Coimbra. Winding our way back down through the city we stumbled upon a couple of things that made the day more than worthwhile. The first was an old fountain/monument tucked away behind a café - we can find no information on it - but it's lovely, as are its surroundings.
The second and very welcome place, was an old house of the Coimbra Civil Government that was formerly used as a place for issuing passports. This vintage building is now a beautiful restaurant - aptly named Passaporte. From its terrace, the views over the river and the Parque Manuel Braga - a lovely riverside park, where we'd walked earlier in the day - are fantastic. The inside is also lovely, but the outside is the best place to enjoy drinks - which we did, before heading "home" to Aveiro.
Our last "outing" before leaving Aveiro was to one of the beach towns close by - the Atlantic is only 7km away. Separated from the ocean by the lagoon and canals, we made the journey by local bus, passing through another beach town - Barra Beach - along the way. Any local bus trip is always interesting & this one was no exception.....going was pretty "tame" - just a bunch of tourists and a few locals - all speaking different languages. Everyone was happy to be going to the "sea-side" on this warm, sunny day - even though the hourly bus was 20 minutes late and the journey took a total of 40 minutes, due to it making a lot of stops along the way + heavy traffic.
Driving out of Aveiro we saw the same roundabout quite a few times, as the route "doubles back" on itself after stopping at various points along the waterfront, the working port, a small town (with a very tong narrow main street) and through both a back street and the sea-front of Barra.....where the majority of tourists got off. Along with the remaining passengers we continued for just another few minutes to Costa Nova.
This coastal gem, which also backs onto a lagoon, is filled with perfect-looking striped houses (Palheiros), which were traditionally used to store fishing tackle. The main promenade is a great place to stroll along and admire these Palheiros, which now house many cafés, restaurants and lodgings. There's a daily market, selling fish and vegetables at one end of the street. Another couple of narrow streets run parallel to this main Avenida José Estavão - it also has lots of these striped dwellings. After strolling and admiring the architecture we headed to the beach.
We crossed the sand dunes on a well constructed wooden walkway, which also runs parallel to the beach before getting our first sighting of this beach.......which is simply stunning! With a lovely open stretch of sand and the clear crashing waves of the Atlantic it's safe for swimmers - although the water temperatures remain cool, even on a hot August day. With a "Blue-Flag" rating and plenty of lifeguards, it's a popular place for families as well as surfers.
We walked the whole length of the boardwalk - and back......stopping at a café along the way, to admire the view (it was right on the beach) and to enjoy a couple of ice-cold beers!
We caught an early evening bus home - which left Costa Nova on time - initially surprised that there were only a few other passengers joining us. We back-tracked along the same convoluted route, picking up more and more passengers at each stop - before the bus was filled to capacity after Barra-Beach, which is a larger and more popular beach-town. Our patient bus driver was challenged at one stop, when a young woman with 2 very large bags, wanted to stow them in the luggage compartment under the bus (we were, by then, only 4km from our destination). The driver left his seat, stowed the luggage, got back in his seat and we were off again .....but.....the next stop provided an even bigger challenge for him. An elderly group of 5 or 6 people were quite adamant that they needed to get on this bus. The volume level on the bus increased as everyone happily shared their opinion on this dilemma - 1 member of this group had a walker and another had obvious mobility problems - he leaned upon, and used, a huge and sturdy walking stick. We watched from the advantage of our second row seats, as the endlessly patient driver accommodated this group - even though he seemed to have no understanding of their German language. With a great camaraderie and team-spirit, a couple of younger and more able-bodied people gave up their seats for these two passengers, while the rest of their group remained standing up, but at least they were on the bus! One young lady who had given up her seat, apologized to Trevor while she was (almost) sitting on his knee.....but it was for only for a short time, as the group dis-embarked after 2 more stops!
Our bus reached Aveiro, a little later than anticipated, it having taken an hour for this 7km journey.....but what a great & novel way to end a lovely Friday afternoon!
We say goodbye to Aveiro after the weekend.