Evora day 2

We awoke in a quandary- to revisit the 250 nativity scenes from the previous day or get in the car and drive to Monsaraz, probably the most beautiful monument village in Portugal, a walled city perched on top of a hill. After the toss of the coin we were on our way to Monsaraz, 55 kilometers west of Evora and only around 10 kilometers from the Spanish border. Monsaraz had always been highly coveted over the years and had been won and lost by Muslims, Moors, the Spanish, Muslims again and finally with the help of the Knights Templar it was reclaimed finally in 1232. The castle, which has a mini bullring, dates from the 14th century and has great views over Alqueva Dam, the largest artificial lake in Europe. Not many streets but we spent hours wandering. After Monsaraz we had a look at Alqueva Dam, fairly quiet as out of swimming season apparently. Heading to Evora we saw a sign for “Cromeleque”, which is a prehistoric stone circle, so that called for a detour. When we got back to Evora we visited some more sites including Roman ruins and Evora cathedral. Being Sunday arvo we finished up with ice creams in the square then I went for a beer at the local to get creative with the blog.Read more