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Published: June 26th 2023
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Bring a staunchly catholic country, a lot of things in Portugal shut down on Sundays. In fact, it appeared that the tarts had a day off. Luckily I managed to snaffle three that were taken unawares, bringing my grand total to seven.
A really early start thanks to jet lag but had to wait for the rest of the boring family to wake. A leftover tart filled some of the void but my yelling and stomping roused them all enough to make it round the corner for another, accompanied by coffee. Navigated our way up the hill, luckily stumbling across an elevator to take a lot of the pain out of the climb. Made it all the way to the castle but passed on the massive line to get in, and instead wandered around the Alfama district which surrounds the castle, fascinatingly still inhabited by residents who were hanging out their doors chatting with neighbours and drying their washing as throngs of tourists strolled by.
Back down the cobbled streets, many still decorated from their saintly celebrations a few weeks prior to our meeting spot for the food tour. Our guide Poznań and her human companion Rodrigo steered us
around the city, stopping in some important culinary and historical locations along the way. We visited the Casa do Alentejo which was a stunning building with almost moorish architecture. Next stop obligatory icecream with some interesting flavours and my third tart. A wander down Rus Augustus to try some sour cherry liquor before another elevator trip and a much-needed sit down for some chorizo and cheese.
Back to the apartment for a rest and the aircon before heading out to a dinner of roasted chicken. It’s all very well to soak up the atmosphere and that, but people are jetlagged and they need to sleep before the sun has even set.
An hour later today but everyone else just as boring so stomping required again. After a 45 minute lesson in efficient hire car booking from the good people of sixt Lisbon, we were on our way, fortuitously managing to stumble on the right directions despite the GPS starting the day in Portuguese.
First stop Evora for lunch, which was repeatedly requested as we searched for somewhere to park. It seemed infinitely less appealing once we found somewhere and stepped out of the airconditioning into the furnace
that is a walled medieval city. Hunger prevailed and we enjoyed some specialities from the Alentejo region we learned about yesterday. Braved the high 30s temps bouncing off the stone walls and floor to see the Roman ruins and cathedral, but really, no one can appreciate the beauty when it’s about eleventy billion degrees. It’s a shame, because Evora seems like a pretty town, but the pool and the seaside beckoned.
We meandered our way through the countryside, back towards the coast, through random villages and towns, perched on hilltops. The houses were all low rise whitewashed with terracotta roofs, with doors that opened straight into the street - they must have been the same for hundred of years. The land was brown and arid but covered in cork trees with the bark removed and numbers marking their nakedness. We arrived at a supermarket to collect supplies before heading to the horse farm.
A quick check in before a much needed swim, even though it was a full 10 degrees cooler here than what we’d had today. We had a delicious dinner delivered to our cottage before enjoying the hammocks, meeting the resident cat and dog and just
enjoying the sounds and cooling breezes of the nearby ocean.
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