Évora - Lisbo (& parts in between): Sun & Cloud 30

The Quieter Side of  Portugal

The past 2-3 posts I’ve focused on specific experiences as we’ve wandered. However it would be an injustice if I didn’t also post on many of the other experiences we’ve had since leaving the Algarve. Annemarie really enjoyed the Algarve and we did have some wonderful walks there and a bit of a vacation too. I personally have preferred the past few days as we drove northward through the eastern parts of south central Portugal. Perhaps it was the very significant absence of tourists and holiday makers. Honestly, not really my thing. I think it was that, but also the history and landscapes that are evident in this area.

Évora was a very interesting city. Lots to see and the meals we enjoyed and wines we sampled from this excellent wine district were very good. 

I found several small samples of different honey to return home with. I hope.

The architecture was really very good. 

Some very interesting ways of getting around. No pilgrims, but some heavily loaded bikes were spotted!

The churches while kind of plain from the outside didn’t disappoint on the insides even though Napoleon’s armies striped them of their wealth in the early 1800’s. They also sacked the city and murdered more than a thousand citizens when they finally broke down the walls. 

There were often surprises around many corners.



And for sure some of the deserts were quite unique!

The regional wines were sooooo very good and the pours much more generous than in Spain or France. What’s that about? 

While the aquaduct wasn’t Roman, they had certainly left their mark in the city and the region.

Yesterday we decided to go on a bit of a tour first to purchase a piece of pottery for our collection in Corval 

Really enjoyed this woman’s Sunday hat! 

...and then onwards to the medieval, fortified town of Monsaraz. The drive there was really lovely if one likes the dry rolling hillsides complete with cork trees, stork nests and vineyards.

We pretty much had the town to ourselves when we arrived.



Looking out towards Spain, just on the other side of the bridge. 





This was the other business of the owners of the pottery shop where we purchased our small treasured piece. 

More Spain just across the lake.



We’d made a reservation at a small wine bar in Évora where they provide a special menu on Sunday afternoons and close late afternoon so their staff can have an evening off. We lucked out as so many are turned away as we had been the prior evening.



The most interesting dish was prepared in front of us with an egg, finely shredded potato all wrapped with a thin uncooked filleted cod. It’s then all cut up by the server. Amazing! I’ll be trying to make this at home, but not until I’ve done a little training at the gym!!

Squid.

Rabbit.

Dessert was a chocolate moose with sliced apricot on the bottom and a port reduction on top, nicely chilled. We shared one! It was accompanied by a very nice glass of Porto:)

This morning after another brilliant breakfast at our hotel we headed across the country direction Lisbon. We stopped at the Almendres Neolithic megaliths for a look. It’s estimated that they were placed between 6,000 - 4,000 BC. We saw similar stones last year walking the Chemin de Arles in France last year, and of course there are the more famous stones in Brittany, the UK and Ireland, though I understand these are considered somewhat older with suggestions that this area is part of the core for the oldest early man. That might be a local claim as there are also similar claims in both southern France and in Spain. Any way, and interesting stop.



We arrived in Lisbon, drove through the busy traffic and dropped off the car without incident. Always nice to have a car. Always nice to drop it off unscathed! 

We found this great little restaurant just down from our hotel which is located well out of the centre as we have a very early 5 am kickoff to our day. The local specialty are baked pies. Mine was based on cod and Annemarie’s had chicken.

Tonight we will return for dinner where I get to try a very different type of cod dish which is apparently quite traditional. Except it will be new to me. After that a few hours of sleep and then a very long 30+ hours getting home to our own beds at around 1am Wednesday morning. Ok, a call to make then off to the restaurant!