A Rocky Ending

Our return flight to the States was supposed to be at 5pm from Lisbon Airport.  After breakfast at the Convento in Evora, we went to the stunning chapel and took photos (dramatic pathetic foreshadowing).

Our last true tourist activity was to go to the Cromoleque dos Almendres and also the nearby Menhir dos Almendres.  The drive alone was an adventure.  We drove through small villages and rolling hills just outside of Evora.  Then, turning onto a dirt road from the village of Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe, it was another few miles through scenic views of cork trees and olive trees, with the occasional cows thrown in for good measure.

The first megalith (the Cromeleque) dates from around 5,500 BC, and has been called the Portuguese Stonehenge.  When we got there, only one car was parked in the dirt lot.  We walked the quarter mile to the 95 rounded granite stones in the shape of an oval.  Just as we arrived, the couple from the other car walked out, leaving this amazing place to just us.  Mind blown!  

It’s the largest megalithic monument in Iberia and one of the oldest in Europe.  Yes, the rocks are not as big as Stonehenge, but the megalith is approx. 2000 years OLDER than its more famed British counterpart.

This isn’t as old as the cave paintings we saw in Northern Spain, but it is the second oldest sign of human activity that we’ve ever seen.  We walked around the outside, posed by some of the stones, took some selfies, and then headed out.

Our next stop was at the Menhir dos Almendres.  That was a walk through an olive tree grove to one large (12 foot?) stone standing straight up.  We had to wonder about how they moved the rock and got it dug into the ground to stand up.  

It’s pretty amazing how we gawked at Roman ruins and marveled at Medieval palaces, castles, cathedrals, and monasteries, but saved the oldest for last.  And, it is just as spectacular to us as all of the other highlights of Portugal.

Well, THAT Was Stupid Of Me!

The drive back to the airport was easy, wide open roads until we got close to Lisbon meant I probably averaged 85-88 mph on the open road.

But, returning the rental car at the Lisbon airport was just as frustrating as getting it.  The design of the return center is terrible, as we had to wait nearly 30 minutes to pull in and return the car.  The long line of car being returned backed up the drop-off point, and there was nothing anyone did to make it work better.  However, I did feel like a winner, as I did not dent or scrape the car.  Victory!  But, I guess I was so thrown off by the bad return experience that I made a big mistake. . .

We were sitting in the airport lounge, getting ready to go to the gate, when I went to check something in my backpack.  I realized then, with a hugely sinking feeling, that I had left the camera in the backseat of the car after the megaliths.  I’m not sure the famous John Passacantando line, “It’s not an adventure until the first thing goes wrong,” but something definitely went wrong, and it was “all my fault” to paraphrase the line that hockey fans use to taunt the opposing goalie when the home team scores. 

The good news is that the night before I had downloaded all the photos of the last four days.  And, Carol took a bunch of photos at the Megaliths with her iPhone, so I’ve got that going for me.  Bailed out of my mistake (a little, at least) by my wife, again.  Phew.

Portugal Riffs #4 -- We're Americans!

 Riffs are my random thoughts about a country or place we are visiting.  This post is the last of four sets of riffs, but there’s plenty of random thoughts to spill. . .

I used to whine about Europe not providing ice, and then when asking for ice, providing one measly ice cube that melted as soon as the warm drink splashed on it.  It’s no longer true, at least in Portugal. . .many times my sparkling waters were brought with multiple ice cubes.  On other occasions, when asked if we wanted ice, I would simply shrug and say, “We’re Americans.”  The waiter would laugh, and then simply bring multiple cubes without further comment.

One of the best aspects of traveling through Portugal is that nearly every explanatory sign at historic sites were in both Portuguese and English.  It made life easy, although we (mostly Carol) got pretty good at puzzling out the few signs only in Portuguese.  She didn’t get everything, but got the gist of it.  But, I would say that 95%+ of the signs included English.

I will note that the signs rarely included Spanish (less than 5% or so).  Some Portuguese really don’t like the Spanish, whilst others appear to tolerate their Iberian neighbors.  I get the sense the Spanish ignore the Portuguese, much like New Zealanders don’t like their Australian cousins though the Aussie largely ignore the Kiwis.  Or how Canadians fixate on America, even though Americans barely notice Canada, except for when their teams go another year without winning a Stanley Cup.  That’s when we just laugh.  Ha, ha, ha.

After the Chapel of Bones, We Were, Um, Dead Tired

We went into the church (built in the 14th century by the Franciscan order) in the Gothic style.  I hate to sound blasé about something built in the 1300s, but c'mon man, it's not as cool as a chapel built out of bones.  Actual bones.  Like "I see dead people" bones.

It's a very simple church, well except for the Baroque chapel.  There was another climb up stairs to get to another terrace.  Evora leads in church terraces per capita.  There's also an interesting collection of nativity scenes on display, so we did a drive-by arting of that.

I may look old here, but I'm 

younger than the tiles.

Hallway ceiling outside the chapel of bones.

View from the church terrace.

The Cathedral from this church's terrace.

We had our worst meal of the trip (we had a lot of very good ones) back in the Giraldi Square.  The restaurants near the Chapel of Bones looked better, but there was not a single available outside table in the fine weather at any of the four.

While we were waiting to order, Carol went into a shop and bought some cork placemats.  I told her not to, but she told me to put a cork in it.

When I think of cork, obviously wine stoppers come to mind.  Here in Evora, they sell all sorts of beautiful items made of very supple cork.  

After our late lunch, we walked back to the car and drove to the convent hotel.  We did a wine tasting and took a tour of the hotel, which is how we found the stunning chapel in the convent.

We finished up with dinner in the hotel.  The food was excellent.  

Oh The Dead Don't Die

It was certainly the most unique sight we saw on our trip.  It may have been the coolest sight as well.  (It's hard to, there are so many.

The Church of St. Francis is a main draw in Evora not because of the church, but because of the Chapel of Bones.  The skulls and bones of some 5,000 monks are tightly cemented to the walls and pillars in the chapel.  The church is free, whilst the Chapel of Bones is Four Euros per person.  Money well spent.

The entrance to the bone chapel (Capela dos Ossos) is outside of the church entrance.  Built in the early 1600s, the three monks who did it were concerned about society's values at the time, particularly given just how wealthy Evora was then.  

I will let the pictures tell the story.  I have a lot more pictures, but you'll get the drift.

The church

Translation: "We bones in here wait

for yours to join us."  Happy thought!

The brighter white round things are skulls,

but you probably figured that out already.

These guys are still

pillars of the community.

This might be my favorite pic.

We HAD to have a Chapel of Bones selfie.

Oh come on, you know you want one too!

I can't imagine you need any more motivation to go to Portugal than this!

A Random Walk Down Rua Cinco de Outubro

After the church, we walked down Rua Cinco de Outubro, one of the main shopping streets of the town,  back to Giraldo Square.  But first, we stopped in a beautiful ceramics store and ended up buying six pieces, including two as gifts.  

You may assume I stood outside in the street whilst Carol shopped, and you would be right wrong.  Heck, I led the charge.  I'm pretty sure Carol was happy for me to do it, because I just kept saying, "let's get this, let's get that," and she was happy for me to spend money.  She did pick out a few things too, and agreed with my recommendations.  The bill was far less than I expected, so we got some great colorful local ceramics at a very fair price.

If you like colorful, awesome-

looking serving dishes, these

fit the bill.

If you DON'T like colorful, awesome-

looking serving dishes, what is 

wrong with you?

We took a break at a pastry shop on the square, sat in the square by the fountain, and people watched.  There are some number of beggars in Portugal, but not many, and they are not overwhelming.  We gave money to a few folks during the trip, but waved many more off, and they would leave us alone.

With the ceramics well-wrapped but still breakable, we hoofed it the more than half mile back to the car.

Crown on the fountain.

Giraldi Square, 16th century marble fountain,

and Church of Santo Antao, also from

the16th century

The aqueduct in full sunshine.

Very Cool Terrace at the Cathedral

Our next stop was the cathedral of Santa Maria de Evora, built in the late 12th Century.  It's a mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles.  We bought the ticket (just 4.50 Euros per person) for everything, although we never did find the church treasury.  

The highlight wasn't the cloisters this time, it was the terrace.  It's the first thing we did -- tight stairs up and up, leading to a tremendous view.  The photos below are not in order. . .not quite sure what happened, but I'm not going to work to fix that!

The altar.

Not sure which queen this is, but I'm sure she's dead.

View from the cloisters

View of the cloisters.

The Roman columns from the terrace.

Bell tower from the terrace.

A weather beaten decoration

with the plains from Evora.

Very cool tower.  Design looks

Gaudi-esque, which is the best

possible look.

The imposing front

Up on the terrace.

Photos from the Convent/Hotel

These are kind of cool.  Carol took the bottom six photos whilst I took the top two.

I took this from 3.2 miles away.

Night bells.

View from our patio.

View from the cloisters.

The altar.

Altar close-up.

Another Whimsical Photo

Ale Hop is a popular store in the Iberian Peninsula, and there is always a cow involved.  Not a live one.  It's a Spanish-owned popular retail chain that seems to sell stuff targeted to teenage and 20-something women, but it may have a wide audience than that for all I know.

Whenever I see the first one on a trip, I translate "Ale Hop" to "Cool Local Craft Beer Place" before being disappointed.  I'm Charlie Brown, and what Ale Hop actually sells is Lucy with the football.

 

In Evora, the Ale Hop cow is a Christmas cow.

In early November.  A bit early, but I had to 

strike a pose.

 

A Pleasant Morning Stroll In Evora

Evora is surrounded by cork trees and olive trees in the Alentejo province, in my estimation one of the two best wine regions in Portugal (the Duoro being the other).  Not quite 60,000 people, Evora was a Roman town for over 600 hundred years.  And, it boasts history from the Romans to the Moors to Portuguese royalty.

After breakfast in the beautiful dining room of the convent, we drove and parked for free just outside the city walls, right by the 16th century aqueduct.  

Aqueducts are cool.

Fountains are cool.

We rambled on into town past more city walls and gates and headed to Praca do Giraldo, named after a local hero (Local Hero is a GREAT movie if you haven't seen it -- has nothing to do with Portugal, just Northern Scotland, but writing "local hero" reminded me of the movie).

I'm back now.  

Giraldo the Fearless was the Christian knight who led the surprise attack in 1165 to retake Evora from the Moors.  He was made governor of the town in appreciation for his efforts.  

King Joao III lived in Evora off and on for 30 years.  A fervent believer in the Inquisition (not just for Spain, but Portugal too), Joao was king when the first victims were burned in the square in 1543.

We were hoping to take the walking tour that the tourism office offers at 10am, but it turns out they don't offer it on Sundays.

So instead we did the walking tour in the Rick Steves Portugal book.  

For such a small town, Evora has a lot of cool stuff.

Giraldi on top of the lightpost.  A local hero,

his horse is stepping on the heads of two

dead Moors.  Memories are long here.

Roman arch gate into the city.  The stones

leading up to the gate are some of the 

original Roman pavement stones.

Moorish influence on the balcony.

Interesting fountain (wasn't on).

This square, which features the ineptly-named Jardim Diana (Diana Garden), is the highest point in the city and affords spectacular views of the lower city and out into the countryside.  It's ineptly-named because it was believed that the Roman temple was dedicated to the Roman goddess Diana.  It was not.  It was dedicated to the Caesar at the time.  The 14 columns and marble capitals are about all that are left.  We skipped the museum of Evora, and walked past the building that house the Tribunal of the Inquisition.

Roman forum columns are cool.

Another Roman forum, another selfie.

The center of the Portuguese

Inquisition?  Not cool at all.