Coimbra

I've been wanting to go to Coimbra ever since I saw pictures of the main square. An associate of the Institute also recommended I go there. So, Tuesday morning, I packed up and left for northern Portugal.

The train ride was fine, if expensive. Almost 20 euros for two hours in the train. I was not happy but beggars can't be choosers. Nuno gave me the address of a youth hostel who had rooms for the night. I was not too keen on sleeping in a hostel. I've only done it a few times and while those experiences were pleasant enough, I'd rather get a hotel room if at all possible. A bed in a dorm would cost 9 euros and a bed in a quad would cost 24 euros.

Coming off the train, I noticed two backpackers speaking with British accents. I walked up to them and asked if they were headed to the hostel. Nope, they live here and are missionairies, but their apartment was around the block from the hostel, so I got a cab with them.

The hostel didn't open for another few hours. I wandered up and down the street and then just decided to head downtown. I had only brought my backpack with me so travelling was easy. I took some pictures and then ended up in the main square. Then I saw the blinking neon lights of a pensao (basically like a 1-2 star hotel). I went upstairs and asked for the price of a room. "18 euros". "I'll take it!"

With my gear stowed in my room, I could really get out and explore. I wandered around and got some seafood pasta for supper. It was horrible. Then I went back to the hotel and watched a bit of TV. I was almost falling asleep but I told myself I had to go out and have an adventure.

I wanted to find a disco but I was so tired I wanted to stay close to my hotel. I went to a few bars but I wasn't comfortable there. Finally, I found a half-empty tapas bar and sat down and ordered a drink.

I wanted tea. "Tea" in Portuguese is "cha". Not knowing how to pronounce it, I asked for "cha". The bartender was confused. "Cha!" Still another confused look. I decided it was the loud music. "CHA!" Still no recognition. Finally, I wrote down the word. Turns out it's pronounced "sha". Oops!

An older guy sitting beside me asked where I was from. He had worked in England for five years and was anxious to practice his English. He asked if I'd like to have a glass of wine with him. We split a bottle of port. Well, I only had a few glasses.

He asked if I had a boyfriend.
"Nope"
"Is your friend in Portugal your boyfriend?"
"Nope, just a friend"
"Did you sleep with him?"
"Excuse me?"
"I really want to have sex with you"
"Excuse me?"
"I really feel a connection with you. I want to have sex with you"
"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen"

He asked if he could walk me back to my hotel. I told him it was close by and that I could handle it myself.
"But I just want to talk to you!"
"I told you, there is no way in hell that we're going to sleep with each other"

I made a big show of yawning and then left, claiming I was tired. He followed me out the door. He asked what we were going to do when we got to my hotel. "Nothing. And I'm not sleeping with you." "Oh." Then he asked what my hotel room looked like. "It's a hotel room, but it doesn't matter because you're not going to be seeing it." "Oh."

"What are we going to do once we go to your room?"
"I told you a hundred times! I'm going to my hotel alone, you're not going to walk me there and furthermore, we are not having sex! Goodnight!"

His face just crumpled. "Oh, ok. I'm sorry. Goodnight."

And he left.