New system next trip as I left out the story of our interesting visit to Coimbra itself! I jumped right to Fatima because it was amazing. My writings were in snippets so this was left off of our day in which we toured the university in the morning and proceeded to the amazing Roman ruins in the afternoon.
So now, imagine yourself back in the university city of Coimbra.
The morning started out with a later wake up call but by 9 we
were on the bus into the old town to discover Coimbra. We started with an overlook of the city and
the many university buildings. Nina
explained the testing for entry system.
Your high school composite grade counts for 75% of your entrance
exam. Your last year grade is 25 %. But depending on which college of the
university you want to attend there might be an extra test. The professorial and student garb made quite
recognizable by Harry Potter movies is traditional here. Based on the old Jesuit habit it is still
worn on ceremonial occasions and during the first weeks of school. When our bus stopped at the entrance of the
College of Letters so that we could tour the library, several students came
rushing curbside to sell us cute student decorated pencils. Must have been a fundraiser for some club or
a freshman hazing activity.
In the courtyard Nina described more of the system and also
the architecture. We visited St.
Michael’s Chapel which is used for ‘special days’ for the teachers and
students. It was quite small for a
university of 28,000 students. Here we
first learned of Manueline architecture.
The ornate technique of gilding the wooden relief work and statues
juxtaposed against the stark Gothic stone work was first named after King
Manuel I who brought in many maritime elements, like twisted ropes and anchors
as well.
The Library of Coimbra is typical of monastic educational
ones in Europe. Ceiling to floor leather
bound books of serious learning. Three
rooms that were ornately gilded and decorated were weighted and balanced by
magnificent inlaid mahogany tables that could be opened into a tee shape so
many students could work around them.
As often happens, we saw a bride. The ladies of the bridal party wore different
cobalt blue dresses of long or short length.
The men wore blue jackets and red bow ties. We waited patiently for her
to emerge from a flower stenciled Volkswagen bus! That car must be symbolic of Portugal, perhaps
because the country did not become truly independent until the ouster of the
dictator, Salazar, in 1968. Magnets and
paintings of the iconic vehicle are found in all the stores.
We do know that the true symbol of Portugal is the rooster. This because back in Medieval times a pilgrim
was sentenced to death. The judge was
eating a rooster. The poor man said, to
prove I am innocent this rooster will come to life and crow… and it did! Colorful rooster memorabilia is everywhere. Rooster
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