• Europe 2025 - part 1
    Giraldo Square in Evora. The square and buildings date from 16th century
    Fountain, 8 spouts for 8 streets entering the square. Many of the buildings have been restoredUsed to be the town hall and jail on the right, now it is a bankCork bagsEvora streetPortuguese chicken!One of the churchesRoman temple on the highest point in townTemple again. Amazing how they moved those massive blocks 2000 years agoRoman temple. Columns are granite with marble caps and basesEvora street, lot of cork shopsSection of the 16th century aqueduct. It came down the street on the right and turned this cornerFamous local. It's believed he lived in Evora for a period of timeCork! It takes 25 years for a tree to be old enough to harvest for the first timeSt Francis church. Recently restored but was built in 16th centuryFront columns of St Francis churchBlue and white tiles in St Francis' churchChapel of the BonesBonesCreepy!Mummified bodies of a woman and a 1 year old girl found during restorations. Plus more bonesAngel like figure above the doorVasco de Gama statueLisbon!View of Lisbon and riverPark near the hotel

    Ola Portugal!

    September 13 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We had a bit of driving to do today so we were up and rolling early. We said goodbye to Seville and hit the freeway west. First stop was the ancient town of Evora.

    Initially this was a Roman outpost from the first century. They built the obligatory temple, walls and aqueduct parts of which are still visible today. The Romans stayed for a couple of centuries but attacks by the barbarians led to the city’s decline before it started to become a strategic point half way between Lisbon and the border with Spain. Combined with its sweeping views it grew into an important centre in the 13th and 14th centuries. A new town wall was built in the 14th century and the main square with its key buildings was completed in the 16th century.

    Around the 16th century the King built a palace in Evora and the town reached its peak of importance.

    The King of Spain required the King of Portugal to rid the country of Jews and Muslims before he would allow the Portuguese King’s son to marry his daughter. The Portuguese King wasn’t as dedicated to this endeavour as the Spanish were but the marriage still went ahead. Interestingly the borders of Portugal haven’t changed since the 13th century. I get the impression over the centuries Spain and Portugal have got along OK most of the time.

    Evora is now a tourist town as much of its 16th century walls and buildings are still in place. One of Portugal’s biggest exports is cork, and they make a lot more from cork than the obvious bottle stoppers and floor tiles. Evora had shops selling cork hats, bags, shoes, and even bikinis and a wedding dress!

    We walked up to the remains of the Roman Temple from the first century, saw where the 16th century aqueduct fed water into the town, then down to St Francis Church. Next to this church was the Chapel of the Bones. Yes it was a room completely lined with bones from about 5000 individuals. The monks built it so locals would reflect on the transience of life. Photos are attached, it was a bit off.

    We then moved on to Lisbon. Quite late in the day so we didn’t get to do much just walked up to the local park for a view over the city and the river. This seems like a really great place to live, the temperature was significantly cooler than it has been in recent days.

    Tomorrow we start to learn more about Lisbon and go to a traditional Fado restaurant.    Read more