Évora, Também

Traveling from Lisbon to Évora was a reminder of just how nice it is to be in a place with efficient mass transit. Saturday morning, we left our hotel and walked down the street and around the corner, a half block total, to the #726 bus stop. We had to wait for, oh, maybe 4 minutes before hopping on a bus to Sete Rios, where we went across the street to the Rede Expresso bus terminal. We bought our tickets and 30 minutes later were headed to Évora (Wiki can tell you about Évora).

We had wondered if three nights would be too long a stay here, but shouldn't have worried. Évora is charming, large enough to have lots to see and do and small enough to easily walk across the old town within the walls in about 15 or 20 minutes. More importantly, located in the center of the Alentejo region (the 'bread basket' of Portugal), it is known for great food and wine.

The center of Évora is Praça do Giraldo, named after Gerald the Fearless, the Medieval knight who defeated the town's Moorish rulers in 1165. Images of him are everywhere, almost always on a horse, waving a sword after chopping off some Muslim heads, also shown.

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Off to the side of the plaza is a small corner where older gentlemen congregate to ponder the recent obituaries posted on a bulletin board and sit in the sunshine.

The City Museum was surprisingly good, in a recently restored building. We noticed another freshly painted building across the street, the Fórum Eugénio de Almeida. Intrigued by posters for a traveling art exhibit from Germany called INTER[IN]VENTION, we found one of the best collections of multi-media installations I've ever seen.

We visited a half-dozen churches, walked through the public gardens, saw Roman ruins, explored the University grounds, watched peacocks display their feathers for indifferent peahens, tasted a sampling of Alentejano wines (free!) and went to the top of the Sé (cathedral). We also went into the Chapel of Bones, built by a Franciscan monk and completely lined with bones and skulls to remind us that life is short.

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And yes, we ate really well. A specialty of the region is porco preto, black pork, named after a breed of pig native to the Iberian Peninsula. The swine feast on acorns and wild herbs and the result is incredibly tasty, tender pork. The first night we had dinner at Fialho and I had sliced black pork tenderloin. The second night we had dinner at 1/4 para as 9, where I had black pork and clams. The last night we had the best dinner of all, at a tiny place called Botequim da Mouraria, huge black pork steaks. Every meal was of course washed down with rich, tasty Alentejano vinho tinto.

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The next day was dull and dreary, a walk through the rain to the bus station. Back in Lisbon it was still raining so we stayed in our IBIS hotel at Oriente until it was time for one last Portuguese dinner. The last morning we had to wake up at 4 a.m., took a cab to the airport at 5 a.m. (and got taken for an extra €5 by the dishonest driver), and were in the air to Madrid before 7 a.m.

Click here to see all the Flickr photos from our trip to Lisbon and Évora.

Lisboa Outra Vez

Like a beautiful painting or a classic film, Lisbon bears repeated viewings. Since our first visit in 2011 we have returned again and again, each time finding new sights and flavors.

This time we saw the elegant interior of the Igreja Fátima, the City Museum with its terrific model of pre-1755 earthquake Lisbon, and the Pinheiro Museum. We happily discovered the work of Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso (1887-1918) at a special exhibit at the Gulbenkian. A train ride to Queluz to see the National Palace was enjoyable but ultimately in vain: a bunch of Very Important Men in Suits were holding a meeting and police kept us humble tourists away at a distance, so we had to settle for a walk in the park.

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The Rua Augusta Arch was open after a recent restoration, so we rode an elevator to the top for fine vistas of the city and the river.

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I got hooked on bitoque (a thin beefsteak topped with a runny fried egg), a standard Portuguese dish I had inexplicably overlooked before. In between these new experiences we made time for frango assado (roasted chicken brushed with spicy piri-piri sauce) at Bonjardim and a tram ride to Belém for pasteis.

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Best of all, we got to visit with friends. One day we took the tram to Graça to say hello to António and the rest of the folks at A Cabreira. I met António when we rented an apartment across the street and Terri and I would walk over for pasteis de nata or codfish balls. This time we enjoyed a fine lunch of grilled fish and afterwards were treated to glasses of beirão, a potent Portuguese liqueur. (A Cabreira is one of those places you find in almost every block in Portugal: café, bar, diner, pastry shop, savory and sweet snacks, and community center, open from early in the morning to late at night.)

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Friday was a special treat. Our friends Manuel and Ana picked us up at our hotel for a drive to São Martinho do Porto, a small coastal village about 100 km north of Lisbon. The waves of the Atlantic boom at the entrance to a quiet, protected bay lined with wide sandy beaches; three- and four-story apartment buildings face the water with street-level shops and restaurants. We walked along the shore until the rains came, when we retreated to A Casa for an incredibly delicious lunch: fish soup, grilled shrimp, then a main course of caldeirada made with fish freshly caught that morning. The rains let up and the sun came out just as we finished lunch, so we enjoyed another walk with our friends before driving back to Lisbon through the lovely Portuguese countryside.

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After five nights in Lisbon it was time to head to Évora, capital of the Alentejo region, home to great food and fine wines. Our time there deserves another blog post -- stay tuned.

All the photos are on Flickr.

Chasing Our Tails

We're in a bit of an endless loop with this traveling. We fly enough to earn status as frequent fliers, which gets us certain perks like fast check-in, international lounges, and early boarding. We get accustomed to the perks, which means we have to continue flying to keep them. Without the perks we wouldn't fly as much or at all, so the perks become the goal rather than an incidental benefit. Whatever. It's complicated.

In any event, we have status through the end of February so tomorrow afternoon we're off to lovely Lisbon. Yes, yes, I know, we've been going to Portugal a lot the last few years, but why not? This time we're staying in a different neighborhood, around Praça Saldanha. After enjoying the sights and sounds and flavors of one of my favorite cities we'll take the train (or bus? who knows) to Évora for a few days. And we'll start amassing miles for the next year of status.

We'll visit with friends, see the sights, and of course I'll have lunch.

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