Dear K,

I’m really happy you’re spending this academic year in Europe. I can’t wait yo see you in Lisbon for your birthday. Maybe we can show you some of the places I’ve showed JP during our road trip (part 1, part 2 and part 3). After exploring Lisbon, we started driving North, following our gorgeous coast line.

Our first stop was in São Martinho do Porto, where we took a walk by the beach for a while. It was a bit windy, so it kinda felt after so many days of a super hot summer.

Then we headed further North and stopped in Nazaré, where we had lunch at Taberna D’Adélia, which was recommended by a few friends who know the area really well. We ordered a seafood rice that was delicious, and mostly because JP had never tried the wonders of arroz malandro. We both really enjoyed the meal! There are other restaurants also famous for their amazing seafood that I want to try next time I go there: Casa Pires and Taverna do 8 ó 80. After lunch, we also walked by the beach for a while. JP wanted to see the big waves surfers all over the world go crazy about, but the sea couldn’t be more flat ahahaha. Terrible day for that!

Later on we drove to Coimbra. We stopped by Quinta das Lágrimas first, where even the least romantic people feel touched by the love story between Inês de Castro and Prince Pedro.

After that we explored the center of Coimbra. Very quiet, as it was still the end of August, and the city only gets more life when the students come back from their hometowns. It was still nice, except for the fact that the good restaurants and bars/clubs I know were all closed for vacation. We walked mostly around Sé Velha, Praça da República and Jardim da Sereia.

It was a bit of a challenge to find a decent place to eat, but we ended up finding this new place next to Associação Académica de Coimbra called Casa das Caldeiras. A building from the 40s that was renovated and turned into a restaurant-bar. The decoration and vibe are really nice and the food is good for the price. We tried a few of the small burgers, so that we could share, but the salads also looked tasty.

This day was really nice and we got some time to rest after dinner, since the nightlife was nonexistent while we were there. The next day it was time for a long drive all the way to Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês! Nature… here we go!!! = D

– C