We polished off the last of our groceries for breakfast, said farewell to Helder, and took the Metro to the bus station for our 10 am bus to Evora. Everything went smoothly and after a little bit of confusion about which bus to get because they don’t post signs, we found the bus with a sign saying it was going our way and hopped on board. With about an hour and a half to get there, this was going to be a light travel day.
For the first time, our bus journey went without a hitch and we arrived in Evora as scheduled. The bus station is just a bus stop on the side of the road, so when google maps advised it was a 25-minute walk to our apartment, we decided to find a taxi. It was already in the mid 30s and we knew the cobblestones would be murder on our wheels. There was a taxi at the taxi stand, so we showed the driver the address and asked if he could take us. He seemed to struggle to read the address and did not instil confidence that he knew where it was. Then he started searching for something and muttering. Next thing we know, he has gestured to us and then away, and put the car in gear and drove off! Sure he was elderly so we thought maybe he had been looking for his glasses, but he just drove away. Maybe he just forgot to put us in the car??
With no more taxis in sight, we decided to brave the warm weather, trust in the evil blue dot and hoof it to our apartment. The bus stop was outside the historical centre of Evora, so it was a straightforward walk to the gate in the wall and then the real fun started. The streets are old and rather narrow, with minimal sidewalks, and cobbled paving. Whilst not as hilly as Porto, we still had to drag our bags up streets but all in all, it wasn’t too bad. We made our way in good time to our apartment and were delighted with what we found. Thankfully it was nice and cool inside and we really liked our home for the next week or so. It reminded us of a 60s style caravan (although much bigger) with a curved ceiling and the layout.
We set off to explore some of the sights we saw on our way in – we had already crossed the main square and walked past a huge cathedral, so we retraced our steps to get our bearings. It’s very quiet, maybe because it’s Sunday, but there are still tourists wandering around. The Cathedral was open, so we checked the ticket prices – 4.50 euros to see everything, so we put that on the list. Once we walked past the Cathedral we discovered the Roman ruins the town is known for. Built in the first century CE, they were once thought to be a temple to the goddess Diana, but historians do not believe that to be the case anymore. They are an impressive sight and it’s fascinating having such an old artefact in amongst the younger (though still old) cathedral and churches, as well as the buildings that make up the town.
Continuing our exploration, we wandered down tourist alley which is lined with the usual curio shops and restaurants, and made our way back into the main square. It’s a lovely square with plenty of cafes, restaurants, shops and churches. The day-tripper crowd is still keeping the businesses busy, so we wandered off to hunt down dinner.
Leading off tourist alley is a street that is just a row of restaurants that set up their tables on the cobblestones. After checking out the menus, we sat down at Aromas do Campo. Colin ordered what he declared to be the best octopus he has ever eaten, and I tried the black pork, which is a regional dish. It was a lovely end to a travel day.
We were at the Cathedral before the tourists arrived the next day, so we were able to enjoy the beauty of the church in relative peace. We clambered up to the roof top where the vista over the city is delightful. This is a lovely church – started in 1186, 20 years after the city was reconquered from Arab hands. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the first part of the building was completed in 1204 and then enlarged from 1280 to 1340 in the Gothic style. It has been expanded on over the centuries and is the largest of the medieval cathedrals in Portugal. The attached museum contains plenty of religious artefacts and clearly shows the wealth contained by the catholic church.
We wandered over to the ruins and grabbed a coffee and pastry from the coffee van nearby. Such a treat to sit sipping coffee looking at first century Roman ruins. The tourist crowds are not too bad – they stick to the main tourist sights, so it’s easy to get away from them and enjoy the ambience. Evora dates back more than five millenia – a tribal confederacy, the Celtici, called the town Ebora. The Romans conquered the town in 57 BCE, expanding the town, building the walls and, of course, the Roman ruins near the Cathedral. The Moors conquered the city in 715 until 1165. It’s fascinating to think that people have lived their lives here for more than 7000 years.
There are no supermarkets in the old part of the city, so restaurant meals for dinner seem to be the main option. Being a tourist town, the menus are limited to the regional dishes, which are quite rich, and come with tourist price tags. The little markets have basics such as cereal and milk, so we can save money there, and the cafes sell delicious chicken pies, or empanadas, which make for yummy lunches.
Another fascinating sight here is the Chapel of Bones, which is next to Saint Francis Church. The church was built at the end of the 15th century and is beautiful. The churches here are impressive and not overdone with gilt. The Chapel of Bones (Capela dos Ossos) was built by Franciscan friars, with an estimated 5,000 corpses. The bones were exhumed from Evora’s medieval cemeteries in the 16th century and the chapel was used to remind the wealthy locals that material things are transient and to encourage them to meditate on the undeniable presence of death. The message above the chapel door reads: ‘We bones, are here, waiting for yours’.
Evora is a very walkable city and after exploring the church and chapel, we made our way to the gardens and enjoyed a coffee and a walk with the peacocks. The town is also a university town, so there are lots of young people here which gives the whole place a lively vibe. The students are easy to identify – their university garb is all black, long jackets with capes over the top. In this weather they must be sweltering as they walk around town. We’ve seen a few groups walking in conga lines chanting something – 5 October is Portugal’s national day, so maybe it has something to do with that.
We’ve got a few favourite cafes. Just up the road from us is a lovely bar/café that has tables set out on the triangle with a fountain where we can watch the locals going by. It’s away from the tourist zone and we can see the top of the cathedral while we drink a beer. They do really tasty toasted pork and cheese sandwiches. There is also a café on the square that makes their own pastries and the choice is somewhat overwhelming, but we’re always up to give something new a try. It appears to be difficult to find a disappointing pastry in Portugal, and of course, the Portuguese custard tarts are scrumptious.
Evora is the historic capital of the Alentejo and there are plenty of small towns that are considered worth visiting. Public transport is not an option, so we hired a car for the day and decided to brave driving. It was a half hour walk to get to the car rental, but we made it on time. The staff at Europcar were just brilliant, helpful and friendly. We got upgraded to an automatic, and, as I was driving, I was made more nervous when we were given a Mercedes Benz A200 for the day. Nice car!
Besides driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, the steering is on the left and the controls are all on the ‘wrong’ side. To top it off, the gear change was on the column, so I had to concentrate to remember to use the right lever for indicating. We set off with Colin as navigator – first destination, Monsaraz.
Monsaraz is a medieval village made of lime and schist, with views from the fort across the land to Spain. It’s one of the oldest villages in Portugal, with signs of having been a fortified settlement during prehistoric times, with control being taken by the Moors, the Spanish and eventually, the Portuguese at the time of Evora’s conquering. So much history and fascinating to walk the walls of the fort and the ancient streets.
We didn’t really have a plan for the day, so we decided to set off to Estremoz where we would find somewhere for a latish lunch. The drive along the country roads was peppered with lovely, colourful villages. I’d love to see the countryside after some rain as this rural area was looking very dry. With not too many wrong turns, we made our way towards Estremoz, driving past huge marble quarries. The area is known for producing marble, being the second largest exporter of the rock in the world.
As we came into Estremoz my nerves took a beating – we entered the town through the huge gates in the wall and then I’m driving on cobblestones, down narrow streets, trying to remember to look the right way and not turn into oncoming traffic. I’d love to have a glass of wine with lunch to calm myself, but I need my wits about me to drive like this!
We found a car park and set off with the evil blue dot to find somewhere for lunch. It was blisteringly hot and when we got turned around a few times, already frayed nerves shredded just a little more. We finally found the restaurant we were looking for and had one of the daily specials. I tried the black pork lizards (as translated by google) which thankfully turned out to be yummy strips of pork.
Recharged, we set off to explore what was shaping up to be a pretty town. The sidewalks were paved with marble and the buildings are all white-washed, so it is known as the white city. On the drive in, the castle could be seen on the top of the hill, so yep, up the hills we went. Questioning our decision to explore, we eventually arrived and discovered a walled fort, with, you guessed it, a church. The palace has been turned into a hotel, but you can go up the tower as a visitor. Awesome! Lots of steps, but the views from the top were worth it.
Thoroughly enjoyed Estremoz and really glad we got out and explored a bit more of Alentejo. We managed to get the car back in one piece after a bit of running around to find somewhere to get fuel. I was hugely relieved to hand the keys back and felt much more confident using my feet on the walk back to our apartment
Our apartment is just up from the hospital and we discovered that the mini-mart there sells chicken drumsticks. Such a treat to buy some fresh veges and have a home cooked dinner. The kitchenette is basic, but good enough to cook a basic dinner – thank goodness for frozen veg! Many of the restaurants don’t open for dinner until 7 or 7.30, and finding a budget option is a challenge. We spent one night wandering around, frustrated, until we decided to try the locals’ haunt up the road from our apartment. We ordered skewered meat, salad and chips which still cost 20 euros with a beer and glass of wine. We got one skewer each, the salad was tiny and the beer was warm, but the chips were pretty good.
We loved Evora, but we will remember it for meals being a challenge. We even tried the Asian restaurant, Kantu, for our last night. Excitedly, we ordered pork stir fry, but, while it was tasty, it turned out to be minced pork with rice. Oh well, we’re back on the road tomorrow, heading to Lisbon for an overnight stay before flying to Prague.
We opted to walk to the hospital as we packed up and left our lovely ‘caravan’ apartment to try to find a taxi to get us to the bus stop. After help from one of the taxi drivers, we were thankful to not haul our luggage over the cobblestones, and at only six euros, it was a bargain. We enjoyed coffee and empanadas at the café across the road while we waited for the bus, which left on time.
The referendum for the voice to parliament is this coming Saturday and we have registered as overseas voters, so when we arrived back in Lisbon we cooled our heels at a café until it was time to drag our bags and ourselves to the embassy to vote. Two metro lines and a short walk, and we joined the queue to vote. Pretty cool actually – never been to an embassy before. The staff were really friendly (what a gig – working at an embassy in Lisbon!) and we were in and out in 10 minutes. Then it was time to make it to our overnight accommodation.
I had tried to get them to store our luggage while we tramped across Lisbon, but they were not helpful at all, even after saying it could be an option. We were at the guesthouse by about 3 pm and as they don’t open until 4, we chilled at the café on the street. There are very few signs advertising it as a guesthouse, so there was a bit of confusion, but we were there. At 4, Gonzales came and got us and the loveliest check in process began. He was super friendly and helpful, so after confirming a taxi for our 4 am pick up, he left us to settle in.
The guesthouse is awesome and the shared bathrooms are spotless. Colin has picked up a tummy bug, but we headed off to our favourite restaurant, Sherpa Momo for dinner. A bit of a sad last night in Portugal, but also a lot excited for Prague!