Breakfast is thankfully at 7:30 am - another good one; but we have the usual fluffin’ around trying to get away and then, in an attempt to avoid the major roads, Mr Google Maps directs us down every dirt road imaginable (including a creek crossing ...) but there is no avoiding the N4! Thankfully we are only on it for a short time and then we are on the N18 - not much verge but traffic OK and very respectful (not like in Australia).
A huge castle loomed in the distance - oh oh: that’s where we are headed.
We had the most enormous climb for 3 kms up to Evoramonte (well, what do you expect with a ‘monte’ in the name?!) but we were rewarded with a (good) coffee and cake at a nice little cafe and watched the world go by - and say ‘bom dia’ (hello) to the locals. I walk up the side road towards the Evoramonte Castle (the one we had seen leading into town) for a closer look (I was certainly not going to walk the entire way!).
We continue on the N18 alongside the A6 glad to be on a quieter road. Finally we arrive in Évora via the Intermarché supermarket which is HUGE! Found lollies!! 😝 The traffic is mad!!!
I had not been looking forward to the ride today because of the freeways but I was very pleased with how it went; the tail wind helped! In by 12:30; thank heavens no later: it is sooo hot (still 26 deg C at 5 p.m.) - too hot to do anything much. We go to the laundromat and while the wash is being processed we go off to the Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) but it is tourist-central and they want 8€ entry pp - a good money-spinner for the Church of St Francis next door. Pass. I have seen such a sight before - at Otranto in Puglia in Italy - for free!
Have a rest instead, waiting for the temperature to drop 😓.
We set out about 5:30 pm and wander the labyrinth of streets: churches around every corner with bells tolling as the half hours pass by. Re-visit the Temple of Diana.
We pass an Enoteca that takes my interest - and we return at 7 pm when it opens. They are not particularly helpful re the wines but they are pleasant enough; quite a smart establishment - booked out tonight. We enjoy cheese, bread and olives: standard fare here - plus a glass of lovely wine each (many of the red wines here are based on a full-bodied variety called touriga nacional). Well worth the euros.
MF still wants food so we stop in the university sector where I have an enormous G&T and share MF's fries while he has a hamburger and craft beer - a lovely area full of cafes and restaurants (and the setting sun is blood red!!).
Tomorrow we start the next stage of our trip: cycling south along the coast towards the Algarve region.
Cycled 50 kms; climbed 409m.
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