How to not have a chill August in Coimbra

I have a new policy in life. Give me any small city that has 50,000-150,000+ people and call me intrigued. I want to visit the place and explore to my heart's content within a 1 hour radius. This August my family chose to visit Coimbra and I had to activate my small city exploration mode. Of course there was a venn diagram of criteria which had to be met. Activities which don't bore a nine year old. Places my four year old would enjoy. Diverse and interesting food for all four adults. Gulp. Deep breath. Were we showing up to almost freezing beaches with 1 meter waves and then burning in the heat back in Coimbra? Yes. Did I make a 8:30 pm dinner reservation for the best Indian food within 35 mins with an overtired kid? Selfishly, yes. Did my husband pull another "you'll be fine" stunt on me on a 15 km kayak adventure? Unfortunately for him, yes. I have made it to the other side of this 12 day extravaganza and I am in awe. I have also not left my house for three days. Let me present to you a very thorough guide on how-to-not-have-a-chill-holiday-around-Coimbra. 

Climbing, cats, kbbq, cryptoportico, and cool rivers

We needed to stay in the city the first few days and a major requirement was none of usual historic attractions such as the Coimbra University tour or the cloisters of Santa Cruz Church. I decided to take a Bolt to the scariest part of town, the Loja do Cidadão, and show my relatives what it's like to wait to talk to the IRS of Portugal. Realizing I should be a good host instead we walked across the street to Upa! A bouldering gym which opened up this year in Coimbra. The kids had a great time burning some morning energy and it was an ideal way to not be in the direct August sun.

It's always time for lunch or a snack when you're with kids. The food theme of this trip is diversity so bear with me as I mention so not very typical choices for when you visit small cities in Portugal. My friend helped me decide on a Korean BBQ experience just 400m away. The nephew said it was favorite food on the trip. It also turns out almost four year old kids can began to handle cooking their own meat over a charcoal grill. After the meal, all within 200m we picked up treats at an artisan bakery and to my surprise spent two hours at a cat cafe. This was an ideal circuit for this area.

The next day I had to sneak in my favorite historical gem of Coimbra. The ancient roman underground city of Aeminium. It's not daunting for kids to explore and after some specialty coffee and nice cafe food at Nau Coffee you can convince kids to stroll down the ancient streets to fine crafted gelato at Cosi. With gelato energy we climbed back up for a quick transition to the very first river beach of the trip, Praia Fluvial do Rebolim. This is just south of Coimbra and an easy introduction to the icy rivers of central Portugal. Bring your river shoes, beach toys, a blanket, umbrella, and snacks. The perfect blazing August afternoon.

We did a no attractions day and I believe it was a fun way for my family to see how we get those really specific errands done. A regular life day. Something if I have time for when I travel I always try to accomplish. Show up to Action along with everyone else in the Coimbra region to buy summer water toys, check. Go to Decathlon and leave the kids in the car so don't derail the morning, check. Go to a mall called Alma shopping and eat hand pulled Chinese noodles, check. I'm not a heartless host, the kids played and biked at Parque Linear and we had wonderful sourdough bread and buttery financiers at Padaria Massa Mater.

Brunches, beaches, and barely surviving kayaking

It was time to begin the daytrips from Coimbra and we were in a gambling mood. We made the decision to go to the ocean on a Sunday in August. It wasn't the picture of serenity but Praia do Cabedelo in Figueira da Foz has small/medium sized waves(which is not easy find on this Atlantic coast) and is refreshing to cool off in the heat. The risk taking continued when we had to find a table for dinner. Ten minutes south Figueira da Foz, Xiringuito restaurant has that cozy nestled in the sand dunes beach bar restaurant vibe with a surprisingly diverse menu.

A ten minute drive from my apartment is the starting point of a 15 km kayaking adventure on the Rio Mondego. I shall always call this a right of passage experience if you live in Coimbra or visit. Even as a non coordinated person whose shoulder burned for three days afterwards, I can't deny how the green rolling hills and winding river create a special setting.

Our top two river beaches we visited were Praia Fluvial da Bogueira and Praia Fluvial de Nossa Senhora da Piedade in Lousã. Yes, we did both of them in one day. You don't have to but they are quite close. Bogueira allows open spaced swimming and Lousã has an ancient setting. There was a lot of enthusiam in brunches and this town delivered in options. We tried Hey Sunday and Salatina. I'm now craving the hashbrowns from Hey Sunday.

Tacos, Thai massages, and the beach life

My family had been here seven days and not everyone had walked the main street of Praça 8 de Maio. It's refreshing to me to observe people walking through Coimbra old town for the first time. The small city charm always wins them over. We strolled and explained the Fado statues. Of course we had to brunch, I appreciated the savory options at Kroisant.

We decided to go to Praia da Barra in the afternoon. This beach is near Aveiro and is about one hour from Coimbra. We were chasing waves and we got them. One meter waves, stormy dark clouds, and a temperature drop of 15 degrees. That was the shortest time I've ever spent at a beach. All the ice bath loving members of the family enjoyed the ocean, which was one person. In retrospect, the traffic and pain was worth it because it such an unexpected experience. The dinner afterwards at a Mexican restaurant also helped the mood.

To relax a bit the next day we-can you guess it?-brunched, walk around the university courtyard, and ended up at the Taco Bell in the Forum mall.

The heart wants what it wants. I needed another reward for finishing that 15 km kayaking trip so I tried the Thai massage place on the main street Praça 8 de Maio. It's a surprisingly effective session.

We fell into that endless loop of "well what do you want to eat?" and at 8:00 pm I threw in the curve ball of an impressive Indian restaurant in Lousã called Star Curry Kitchen, which required a 35 minute drive. As my child collapsed in his car seat and we drove around the dark mountains, I had no regrets. We needed a beach redemption day so we picked up some chicken sandwiches from a new place in town Chick'n Esperto, I air fried some broccoli because we were at day ten of this August extravaganza, and we headed back to Figueira da Foz. It was a windy and sunny day. We still have not mastered placing the beach umbrella into the sand and it flew away once or twice. But everyone's summer soul was satisfied in the blue crisp cold water. Don't be surprised, we ended the day at a small one man operated Mexican restaurant with the best guacamole and homemade salsas: Jimmy's Taco Bar.

Hikes, hills, and hungry for discovery

We arrived at the last two full days of the trip. We had soaked up so much sun and enjoyed the regional water activities. We threw a curve ball at the kids and let them stay home in the morning while three adults on a hike. There are lots of hiking options in Coimbra and they are great in the spring and fall. This trek begins at a river beach/swimming pool and you walk in a shaded forest next to the river. There is always the sound of gurgling water. It was a peaceful walk that I want to return in the fall. Was that the end of the day? No, never.

Everyone savored a meal at Gangnam a Korean restaurant in my favorite square. What seals the deal that it's my favorite square is the gelato shop right next to the restaurant, Doppo. The kids then discovered a real life sized tram car at Murphy's Irish Pub while the adults took a break after climbing the hills of Coimbra. I opted for more local attractions near the parks by the Mondego river like Exploratório a science center. I wanted to do special last meal and my research led me to a very new concept in Coimbra, a restaurant with a Latin American focused menu called Maíz Gastrobar. Steaks, empanadas, tacos made with Peruvian corn, comforting rice, and beans, everything was made with care and my mission was accomplished. As we ate our handmade goodbye burgers for lunch the next day, I thought about my anxiety at how I was going to host my adventurous family for 12 days in Coimbra and smiled.