Sé Velha Cathedral is Something Old While Sé Nova is Something “New”
At 900 years old, the Sé Velha cathedral is one of the oldest structures in modern-day Portugal. Likewise, Sé Nova is relatively new, being only 400 years old. The city of Coimbra, Portugal, is chock-full of history. It has been a pleasure to get to know some of that history. Take today, for example. A group I’m involved in, The Curious Knights of Coimbra, did an excursion to Sé Velha (old cathedral) and Sé Nova (new cathedral). Let me tell you about this fascinating history. Sé Velha, formally known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Coimbra The Cathedral The old cathedral dates from the 12th Century with the cloister…
The Tragic Love Story of Pedro and Inês
The story of Pedro and Inês is a real-life “Romeo and Juliet” based in Portugal. Much like in Shakespeare’s tale, two lovers are forbidden to marry, only this story involves the future king of Portugal. Who Are the Main Players in This Tragedy? The Infante D. Pedro D. Pedro was born in Coimbra, Portugal, on 8 April 1320, He was the fourth of seven children of Infante D. Afonzo and his wife, Beatriz of Castile. Pedro’s older brothers, D. Afonso and D. Dinis, his younger brother, D. João, and younger sister, D. Isabel, died in childhood, making D. Pedro heir to the throne. D. Pedro loved parties and music and…
The Legend of the Barcelos Rooster
If you travel to Portugal, you will find the Barcelos rooster in many places, especially in tourist shops. It’s a national symbol of Portugal. But how did a rooster become a symbol of Portugal and what is its meaning? The Barcelos Rooster Legend During the Middle Ages, a robbery was committed in the town of Barcelos in northern Portugal. There were no suspects to the crime. Around the same time, a pilgrim from Spain was traveling through the area. The townspeople suspected him of committing the crime despite the pilgrim’s pleas of innocence. He was arrested, brought before the judge, and convicted. When the pilgrim was about to be hanged,…
Fixing the Leaky Hose
When the hot water heater was turned on, the gas man noticed a leaky hot water hose. The plumber came and fixed the leaky hose. However, he doesn’t know how to stop the clicking in the water heater. My realtor told me that the plumber would be able to fix the clicking problem, but that was not true. Perhaps he misunderstood my problem. I had sent him a short video of the water heater problem, complete with the clicking noise and the flame coming on and going right out. That didn’t seem to help him understand. He also didn’t speak any English and my translator app was acting up. I…
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More Furniture for Our Home
We need more furniture for our home. Today, I took an Uber to the other charity furniture store in Coimbra. I was looking for various pieces of living room furniture and an oval kitchen table and chairs to replace the table left in the kitchen by the past tenants. That one was too big for the kitchen. I couldn’t find any living room furniture that I liked but found a great kitchen table with 6 chairs for $150. The charity shop only takes cash but I didn’t have enough on me. The man said there was an ATM about 500 meters up the hill. No way was I going to…
Getting Cable and Internet and a Few Things
Today, the MEO guy came to hook up the cable and internet. I think he hooked up the landline but have no landline phone to check it out. We are still waiting for our SIM cards. I will contact the MEO representative later today to find out where they are. Just as I was getting ready to call Auchon, the driver arrived with my delivery. This place is starting to feel like home. It’s a good thing, too. We left the Airbnb this morning a day early so Kellie can spend her convalescent time with Katie. And sleep in her own bed. Because Kellie can’t go out, I’m going to…
An Okay Day With a Health Scare
Today has been an okay day. After breakfast at a padaria/the bakery, we headed to the apartment. We did a load of laundry despite not having the drying rack until tomorrow. Hanging the clothes on the backs of the kitchen chairs, the oven handle, and our headboards work. We spent a lot of time with Katie. She’s such a good girl. When the washer started, she didn’t know what to make of the tumbling clothes. Katie wouldn’t get closer than 6 feet away but she at least watched it for a long time. After the clothes were draped on stuff to dry, we headed out to lunch. Kellie has had…
Our First Major Shopping Event
We went on our first major shopping event for sheets, pillows, dishes, etc. today at a store called Auchon. It’s like a super Walmart with stuff from clothes to household to food. It’s in a mall complete with movies and a food court. We had lunch at McDonald’s. At Auchon, we got a lot of stuff for the house. So much that we couldn’t carry it all even in the cart. I had seen on Google that Auchon delivers so I double-checked with an associate. I just had to schedule it with the checkout clerk, he said. That’s good since I didn’t know how we’d be able to fit it…
Furniture for Our New Apartment
We definitely needed furniture for our new apartment. It was nice to wake up to a new day in Portugal this morning. We went to eat breakfast at the neighborhood café again and then headed to a used furniture store for some serious shopping. Furniture Shopping The first Uber trip took us to the middle of a housing neighborhood. We couldn’t find any kind of a store there. I quickly googled for another furniture store and called another Uber. This time, the address was wrong so we walked a bit until we found the shop. This particular shop, Loja Solidária Partilha Constante Coimbra Centro, is one of two in Coimbra…
Our First Couple of Problems in Coimbra
We had a couple of problems in Coimbra when we first arrived. Yesterday, we finally made it to Lisbon after a 90-minute delay. Our driver, Nuno, was a trooper and waited for us. He also gave us our first Portuguese hugs. The First Problem We Had in the Apartment Once we got to Coimbra (a 2-hour drive), Nuno helped lug our 7 suitcases and carryons up two flights of stairs. He also noticed a water leak from the upstairs bathroom into the two lower bathrooms. He shut the water off (it had been dripping since Friday when the water was turned on) and called my realtor. The realtor called the…
