This morning we checked out of the Neya Hotel and started to drive towards Fátima, stopping first at the University of Coimbra, which dates from 1290. The students still wear a traditional costume on special days—these particular students, however, are trying to earn a little money by selling pencils to tourists.

By far, the biggest attractions of the University are its Chapel and its Library. Called St. Michael’s Chapel, the building dates back to the 16th c. and is adorned with many tiles. Of course what caught my attention immediately was the ornate organ with its horizonal reed pipes. According to a Portuguese travel site, “The Baroque organ is decorated with Chinese motifs similar to those present in the Baroque Library shelves. This organ dates from 1737 and has about 2,000 pipes. Its acquisition was sponsored by King John V. The organ is still operational.” Our guide told us that the organ was originally in another building and moved here and “was too big for the size of this chapel.”

Luckily I was able to find a short video clip on YouTube of this instrument:

The library sits atop a former prison, and when the University took it over, the prison housed students who were guilty of crimes such as cheating. The “5-star prison cell” was quite large, had a window, and even a latrine atop a series of steps (leading to the expression, “sitting on the throne!”) There was a much smaller cell for solitary confinement, which had no window. In another photo, you can see a cat door to allow the neighborhood cat to come in and catch mice.

We were not allowed to take photos in the upstairs library, but I did find this photo on the internet. As you can see, there’s lots of gold everywhere.

Our guide, Pedro, had a surprise for us—tentúgal pastel—a pastry made with puff pastry. Delicious, but I got powdered sugar all over myself, my sunglasses, and my clothes! There is a filling inside consisting of water, sugar and egg yolks.

We next stopped at Alcobaça Monastery, established in 1153. and a World Heritage UNESCO site. It is an entire complex including an early Gothic church, refectory, and other rooms. I could tell that the church had fabulous acoustics by the way our guide’s voice resonated and would have been a GREAT place for music! However, there was no organ that I could see.

We arrived at the Hotel Fátima, directly across from the shrine, which I will describe in the next post.