Into Portugal at last!

Hola!

I do think that while Portuguese is very different from Spanish, the greeting is still the same.

So … Hola!  

Driving north from Seville to Portugal

Small mountain range in the distance

So much to see and explore!

Beautiful countryside

We also saw several storks; reminds me of Turkey!

Me on corner of our terrace!

We have a lovely room!

And bathroom!  Love the tub!

Part of the Roman aqueduct!

Me and a "friend"...

Main square in town; lots of people and beautiful fountain!

More aqueduct

And they built houses in between the arches!

When I last wrote, it was our intention to go to a Tabernain Jerez to see more Flamenco. We did get nice naps yesterday afternoon, in order to be awake for a bit, and we arrived at the Taberna about 9 pm.  The man at the front desk of our hotel who recommended this place told us that when he had called to have them reserve a table for us, they told him that they would also have a flamenco show at 8:30 before the 9:30.  So…we were of course there early.  Hmmm…well, Surprise! There was no 8:30 pm show after all! No idea why.  Then, at close to 9:30 pm two men took the stage, and it appeared that this was the guitarist and a singer.  Together they quite a noise, but honestly, it wasn’t very appealing to either of us.  So, we decided to head back to the hotel and get a (hopefully) earlier night.  And we did – if you call midnight early.  Not sure when if ever we will get back on a “normal” schedule!  We did sleep until almost 8 am this morning, though, which was quite nice!

Down for breakfast about 9:30 and a final packing up and out the door about 10:30 am.  Robert, who had input all of our hotels into GPS Emmy before we left, set her to get us to Evora, Portugal, and we were on our way.  Unlike our Madrid-Jerez drive, where there were some difficult road closures to navigate, this route was fine, as well as being a beautiful day!

The only surprise we really encountered was when we were thinking we were “almost” there, only to discover that Portugal and Spain are on different zones, so it was, in reality, an hour longer drive.  However, as this was still 4½ hours vs. the 7 driving hours of the other day, really no need to complain!

Before we get to Portugal, though, I’d like to say a little something about Jerez!  We both really loved Jerez.  It’s a stunning small city with beautiful wide avenues and boulevards, and lots to see and do.  We figured that it will be a good city to return to, maybe for a week or two in a rental flat or house someday.  We really did like it that much!

So … Portugal!  The drive between Jerez and Evora was really lovely.  There were mountains in the distance, and lots of vineyards as well as olive trees on both sides of the road.  Evora is a very historic town, as well as being a UNESCO World Heritage site.  There are Roman ruins to explore in town (baths and a temple), and a host of megalithic menhirs and dolmen outside of town.  There is a stunning aqueduct that has actually been incorporated into the town architecture; so interesting to see garages and houses built between the arches!  

We’re going to have to be careful of the weather, as it’s supposed to start raining tomorrow.  I’m thinking that we’ll use tomorrow (Monday) for out-of-town things, as many places including the Evora Museo are closed on Monday.  

We got to Evora– a walled city – about 2:30 pm and were able to find our hotel very easily!  We are within the town area, but not right in the middle, which leaves room for an underground car park at the hotel.  Our hotel, the Albergaria do Calvario, is really lovely, with beautiful white-washed walls and lots of stone and flowers.  It started life as an olive press for the adjacent convent, and now is really lovely! Our room, #19, is on the second floor and has a lovely balcony overlooking the central courtyard.  The folks running the place are amazingly helpful, which started from the moment we arrived!  They got us drinks of our choice (red wine for R and white wine for me) while we were checking in, and went over a list of their favorite restaurants in the neighborhood.  We’ve chosen Luar de Janeiro for dinner tonight, a 10-minute walk away. Supposedly they have the “best steak in town” which sounds definitely good to me!

We settled in to our room, and, as we’re here for three nights, I was able to unpack and find places for everything.  (Note: As in many European hotels, there are very few drawers or shelves for clothing – and it does get old living out of a suitcase.)  We decided to go for a walk of discovery, and found that Evora is quite a lovely small city!  Many of the shops and services were closed today (Sunday) but there were a few places to visit, as well as the local Tourist Information office. We were able to get a map of megalithic sites which I trust will come in handy in the next day or two.  I also was able to find a Magnum Almond bar which was a very nice addition to the day, as it has been quite a while since lunch!

Back to the hotel around 5:30-ish and now I’m blogging so as to (hopefully!) enable me to get to bed a bit earlier tonight.  Fortunately, the restaurants in Evora mostly open at 7:30 pm, which is SO much nicer than 9:30 – 10 pm.  So, more later!

Much love, from Portugal!

m

xxx

I had a quick nap before we left about 7:15 pm for our reservation at 7:30 pm.  Not a bad walk, but over cobbles, it wasn’t the easiest we’ve had. Also, it is really chilly here, so not only am I in turtleneck, but I’ve got my one and only cashmere sweater on as well.  Robert has heat on in the room and it was very nice and warm when we got back in!

Arrived at Luar at 7:30 pm and there was our table – already with things on it!  Turns out, and I had forgotten this part!! – that the table will have appetizers on the table, and if you eat any/all of them, you will be charged for them.  If there is something you don’t like, you are supposed to tell them to take it away, and then you won’t be charged. Well, our table had wonderful mushrooms on one plate and one of tomatoes, peppers and olive oil; then a small dish of olives – and finally, one of RABBIT.  Now seriously, folks … that is not something I’m ever going to eat.  Robert tried some, and declared it good, but that’s as far as it went.  Tomorrow, at least, we’ll know!

Then, looking at the menu, I was in a quandary.  They are advertised as having the best steak in town – just not BEEF steak – I think they mean veal!  (I’m also not a veal fan…) I ended up ordering pork tenderloin stuffed with ham (yet again…) and garlic; Robert ordered the cod.  Well…to say that my pork was the best I have ever tasted would be quite an understatement!  It was FABULOUS!  It came with a plate of rice and cooked spinach, as well as a plate of potato chips?! Robert’s cod was the biggest fish I think I have ever seen served, and came with potatoes and tomatoes, onions and spinach.  He loved it! For dessert, I had the best mousse au chocolate that I have ever had, including France, and Robert had a slice of fresh pineapple with a large red strawberry, on a base of port!  He said it was great!  And then finally, before we left, we were given two small glasses of what looked like lemoncello, but I don’t think had any alcohol.  It was GREAT!  We were able to finally stagger back to the hotel about 9:30 pm and now I am posting and then heading to bed, with the object of getting there before 10:30 pm! It was SO nice having a lovely evening meal and not tapas for a change!

So – more tomorrow!

Lots of love,

m

xxx

Note:  Robert screwed up a setting on the camera, so all of the pictures of our wonderful meal are bad, and there is apparently no way to fix them.  Sorry, Foodie Fans.

m

xxx