Salamanca and the route home

We had a couple of hours in Salamanca with a guide before we set off for the drive home.
Salamanca (yet another UNESCO site) is dominated by its University, the oldest in Spain founded in 1134. Unfortunately, it was a cold and rainy day, so not the best for sightseeing.
Salamanca is yet another point on the route to Compostela. This shows the way

There are two cathedrals, the first from the 12th century

The newer cathedral was founded in the 16th century.

During renovations, a modern touch has been included on the replacement carvings

The entrance to the University

New students to the University have to find the frog. The easy way to do this is to buy a postcard! (It's at about 10 o'clock).

An example of the graffiti

The courtyard of La Salina palace, built in 1546 was open to the public

This is the 16th century convent del St Esteban which was the first building that we went into. We all appreciated the break from the cold.

Plaça Major, the splendid town square

The town hall

We then set off towards France stopping for lunch and the for the night on the outskirts of Vitoia Gasteiz. We passed this church on our evening stroll.

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Coimbra and on to Salamanca

Coimbra was the capital of Portugual for about 120 years in the 12th and 13th century. The University was founded in the 13th century and relocated in the 16th century by the king to the site of the former royal palace.
This is King John III, who gave the palace to the University.

Some areas of the former palace are on view

A balcony runs round two sides of the building giving good views over the town and countryside

The library only opens its doors at appointed times, so we had to wait outside until the clock struck.

Inside, the library is superb. It was built in the 17th century and it still possible to access the books there by appointment,,although it is really unused - no one works there. There are three rooms, this is the inner room:

We were told that a colony of bats lives inside the library and so tables and books must be covered every night for protection.
We then went down to the town where we heard some students performing

The village was having a fete, so there were stalls and performers everywhere.

After lunch. We said goodbye to your guide, Ana

Then we continued on our way to Salamance, arriving at our hotel on the outskirts After dinner, we wandered into Salamanca and found a very welcoming tapas bar where we enjoyed the local wines and some superb ham.
Salamanca at night

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Peniche, Óbidos and Nazaré

Our first stop of the day was a visit to a lace making 'school'. There were not many people there early in the morning, but some of the work was on display.

Peniche is the most westerly town in Portugual and Europe. The Coast nearby is very interesting and reminiscent of the drive along the great ocean road in Australia.

We drove along the coast nearby and stopped at the lighthouse by this formation

Nearby is an old fortified town on a hill, Óbidos. This is just inside the entrance

Clearly, the locals were expecting us

We called into a shop for a taste of a cherry liquor in a small chocolate shell and then headed for the castle and walls.

The vow from the walls over the countryside

There was a school visit in progress so it was quite difficult to move around when the children were Al running around

Our time here was limited, so it was soon time to return to the bus through the narrow streets, made even more narrow by a horse and cart

A side road under repair

A side road under repair

The castle

We had lunch at Nazaré, a rather nice season resort and, we were told, the site of another miracle, although commercialism seems to have escaped this town.

After lunch, we had some free time to walk along the promenade. The beach is large and few people were there, it being a little early for the main holidays.

We found fish drying on racks, mostly netted to safeguard it from cats

The fish was also for sale

Houses on the sea front

The main shopping street

The town is on several levels with a funicular between two of the levels.

A wooden statue had been brought from Nazareth in 711 by a monk and was kept in a chapel on the upper level for many years. Legend says that, in the 12th century, a knight was out hunting in thick fog when his horse slipped and fell off the high cliff, the the knight was miraculously saved and the hoof print of the horse can still be seen on the rocks (we didn't see it).
In the 14th century, the king built a new church for the statue which is still there, with the statue.
The church

The statue is in the centre

Then it was time for the group photo, organised, as always by John. Getting us all in was a bit tricky, but john mangled it on the third go (just).

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