Travel Day ~ From Lisbon to Evora

Today we ventured out of Lisbon to Évora, a UNESCO Heritage site in the Alentejo region of Portugal, a region of olive groves, cork trees, fragrant vineyards, and bountiful wheat fields alive with colorful flowers. 

First we drive to Monsaraz, a fortified hilltop town to enjoy lunch at the Aloendra Restaurant. We started with carrot soup. Then (because I didn’t want the lamb) I had a dish of Bacalhau (cod), which was delicious. Afterwards, they brought forward a tray of pastries for the table, and so I had one very small piece of one of the desserts.

Afterwards, we went to a winery, Herdade do Esperāo 1267. The number gives the misleading impression that the vineyard started in 1267. Actually, it was when the land was divided up and it has remained the same size and shape ever since. The winery itself was started in the mid 1970s, but for various reasons did not produce its first bottle of wine until 1987.

The young woman who was our tour guide (and did not work for the company) was extermely knowledgeable. She led us into the factory where there were the inevitalble huge steel vats where most of the wine is made. Then she took us into part of the operation where the special reserve was made. There were four vats made of the local pinkish marble, which could fit four to six people, giving them enough room to stomp on the grapes, before the wine was filtered. As this is an organic operation (our guide said this many times) they use no chemicals.

After a while, she invited people down into the cellars, which involved going down several flights of steep stairs. But my left knee was playing up, it was a gorgeous afternoon, and so I elected to stay above ground. After about 25 minutes, I went to reception to find out what was going on, and was quickly reunited with our Odysseys group in the tasting room. The young woman let us taste two wines. The white wine was a very pleasant balance of sweet and dry with subtle floral scents. The red wine was disappointing, having too much tannin in it. And so I bought a bottle of white wine for €18,80. 

After that, we continued to Évora, checking in at the Pousada dos Loios. A restored 15-century convent, the pousada is considered one of the most beautiful lodgings in Portugal, despite its small guest rooms. But I was so lucky! I ended up with a suite of three rooms ~ a Reception Room, a Sitting Room with a TV, which gave onto the bathroom, and downstairs was a bedroom with two twin beds nestled together. As you could actually open the window, I took advantage of that fact and enjoyed cool spring air while I slept there. (With the window closed, my bedroom had a slight odor of mildew. The only thing to spoil my paradise.)

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