What a find! An immaculately preserved hilltop castle near the Portuguese border, from which we had a 360 degree view into both Portugal and Spain. Gate crashed a Fete de St Antoine soiree put on by the local Cultural Society and enjoyed their barbecued sardines and spatchcock chicken, followed by an overnight park up on a terrace with again wonderful panoramic view over the Plain of Portugal and an outside tap just right for a morning strip watch. Marvao, what a great place, thanks Pete and Joy for the recommendation.
Must also mention Coimbra, a delightful city with its old town on a hill which we climbed twice to visit its university, the oldest in Europe and instrumental in the sharing of knowledge between East and West in the Middle Ages. The decoration in the library has to be seen to be believed. We found some genuine Coimbra Fado music which some local musicians are trying to revive - it's sung by men when they want to impress their girlfriends. Catch it on radio if you can.
Next stop Spain.
Coimbra may be the oldest University in Portugal but Bologna beats it by about 2 centuries? Cheers, Andy
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