Hola!
Up this morning around 7, and down to breakfast about 8 am. The rain that had been predicted for today had already moved in, and everything outside was very wet. That made me SOglad that we found our megaliths yesterday, as today at least two of our sites would have been much more difficult to get to!
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| Temple of Diana |
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| Tiles in the church |
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| More tiles! |
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| Beautiful gold altar! |
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| Temple from Loios Church |
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| Me in Palace overlooking Temple |
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| Family living room! |
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| Family dining room! |
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| Temple of Diane |
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| Treats in bakery! |
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| R's sandwich at hotel |
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| My grilled ham, cheese and tomato sandwich |
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| Ham to begin meal with Miguel |
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| Excellent ham and wine! |
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| And Miguel! |
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| Another fabulous steak with accompaniments! |
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| Two different cakes! |
Today our plan was to see the sights inside the walls of Evora, so that’s what we set out to do. The only wrinkle in these otherwise excellent arrangements was that just about every shop and store in town was closed up tight! Why?! Where was everybody!? We finally found a little pastry shop/café that was open, so after we had ordered coffee for Rand hot chocolate for me, along with some yummy pastries, we inquired! Guess what?! This is the last day of “Carnival” – as tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and lent begins! Well!
There were a few things open, though, that we were able to visit. First of all, the Templo Romano (Temple of Diana) which stands at the very heart of the old city. It was built in the first or second century, and supported by fourteen granite Corinthian columns.
Right next to this temple we were able to visit the Igreja dos Loios and Palacio dos Duques de Cadaval. This is the former conventional church dedicated to Sao Joao Evangelista, and belonging to the Duques (Dukes of) de Cadaval, who still live in part of the adjacent ancestral palace.
The church itself is quite striking, in that it is mostly lined with floor-to-ceiling azulejos (decorated ceramic tiles) from the 18thcentury. They show scenes from the life of Sao Lourenco Justiniano, founder of the Loios order. The church also contains two trap doors about half-way down the main aisle, one side revealing a Moorish cistern and the other containing the bones of the convent’s monks…and I’m not big on bones.
Immediately connected to the church is a huge cloister and stairs leading to the living quarters of the present-day Duke of Cadaval. There, a large section of rooms has been cordoned off and now display the private art collection of the family. It does have quite a range. From very old religious art to modern art from today. I’m not exactly a fan of anything they had, and hopefully R’s photos will let you make up your own mind. It was an interesting experience, though, walking through a real family home, several rooms of which include family photographs and mementos.
Unfortunately, the Roman baths are incorporated into the City Hall, which was closed for the day. We did get a chance to look through the windows and see a bit of the baths. Can you imagine needing to do some foundation repair work, and as it was opening up, voila! Roman ruins?!
For my part, I had gone out this morning without a scarf, even knowing better, and I was absolutely freezing! (Robert, as per usual, went out in his heavy jacket with shorts; how he can do that I have absolutely no idea!) We did stop in a small open shop called Villanova and find a nice HEAVY scarf that I wore out of the store. Just another scarf to add to my collection, but my neck is now nice and warm!
We got back to the hotel about 1:30 pm and just made it before the next band of rain moved in. It poured! We had a glass of wine in the bar, and then got sandwiches to have for lunch. Robert’s was grilled red peppers with Portuguese cheese (which was delicious!) and mine was the more ordinary ham/cheese/tomato grilled sandwich, which was delicious! Then, upstairs to our room for naps, which felt wonderful! It’s now after 4:30 pm and we are both up and moving around somewhat. Robert is reading one of our Portugal guide books, as we head to Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese) tomorrow. As he says, Lisboa is a BIG city, which will be a really dramatic change from Evora!
The drive is supposed to be about an hour and a half, and we will be staying at the DoubleTree, which fortunately has parking. I’m thinking that as we are only there for three nights (that is, two full days), we probably won’t want to use the car at all, which is fine by me; just hoping that finding the parking area won’t be too crazy, but more on that tomorrow!
Off at 6:30 pm to our restaurant of last night, and very much looking forward to it! Not sure if either of us can resist repeating last night’s steak dinner, as it was truly incredible and one of the best meals either of us has ever had! Hard to live up to, that’s for sure!
So, as I have a way of saying, more later!
m
xxx
Robert adds: Food seems to taste different here. Can it be because of the way our agricultural industry raises our beef, chicken, pork, etc.? Specially formulated, standard feed? Hormones? Here, we noticed, the hogs live in the orchards, cattle are in the pastures (not feed lots), chickens in the barnyards -- and eating what comes naturally. And it makes a difference.
Back from dinner, and it was fabulous yet again! A small place – 5 tables, seating a maximum of about 13 or 14. Miguel does all the waiting and front of house stuff; Marguerita his wife cooks – she is amazing, and Mom-in-law preps for Marguerita in the kitchen. Tonight, we had a starter of Portuguese ham – very different from what we get at home, for sure. Then we duplicated last night’s steaks – just as fabulous, and with a few more veggies this time. Dessert again was two different cakes – one almond, and not sure of the other – other than it was great! Truly a place to return to! Good night and on to Lisboa tomorrow!
m
xxx
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