Eat like a mountain man, drink like a student

So quick flashback - when I was in the "Central North" of Portugal we headed up into the mountains (the Serra da Lousa) for a typical mountain lunch. There a series of small villages in these ranges which were settled by hermits and hunters so we lunched at one of the newer monastries handbuilt over the last 100 years with the choice of lots of meat stuffed into a loaf of bread, skewers of bull meat or goat stewed in wine.
After lunch we visited Portugal's university town - Coimbra - where half the town are tourists and the other half are in academic dress (as the undergraduate students still wear the traditional dress). Except for these guys- it wasnt until I got back home that I realised that in one photo they had kindly all posed for the camera with one even pulling a peace sign. Students. Don't worry such radical behaviour will not be seen on this blog ;)
The university was founded in 1290 but it was the capital of Portugal before then and half a dozen kings were born here. Most of them have statues littered around the university campus to impress you the visitor (or scare the students/lecturers into loyalty?). Joao the V went one better and built a library - not that impressive at most univesities but they appear to design libraries differently here. To start there's a piano at one end?! Plus I think there is more gold around the walls here than in the chapel, as well as more painted ceilings (3). My neck is still sore from looking up gawping.
This is the chemistry building - very impressive compared to UWA's steel and glass nightmare. For a number of years the university resisted changing the course structures or upgrading facilities, preferring to rely on reputation and quality of teaching. When other universities took the lead in terms of facilities and technology the university found that while these old buildings are pretty they're also pretty costly to keep, let alone upgrade. So a lot of lecturing and teaching is done in newer buildings away from the old campus/town centre.

There is also a town below the university full of the usual narrow streets but also steep roads and vertigo-inducing staircases. Once you catch your breath at the bottom you find most shops sell postcards and CDs of humourous student songs to tourists, but on weekends the "Onion Square" is filled with people trying to sell all sorts of crap to anyone. Notice I say "trying". But if you're in the market for an old axe, a slightly used gas mask, some satirical comics from the 1970's, a goats skull with a horn missing, all sorts of lamps and ceramics not quite in mint condition, coins, and so on and so forth then come here. I looked for Christmas presents for you all here but strangely couldn't find anything suitable.The new Cathedral was orginally a Jesuit church founded in 1541 but became the cathedral in 1759 when the Prime Minister expelled the Jesuits. The old Romanesque cathedral still survives to this day but its facade is less impressive since soft shaley limestones were used in it's constructions and erosion has left much of the detail obliterated (faceless saints aren't very sacred it seems).

On the way back to the car we passed the district containing the "republica" or student houses - a mix of residential college and club house. In front of one of these three students sat on the steps, in their full academic dress, catching the last rays of sun and discussing the new academic year. In front was a three-door hatchback, doors open, radio blaring, the back seat filled with bags of ice and on top enough beers to last until dinner. Students, no matter how they dress.