© Richard Randall

EVORA

We both enjoyed our time in Evora more than anywhere else in Portugal, we had only intended to stay for one night but stayed for two as it was so nice. Our hotel was the Albergaria Solar Monfalim; Largo da Misericordia 1 Tel: 266 702 031. The hotel is situated within the old city walls and was once a summer palace belonging to the Dukes of Monfalim, now it is fully restored with spacious rooms and a cosy bar and a verandah which offers great views. All of the staff here were very friendly and the service was excellent, there was some limited parking right outside the front of the hotel too. Evora has some interesting monuments all in excellent restorative condition under the protection of UNESCO. The most striking is the Templo Romano which is right in the heart of the old city, dating from the second century AD. It was used for executions during the Inquisition, and then as a slaughterhouse until 1870. Opposite the temple is the fifteenth century Convento dos Loios which has been converted into a luxury state run hotel. During the summer the cloisters are a dining area, we had wanted to eat there but unfortunately there was a private function going on, but we still went in for a little look round. Apparently the intricate carvings, in the 'Luso Moorish' style, on the doorway to the chapter house are by the architect Francisci de Arruda who was also responsible for the aqueduct in Evora and the Belem tower in Lisbon. Left of the Hotel is the former conventual church dedicated to Sao Joao Evangelista (Tues-Sun 9:30am-2:30pm & 2:30pm-5:30pm; €2.50). Still private property of the Ducal Cadaval family who occupy a couple of wings of their ancestral palace next door. If you wish to enter, a guide will show you where you can view the floor to ceiling azulejos inside; masterpiece created by Antonio Oliveira Bernardes in the early eighteenth century. Evora's cathedral situated right in the centre of town is the Se (9am-12:30pm & 2pm-5pm Daily) work commenced in 1186 roughly two decades after the re-conquest of Evora from the Moors. For a small fee it is possible to climb onto a terrace over the west entrance where you can get a real close up look at the towers and the 'Zimborio' (lantern above the crossing of the transepts). The cathedrals Museum (Tues-Sun 9am-11:30am & 2pm-4:30pm €2), is worth a visit too as it is full of great finds. The most impressive is a carved statue of the Madonna, her midriff opens to show layered scenes from the bible. There is also a reliquary which is studded with 1,426 stones. Another museum worth some time is the Museu Municipal (Tues 2:30pm-5:30pm, Weds-Sun 9:30am-12:30pm & 2:30pm-5pm; €2). Inside are Flemish and Portuguese paintings from the fifteenth and sixteenth century. One Flemish artist who is known to have worked in Evora is Frei Carlos whose work is on display. The main pull though has to be the thirteen panels which once formed the altarpiece in the cathedral, they portray scenes of the life of the Virgin and are apparently by an anonymous fifteenth century Flemish artist. There are many other interesting sites to see such as the medieval Aqueduto do Aqua Prata (Silver Water Aquaduct), where in the arches a row of houses has been built, also the Neoclassical Theatre of Garcia de Redende and the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Graca with it's mid sixteenth century facade and grotesque Atlas giants supporting two globes, the emblem of Dom Manuel and his empire, which is behind the bus station. There are a number of students in Evora as the university was re-opened in the 1970's, so the town does have a young lively feel to it and there are quite a few clothes shops around the main square. Although it was lovely and sunny and warm during the day the evenings were a touch chilly. We had seen some of the men wearing these huge long coats with thick fur collars. Richard really wanted one, and during our second day in Evora we looked everywhere and almost gave up hope of finding the shop that sold them. But we decided to walk down one more back street and not only did we find the shop that sold the coats but also a wonderful Italian restaurant. The shop was a large place selling mainly equestrian accessories and right at the back the lovely coats. Apparently they were originally worn by shepherds way out in the wilds. These coats came in many different colours, browns, greens, blues and there were several different fur collars to choose from. Richard bought a grey coat with a fox fur collar, actually it's more like a cape it has no sleeves. We had eaten in another restaurant the previous evening and the food was mediocre to say the least (it was a bit touristy but the first place to open and we were very hungry for a change) so for our last day we thought we would go 'foreign' and Italian seemed just the thing! The restaurant was called the Pane & Vino, Patio do Salema, entrance is on Rua Diogo Focardo. It was originally the stable block of a mansion house but now serves lots of hungry locals the usual Italian dishes. We noticed that the pizza's were extremely popular and it wasn't hard to see why, they were massive, they had to be served on their own separate table. We didn't order pizza, I remember the bread that arrived as soon as we were seated was particularly delicious, as was the olive oil. We stuck to a pasta and a meat dish all washed down with a few bottles of wine, well it was lunch time and we didn't have to drive until the next morning! After a long lunch we retired to our hotel for a siesta, and spent the evening in the bar there before leaving early the next morning to begin our onward journey. I would say that for us Portugal felt like lots of different countries in one. Some places felt very depressed and others more modern, lively and edgy, the people everywhere we went in Portugal were very friendly and helpful. We both had a great time there and it kind of felt like we were back in the U.K. because where we used to live in London there was a very large Portuguese community, in fact the area is known as 'Little Lisbon' because of the number of Portuguese residents there. Funnily enough most of the delicious Portuguese food we have ever tasted was in our local bar/restaurants along the road from our London home. Who say's travel broadens the mind?

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