Coimbra turned out to be an amazing little city where we spent the first couple of days relaxing, surrounded by alpine hills and trying as many of the local pastries as we could find :) On the third day we walked the streets of the high town past the venue for the Fado concert we were going to see that night. The place was open, playing the occassional song and we were lucky to get a sample of what to expect. We continued up the never ending steps and hills, admiring pot plants made of jeans and window shopping along the way. Once we reached the university at the top, we learned that the guided tour was for the following day leaving us with yet another lazy afternoon to spend in Combria until the Fado concert.

We arrived early which gave us a chance to peruse the display of items honouring the Fado tradition in Coimbra alongside walls covered in photos of past performances. The venue, we had discovered earlier in the day, was very small allowing no more than 40 spectators, making the experience considerably more intimate. This was perfect as we discovered that traditionally in Coimbra, Fado was one of 3 types of serenades which was also the reason it was only performed by men. The performers were superb and we enjoyed every song and instrumental without knowing a word that was sung. As the night drew to a close we were all prompted to sing along and for those that did not speak portugese we could substitute with the international words of "Lah Lah Lah". Finally, after a moving concert, we were offered local port wine and the chance to mingle with the performers whose spoke better english than we did :)

The next day we headed back up the hill to the university for a guided tour. This begun in the square, meeting one of the students, who was wearing the traditional uniform which was very similar to something Harry Potter would wear. We learnt of some of the traditions that the staff and students followed, most of which still do today before heading into the Biblioteca Joanina which was one of the most beautiful libraries in Europe. It contained hundreds of thousands of ancient texts and was built in a way to ensure the books lasted. In addition to the wonderful decoration and the practical design of the building, they had brought in bats many years ago to live within, keeping pests under control. From here we were taken into the main hall which was being prepared for a ceremony the following day for the inauguration of a PHD candidate, again involving century old traditions.

We left Coimbra the following day to head to Braga. Along the way we stopped in at Guimarães to visit the local sites and post office. When we arrived in Braga, we discovered the campsite was down for renervations so we were forced to find alternative arrangements. We were lucky to find a nice little hotel in the Bom Jesus national park and on the first night spent the evening at the top, looking over the city of Braga watching the sun go down. Our time in Braga was spent relaxing in the hotel and although we didn't see many other sites we enjoyed it nonetheless. On our final day we hit the road headed for Bayonne, France. We had loved every moment of our time in Portugal but were aware of the time limit on our visa and the many other places we wished to see. With that in mind we drove the 800km to France, arriving late at night and becoming re-introduced to Frances expenisve motorway tolls which we were willing to pay on this occasion due to our haste to cross the border.

After spending the night at a motorway stop and waking to frosted winds we drove the short distance to Bayonne. This was a lovely little city and we spent the morning wandering the markets, drinking coffee and then wandering the markets a little bit faster. Although the city was nice we chose not to linger but instead plotted a course for Toulouse. Avoiding tolls/motorways increased the travel time by ~2hours but it was definitely worth it as we slowly drove through the countryside of southern France, stopping briefly to buy fresh baked bagelles in a typical French village before continuing on.

When we arrived in Toulouse it was late afternoon, so after checking out the public transport (for the following day) we parked up for an early night. In the morning, after a bit more research about Toulouse, we decided to head into the city outskirts to park and walk in. As we came closer we were met with row upon row of market stalls setup selling everything from cheese to chicken, beef to bagelles, and with the influx of people parking had resorted to any space wide enough to almost fit a car. Not to be deterred we headed a little bit further out (past a building with what appeared to be a road running through it), found a park and walked in to Capitole de Toulouse and it's square. The plan had been to enjoy a local lunch in the famous square but discovered that we weren't willing to cut our trip short by 3 months just for a cup of coffee (sugar cost extra but the waiter would stir it with an official Toulousian swirl for you ...). Instead we had authentic kebabs made in authentic Toulousian cafe down an authentic Toulousian side street. It was swell. 

After our gourmet lunch we wandered through the now closing markets (the best time if you aren't going to buy anything) before walking along the Canal du Midi back to the car. We headed the short distance to our next campsite to find that it was now under new management and was there for close. We pulled out our French campsite book (who needs the internet!!!) and plotted a course for Carcassone (the destination that had been planned for the following day) and it's local campsite. Upon arrival we discovered that it was closed until march. The place looked really nice and we considered waiting at the gates until it was open but changed our mind at the last moment... Due to having free camped the last two nights we were desperate need of a shower and were therefore forced to find a hotel that was reasonably priced. 

The one we selected had decent reviews, wasn't the cheapest and quite close. Upon arrival we also got talked into breakfast the following morning (even after finding the one supermarket in France that was open on a Sunday for breakfast milk). The room was clean and had a nice hot broken shower (why couldn't we be born with three arms just for broken showers!!). That was about all that was going for it. The sink was in the room, the toilet and shower were molded plastic cubicles, and in the morning breakfast was basic, watery coffee and toast being the highlights.

Thankfully, we were a short distance from the citadel of Carcassonne so spent the morning among the wonders of this fortified city sipping good coffee watching the news broadcast protests happening in the countries we had just left, while listening to the locals go about their daily lives within a fortress. We then hit the road again. Destination Montpellier and beyond.