When Sofia moved to Brussels, she was told by my brother that I was living in the city and that she could easily arrange to have a coffee with me. She did and it didn’t take long for us to become friends.
A couple of years later, Sofia was offered a job in another continent. I was, of course, very happy for her but also very sad for me. And since I was not in Brussels by the time she moved out, we agreed to have a farewell drink in "Aveiro". We liked the experience so much that we now decided to catch-up in "Coimbra".
As soon as I got out of the main station, I could catch a glimpse of "Mondego", the biggest Portuguese river. It didn’t take long for Sofia to arrive as well and, as soon as she did, we immediately started walking up to the University area, which we have reached after doing something of the utmost importance – having breakfast.
It is usually said that "Coimbra" is the Portuguese Cambridge. I have never been to Cambridge so I don’t know if this comparison is fair or not but what I do know is that it is not surprising that that Portuguese city has a great university tradition because there’s definitely enough light around to inspire anyone to become a great thinker.
We walked through the city for a while longer and eventually decided to sit in a terrace for a drink – only to find out that the city’s pidgeons were not intimidated by our presence. We moved on to a restaurant for lunch – only to find out that the pidgeons cannot easily be stopped by doors and walls. We then decided to flee to "Figueira da Foz", a city by the ocean – only to find out that the local pidgeons were quite fond of coffee and custard cakes. We found solace after deciding to walk to the farthest lighthouse, which is located in an area ruled by the mighty Atlantic - always the mighty Atlantic! - and where no pidgeons could scare us away.
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