Journey home 11/12/13/ April 2013
What do Coimbra, Chaves and Leon have in common? Well for us
they were all stops, with a hint, or stronger, from the Internet that we could
park. And so it was; a common pattern of a city centre parking space at the
side of the river in a park/sports/ recreation area. I really do mean in the
centre of the cities, you could not have wanted a better place to stay, even if
you had booked an expensive hotel. In all cases, close to and overlooked by the
old part of town. It was the same pattern in Salmanca, and in smaller places or
those without rivers: the Rossi, or market squares, made a similar offering at
Estremoz and Evora.
Coimbra we parked by the boat houses at a River Thames sized
waterway. At Chaves it was a small car park near the hot springs where we
tested the hot water on tap and I used the swimming pool for a shower. Chaves
parking was unofficial, not recommended by the tourist information, but we had
a friendly wave from the police. Before we left Chaves we bought some bread for
lunch. Our linguistic ability left us pointing at a loaf on the shelf. The
baker, and he really was a baker, then went round the back and we saw him pick
up a loaf as it came out of the oven. And to add more style we got it in a
paper carrier bag with his picture on it.
Leon was a real city and we parked
between the river and a shopping plaza. In the morning we walked up to the
unusual shaped and impressive cathedral. The stained glass wowed us, we learnt
afterwards that it was world renown and original glass.
So, mainly stopping places on our way, but stopping places
with style. I’ll do a full list later with comments and GPS coordinates.
Photos:
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| Coimbra |
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| Coimbra boathouses |
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| Coimbra old town |
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| Coimbra new bridge |
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| Tardis and boathouse |
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| Chaves |
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| Chaves Spa water |
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| Chilled out, could be anywhere |
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| Chaves - stepping stones |
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| Chaves - stepping stones |
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| Chaves - stepping stones |
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| Umbreallas, Umbreallas everywhere. |
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| Chaves |
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| Baker in Chaves |
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| Leon Mall |
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| Leon - Free motorhome parking ... official |
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