Portugal 2017: Day 3

This morning we also got the day started early after breakfast in the hotel and drove south to Évora. On the way, Fr. Jim Chichetto ’64, C.S.C. shared with the group what Stonehill is like today and how he approaches teaching in his classroom. Which, was fitting as while we were en route to Évora we visited Coimbra and the country’s oldest university.

With Gracia, and our local guide Maria Jose, we explored the University of Coimbra including the Chapel and Library (pictures are not allowed), which has books dating back to the 12th century. Established in 1290 in Lisbon, the University of Coimbra went through a number of relocations until it moved permanently to its current city in 1537, being one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in the world. The university is also the oldest of Portugal and one of the country's largest higher education and research institutions.

Our guide Gracia told us of a Portuguese phrase translates to "In Porto we work, in Coimbra we study, in Lisbon we play, and in Braga we pray," but Coimbra is certainly a very different college town than the one we are used to in Easton.

After some free time to explore Coimbra we continued south passing cork, olive and eucalyptus groves on our way to our hotel, Vila Gale Evora. Alumni had the evening free to explore the walled city, find dinner and rest up for our jammed-packed day tomorrow.

Many restaurants in this city, which has ties to Roman, medieval and present day times, are small with only a few tables to serve patrons. Definitely a unique dining experience!

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Barcelona - Dos

Day two in Barcelona has been fantastic! Jose gave us lots of information on the artist Gaudi - not born here but arrived in 1852 to attend the university. His artistic style and influence can be seen across the city. We stopped at Park Guell which was an amazing outdoor area Gaudi designed near the home he lived in. Inspired by nature, fairy tales and classical legends the park is beautiful. With its kissing benches, 'candy house', salamander and plaza with the longest bench in the world it is a work of art in itself. Some of us made the walk up to the top where the three crosses are - and found even more breathtaking views of the city. From there we headed back downtown for a short walk to La Sagrada Familia cathedral. Design by Gaudi and still not yet finished, it is very unique and ornate. Just walking around the outside, Jose had enough informatiion to share about its intricacies that it took some time. The line for entrance was nearly wrapped around the ch

Cordoba

First our morning started with an alarm - or a lack of one; as Mary Jane and Pat's room never received a wakeup call. So everyone else was on the bus ready to go when they finally got a knock on the door. What troopers they were, though! In 15 minutes they were on the bus with everyone and not long after they were able to laugh at the 'chaos' of it all. Our local guide Isabel was just delightful - and clearly has a love for her city. She tells us that filmmaker Pedro Almodovar is from here as we begin our walk. First we go through the old Jewish center. Nearly all of the city's buildings are white-washed (originally by the women we hear). We stop at an old Jewish synagogue and learn some history of the area. Then we stop at the statue of a famous rabbi ( can you name him ?) which legend is that by rubbing his foot and then touching your own head you will get taller and wiser. most of us did that - some hoping for extra height, others for a bit of wisdom!

2011: Day 4 - Vienna

Another great day! We had a 6am wake up call - but it paid off! Our tour director, Robert, secured the first reservations of the day at Shronbrunn Palace - which meant we were the only guests in the Palace for the most part. We went room to room with our own local guide, Gabi, for a nearly private tour! A one-of-a-kind experience for sure. The Palace and Gardens were beautiful. 1,441 rooms and acres and acres of grounds. We learned about Mary Theresa (and all of her 16 children). This was the summer palace for the Hapsburg dynasty. We then switched gears and went to see modern art at KunstHausWien - what a creative artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser was. And a man who epitomized eco-friendly living and work. A very different experience after our tour of the Palace. Next was a driving tour of some of the city's monuments, etc. with a stop for lunch along the way. We ended with a walking tour to additional historic spots and a tour of the downtown palace - the winter residence of the

Stonehill College Alumni Travel

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