Studying Portuguese

I had a lovely (and much needed) evening with friends tonight.  Over a couple of glasses of wine, I caught up with some dear friends, including my friend Laura, whom I traveled with in Portugal for my summer vacation.  You may recall various posts about her - including this one dedicated just to traveling with a fellow shutter bug.

Well, Laura and I got to talking about how great our vacation was and how, after the daily toil of our jobs, we really wanted another vacation.  Which, of course, made me start thinking even more about how great our last vacation was.  We traveled through Portugal, without a set itinerary, traveling wherever the road took us.  And we wound up in the great university town of Portugal - Coimbra - where we followed Rick Steves' recommendation to a underground fado club.  Which was perfect, except for the creepy man who wanted to um, let's just say, get to know Laura and I know better and who insisted on "translating" the fado songs for us.  Ya, thanks but no thanks.  But that's a whole 'nother story...

Coimbra was made for black and white pictures.  From our amazing hotel, pictured above, with film noir art deco decor inside, to the cobblestone streets, I just had to take photo after photo.  And it being Wednesday, I figured it was about time to pay homage to Coimbra for Black & White Wednesdays, hosted by the Long Road to China.  I can't imagine what it would be like to actually study in this place -- I can't imagine being anything than a history major here. Or maybe graphic design, with its vivid graffiti.

(Coimbra, Portugal, photographed June 2010)