Évora
Day 4: April 28
We were staying only one night in Évora, a lovely town with much to do and see so we were arriving early to have time to do it justice. Évora is a walled city full of whitewashed buildings, many trimmed in yellow. We were staying in the historic city center inside the walls. The narrow streets were not accessible by our bus so Paulo stopped outside the gate. As we got off the bus, we were warmly welcomed by Maria, our local guide. She led us on a short walk to our hotel, a lovely spa hotel, M'AR De AR Aqueduto. Check-in time was still a few hours away but we dropped off our bags and off we went with Maria! I could already see that she had a sunny, warm personality and a very fun sense of humor so I knew that exploring Évora with her was going to be delightful!
The Romans conquered Évora in 57 BC and on our walking tour Maria showed us the vestiges from the Roman period: portions of the city wall, a bathhouse believed to be from the 2nd Century (discovered inside town hall during a 1987 archeological excavation) and the ruins of a Corinthian-columned temple from the 1st Century. We went inside Igreja do Salvador, no longer an active church but still containing the altar and baptismal font, with beautiful tile covering every inch of the walls, floor to ceiling. We learned about the 16th Century aqueduct, a section of which was prominently visible from our hotel. Maria took us in the Évora Cathedral, built in the 13th Century and regarded as one of the finest Gothic buildings in Portugal. We visited the bone chapel at St. Francis Church (Igreja de São Francisco), where 5,000 human skulls and bones are cast into the walls and pillars, from the floor to the beautiful frescoed ceiling, and where the eerie inscription over the entry door translates to "We the bones that are here await yours."
It was a beautiful day to stroll, to peek down the narrow, cobbled side streets, to enjoy the picturesque squares and monuments, to try to spot the yellow arrows marking the route that the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage takes through town, and to gaze over the red rooftops and surrounding countryside from the highest spot in town. We were again treated to pastéis da nata, and hey, to the casual observer, this may have looked like an ordinary snack break, but I myself was conducting some important research: a taste test to see how close this town's version came to the high bar set by the Pastéis de Belém. I did notice a physical difference. Évora's pastéis de nata have a scalloped edge.
Our guided tour was over and we were at no loss for how to spend the rest of our afternoon. Our plans had taken shape as Maria had walked us around town. We'd passed some restaurants that had tantalized us with the sight and smell of the food being served at the outdoor tables. We needed lunch! We'd strolled down some side streets with cute little shops that were begging to be entered. We might not buy anything but we at least wanted to browse! And we'd walked by a chic-looking little wine shop, Roto Dos Vinhos do Alentejo, with a sign outside inviting passers-by to stop in for a tasting of four wines of the region. It would be fun to gather a few friends and check out the local wines!
This looks like a dish meant to be shared but it was my individual lunch entrée. Good thing I was hungry! I intended to remove the egg yolk because, well, I am wary of eating raw-looking egg. However, the waiter was just about to make a big show of mixing it in with two large spoons, at our tableside. Gary stopped me from interrupting him in the performance of his job, urging me to enjoy the dish the way it was meant to be eaten. It was delicious! It reminded me that I sometimes need to step outside of my comfort zone when dining in a foreign country! It's one of the ways you immerse yourself in the culture!
I don't normally buy souvenirs when I travel, as I like to keep my luggage light and am at the point in my life where I'd rather collect experiences than things, but the cork handbags were so darned pretty! We were in a shop with our tour mates Ted and Carolyn after having lunch with them and Carolyn could see how much I loved the handbags. Her comment, "You should get one," was all it took. Then she bought one for herself too. My purse made of cork provides me with wonderful memories of my trip to Portugal!
The two of us and seven tourmates had such a good time at this wine tasting! I loved its wall of wine aroma vials where we could experience the aromas of the different grape varietals. Two friendly young sommeliers gave us their undivided attention, filling our glasses and teaching us all about the wines of the Alentejo region. The wine was wonderful and we wanted to show our appreciation by buying some bottles. I was assuming we might be quoted a price of around 20 Euro for the ones we liked best. Amazingly, the price of each of those bottles was under 9 euro. Affordable Portugal!
Dinner was on our own this evening, but the day's schedule included an invitation to join Claúdia at 6 p.m. at the hotel's bar for a glass of wine. We didn't find her at the bar. She was actually in the room next door to the bar, having reserved it for a festive happy hour gathering for us. There were lots of bottles of wine and a table full of sweet and savory snacks and hors d'oeuvres. What a lovely surprise! We started indoors but it was such a nice evening, sunny and in the low 70's, that we soon moved to the adjacent patio, overlooking the pool. Claúdia may not have intended for this gathering to last nearly three hours until sunset, but from the first moment there had been great chemistry in this group. Tonight nobody wanted the party to end!
The Church of St. Francis, where the bone chapel was located, has an upstairs gallery displaying over 200 nativity sets from around the world. A quick peek at those sounded worthwhile, and we did that first, given that our tour had ended right at that church.