Boa Tarde!

Hello!  (Still have to find out how to say it in Portuguese!  I did learn tonight that “Boa Tarde” is good evening – so, Boa Tarde to all!

 

Up this morning about 7, and down to breakfast about 8.  Lovely spread – including not one but TWO different types of cake – which is good at any time, but I particularly like at breakfast!  They also make scrambled eggs and bacon as well as pancakes!  Truly, who could ask for more?   Not us, certainly!

They do stork nesting stations here!

So Big and so beautiful!

Main piazza in town

So tough walking on cobbles...

Beautiful skyline!

In "the tunnel" 

Se (Cathedral) cloister wall

Inside the cloister

Lovely main altar

Liked the brick columns

Temple of Diana

Prawn starter

Hake main with salad

Our wonderful waiter carving Iberian ham

Split bacalao (cod) main dish

 

This morning we went out around 9 for a lovely drive in the countryside.  We were hoping to get to Grotte do Escoural, but had some crazy detours, and unfortunately, we didn’t make it in time for our tour.  We’re thinking about trying again tomorrow morning; we’ll see.  We’re also leaving Evora tomorrow for five nights in Cadiz, Spain – where we will be staying in the Sherry triangle, as well as seeing the launching point of many explorers as they left on their around-the-world travels.  I was thinking of a return trip to Gibraltar, which we visited more than a few years ago – but that trip landed us there on “National Gibraltar Day” when everything was closed, and they were having rock concerts in the piazzas.  R also reminded me that they probably use British pounds there, and we left our supply of those safe at home … oh well; we’ll see!

 

Our stunning drive ended us back up near Evora, and into a big Intermarche, a large European supermarket chain.  There we were able to purchase:  More than 4 oz. of toothpaste, mouth wash and lotion, as well as our first supply of sparkling water.  (I wanted to try the Pedras brand before we bought quantities, as if you buy a sparkling water you really don’t like – and yes, they do have that here – then at least we wouldn’t be caught with a large quantity.). Back to the hotel for a short nap (1½ hours) for me, and Caltech work for Robert.  Up about 3 and ready to go out, this time, however, without R.  I have learned from experience that if Robert has work that needs doing, I might be able to get him to come out with me, but he’ll be constantly thinking of what he still has to do.  So, I left him behind at the hotel, took the camera and headed into town.  Truly a lovely walk on a fabulous day!  Nice and breezy but sunny with blue skies and lots of fluffy crowds.  

 

The walk took me first down into the town center, and off a side street, I found a wonderful artisanal gelato shop.  I had a lovely cone with Stracciatella (Italian version of chocolate bits in vanilla ice cream) along with chocolate.  Sat at a table outside the shop to eat it and watch the people going past.  From there, I wandered over to the Evora cathedral. A cathedral is called a “se” (with accent mark over the “e”) here in Portugal.  I was able to wander through the cloister first, and then the church itself; it was really lovely.  From there, I wandered around the corner and came upon an old Roman/Greek temple with some beautiful columns still standing.  It was on one side of a lovely park, which was enjoyable to wander through.  Lots of families with kids, as well as school kids gathering there.  

 

As I had forgotten to bring the Evora map with me, and was pretty much flying blind, I decided to head back to the main square in town, from where I knew how to get back to the hotel.  Lovely walk – lots and lots of steps! And back to find R still grinding away on the computer.

 

Our dinner reservation at Bistro Barao was for 7 pm, and we were there just a couple of minutes after.  Same room, but different table, and, as I had warned R, I had decided (that’s what lovely walks with great gelato will do to you!) that I would step outside of my comfort zone, and have an entirely new dinner tonight!

 

So … dinner!  To those of you who know we well, know that I am definitely NOT a fish person.  (It was from all those Friday’s when I was growing up, and EVERY Friday, as my Mom put fish down in front of me, she would wag her finger at me and say: “Remember now, be careful of bones.  Dorothy Day’s daughter died in California, choking on a fish bone at the age of 23!”  Dorothy Day was my Mom’s best friend in high school in Pennsylvania, and I never knew if it was California, or being 23 years old or what – but I got to the point that I wouldn’t touch a fish because … you know what happens!  But tonight, I decided I would let caution fly to the winds – also considering the Heimlich maneuver had been invented since then.  At any rate, our dinner was as follows:  Started with sharing a starter of prawns – in a garlic/pineapple sauce, which was spectacular!  After that, we split a plate of clams; excellent sauce, but not as good as the prawns; definitely needed more garlic.  Then, we split an entrée of Hake.  I think the pieces were coated in a light batter than then baked, and served with some greens and cherry tomatoes with balsamic.  This was truly superb!  The last course was a split of bacalao (dried cod) in a pastry shell with cheese and two prawns on top.  That was a bit more difficult – R found two or three bones, and while I was careful, I did find one.  R was very gallant and finished that dish for me.  It was good, but not as good as the Hake.  At any rate, I actually DID it and survived!  Yippee!!  Dessert was a replay – poached pear with caramel sauce over vanilla ice cream for R, and black forest cake with chocolate sauce for me.  We did have an interesting wine; a white, that was actually fermented in an amphora!  Interesting concept.  As it had not been barrel aged, it did not have any oak to pick up the flavor; rather, it tasted very clean, but really good!  Not sure we’d order it again, but it was definitely fun to try!

 

Then, 10 pm and back to the hotel.  A lot of folks out walking – we’d call that “passagiata” in Italy; no idea what they call it here.  We are headed out tomorrow, and I’m really going to miss Evora!  At any rate, more tomorrow!

Much love,

m

xxx