Day 29: Into Portugal

Exciting day today, for two reasons: firstly because we were hitting up two separate UNESCO World Heritage sites in one day, and also because we were moving into our second country of the trip! First new country for me, second for Shandos as this was her first time in Spain.

Up at the normal time and hit the road by 11:30, heading westwards across the Portuguese border and the town of Elvas. The town itself is UNESCO listed for a well-preserved old town area, but also for the large Renaissance-era forts protecting the town. Rather than head into town, we decided to check these out instead.

It was a little difficult finding our way around, since the time zone had changed, the language had changed, and the data on my phone stopped working since I wasn't in Spain anymore! But the forts were pretty hard to miss. We opted first for the closer of the two, which sadly turned out to be the less interesting. The caretakers kindly let us take Schnitzel in, which made sense as the fort inside was mostly grass.

They had that class pointed star-shape (if seen from above), where ranged weapons have very distinct killing zones and approaching the fort becomes very difficult. Interested to learn that Portugal has had the same borders more-or-less since the 12th century, and that although the crowns have gone back and forth a few times, it's essentially Europe's oldest defined nation.

After an hour or so we headed down, bypassing the town towards the larger fort on the northern side. This was a bit more touristy but also cost 5 euros to enter; we weren't keen on paying since we'd already paid 2.50 each at the previous fort. If we'd been a little more prepared we'd likely have come here first as it looked larger and in better condition (and more interesting). Apparently at one point it was considered the among the strongest fortresses in Europe, with 144 cannons bristling out of the ramparts!

Back into the car where we continued our journey westward, ending in the small city of Evora. Again this is UNESCO listed for a well-preserved old town, but it was also very influential to Portuguese history which we knew little about. It was the capital of Portugal for a few hundred years in the early Renaissance before the move to Lisbon, and a lot of the buildings and so on date from that era.

Made a quick McDonalds pitstop for late lunch before parking our car outside the city walls and heading to our accommodation on foot. Apartment in a nice quiet side-street, though the owner's nephew or grandson or something lives upstairs. No real problem though, seemed like a nice guy and spoke good English.

Headed out to explore where we looked at the cathedral (at one time the largest in Portugal), well-preserved ruins of a Roman temple (there was a Roman settlement here though not particularly notable), the main plaza (or plaça as they're called here), and of course the little white-washed alleyways with wrought iron balconies.

Found some nice gardens which we walked through, rounded a corner to find a group of peacocks. Including one who had all his feathers raised in a mating display - never seen that before! Had a coffee and a Portuguese egg tart (which are everywhere) in a bakery, though the lady eventually communicated that it was the last one, burnt on top and cracked in the middle. It still tasted the same to us, though she didn't charge us for it!

Seems a lot more multicultural here than in Spain, though it might just be the areas we've been in. Quite a few recent-looking migrants from Africa and the sub-continent, whereas Spain seemed fairly homogeneous. Also keep making the mistake of slipping back into Spanish - it's a bit similar but still quite different to Portuguese. Most people can understand you, but I have no hope of understanding their language! It actually sounds quite eastern European to my ears.

Headed out in the evening without much plan of where to go for dinner. Decided on a whim to head for a place with a 9.1 rating on Foursquare, which turned out to be a fantastic choice. It was a degustation restaurant, where the waiter basically said "do you want meat or vegetarian" and that was as much choice as we had in the matter! Sliced meats, soup-infused mushrooms, baked cheese, choux pastry with cheese & walnut, salad with salmon to start, followed by pork neck with rice and creamy mashed spinach. Mint sorbet for palate cleanser, then a triple dessert of egg yolk & sugar, a thin layered-cake style thing, and a couple of cheesecake squares and a glass of sweet wine. Comfortably the most expensive meal we've had so far on this trip, at 60 euros total, but considering the whole experience and that it included wine, it felt like a bargain!

Went to bed with full stomachs, ready for another day!Read more