Peafowls

In a world where you can be anything, be a person who is enamored by peafowls. The peafowls you see in Portugal, including those in Évora’s Public Garden, are Indian peafowl introduced during the Age of Exploration. They became a status symbol, placed into gardens of palaces and estates. If I had knew this before visiting Évora. the surprise I got when encountering them wouldn’t have been as delightful.  

Évora

Just 1.5 hours from Lisbon, Évora is a beautiful medieval city where Roman temples, whitewashed houses, and Gothic cathedrals meet under the warm Alentejo sun. And visiting during July, I’d like to emphasis warm.

We saw peafowl in Public Garden in Évora. Pictured here is a peacock, a peahen and two chicks. The peahen was not impressed by the peacock’s antics, and walked off shortly after posing for this family picture. Check out the 💎Feature Video.

We stayed in the Moura Suites Hotel located in the historic center. It is an easy walk to the Catedral de Évora where we accidentally took instagram-y photos. This is truly a must see because you can visit the rooftop, the cloisters, and the Museum of Sacred Art.

After, we took a swim in the hotel pool and dined at Três Marmelos. The dining experience was superb! It was tapas, so the owner told us to pick a couple each and he would bring things out slowly. We ordered the couvert which had the best bread I have ever tasted and is the reason I now follow @paodasao on instagram. We also had Milho, Cenoura, Amêndoa (Corn, Carrot, Almond), Brioche, feijão frade e kimchi (a falafel slider), Truta Salmonada, batata, beterraba (Rainbow Trout, Potato, and Beetroot), and Porco, alho, rúcula (another slider). Yum!

We wandered around the town, through little streets and touristy areas. We did a walk by Universidade de Évora. Established in 1559, it is the second-oldest university in the country. You can tour the campus but we arrived too early. The picture of the playful sculpture was taken there. We passed by Convento da Graça, an example of Renaissance architecture and appeared to take a side trip to Italy. The Templo Romano de Évora is one of the most significant symbols of Roman presence in Portugal. It has been mistakingly called Templo de Diana until around the 1980s when it was discovered that the temple had been dedicated to Emperor Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire.

Not Sandal Friendly

Leaving Évora we decided to take a brief side trip. Anta Grande do Zambujeiro is a “megalithic dolmen”-type monument built between 4,000 and 3,500 BCE. It is thought to have been used as a burial place. We expected to drive up and take a few steps to it. Turns out it was about 900m (about a half a mile) walk to get there. It was a flat gravel trail so why not walk in sandals. 500m and one slip later, we didn’t get to the monument instead headed to a clinic to get the gashed knee bandaged up. Here’s a 💎Feature Video.

Lisbon

After the little mishap, we arrived in Lisbon a bit later than expected. Timing was good and we met our friends Julie & Richard just after they returned from their food tour. We decided to take a TukTuk ride around Lisbon right around sunset. These are the pictures we got. The pattern of the tile made it look like it was not entirely flat. Me and my hurt knee was not as enchanted by this as we were last time. Nevertheless, the four of us had a great time and planned to go to Sintra the following day. That trip is written up in my Call Me Rita blog post.

Alcácer do Sal

On the way back from Lisbon we decided to take a tiny side trip to a little town in the Alentejo. Alcácer do Sal is a picturesque town on the Sado river with whitewashed buildings and a moorish castle. It gives a little Tavira vibe too.

We walked along the river to the main church and then back on a little side street that was all decorated with colorful streamers.