Lisbon - Day 5 (A Day Trip to Évora)

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This morning we headed off planning to catch the 10:04am train to Évora. We caught the metro from our local station to Sete Rios Station where we would catch the inter-city train. We allowed plenty of time and even though we went overland between the metro station and the inter-city station (we could have transferred between them underground!) we arrived with heaps of time to spare. The appointed 10:04am departure time arrived … and passed. Hmmn, announcements were being made, but only in Portuguese. No-one was leaving the platform though so we decided the train must be delayed rather than cancelled??? We waited and waited and waited and then people gradually started leaving the platform. We asked a young Asian man heading towards the stairs if he knew what was going on. Yes, he had asked a Portuguese patron who told him that apparently there was a problem on the bridge, that was being fixed, but there was no estimate how long that was going to take. It also seems that such delays are not uncommon BUT they usually include in the announcements an estimate of when the train will be able to depart.



So, we waited some more and then started thinking if we waited too long we would reach Évora too late to be able to see much and that we might be better bailing for today, trying to get a refund on our tickets and rescheduling Évora to another day and maybe even considering doing it as a day tour rather than relying on getting ourselves there on public transport??? Aaargh!



Eventually we decided to head down to the concourse and join the queue at the ticket counter. While we waited we spoke to a young Dutch couple who had been trying to take the train down south and they were going to try for a refund so they could travel by bus instead. Suddenly the board updated and our train to Évora showed as being rescheduled to 10:29am … in about 10 minutes time. OK, back up to the platform then. In an interesting quirk of fate when Bernie booked our tickets online he accidentally booked our return journey for 1900 rather than 1700 after we discussed it and agreed to returning on the 5.00pm train!! As it turns out those extra two hours are going to be very useful today.



Finally, the train arrived, we boarded, we found our carriage and our seats without any drama and the train pulled out of the station just after 11:30am. So, only an hour and a half late. Within minutes the train was hurtling across the 25 de Abril Bridge across the Rio Tejo and past Cristo Rei. Just as we thought we were going to get a decent look at Lisbon’s answer to Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue we plunged into a tunnel.



The conductor appeared to check our tickets. Bernie showed him our e-tickets on his phone and the conductor was like - no they’re the wrong way around, for the journey from Évora to Lisboa. No, no they’re not. The grumpy conductor swiped the tickets up and down on Bernie’s phone insisting they were for the wrong direction of travel. He checked the tickets for the couple across the aisle. While he was doing that Bernie swiped the tickets to the right place and showed the conductor again. Oh, yes, OK, your tickets are valid. I’m glad we sorted that out and didn’t get chucked off the train at the first stop!!



Our journey to Évora passed really quickly (OK, yes, I was asleep for some of it!) and we were alighting from the train just on 1.00pm. We walked up towards the town across a wasteland of construction work outside the city walls and made our first stop in Évora at the Jardim Público just inside the old city wall. There was a kiosk there so we decided it was as good a place as any to have some lunch. Two ham and cheese toasties (or tosta mista in Portuguese, which sound much more exotic) and two bottles of water later we were ready for some sightseeing around Évora, the famous historic capital of the Alentejo.



Because of its well-preserved old town centre, still partially enclosed by mediaeval walls, together with notable buildings and monuments from various historic periods, Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site



Located within the gardens we found the Ruínas Fingidas and the Palácio Dom Manuel. We couldn’t find out much about the former, but it’s basically a folly … that was probably part of the palace at one time before it became a picturesque ruin?? The latter is The Gallery of Dames, all that remains of the former royal residence of the Kings of Portugal. Évora served as a country retreat for the Kings of Portugal from as early as the 14^th-century.



Next we started heading up the hill towards the Capela dos Ossos, the chapel of the bones, located beside Igreja de Saõ Francisco. It’s rather gruesome. Franciscan friars exhumed an estimated 5,000 corpses to decorate the chapel. The bones of ordinary people buried in Évora’s mediaeval cemeteries were arranged by the Franciscans in a variety of patterns. Venturing next door to the church we found it was closed for wedding. Oh well, it is Saturday!



With his eyes glued to Google Maps Bernie had us slogging up the hill towards the Évora Catedral completely missing an amazing building hidden down a side street. It wasn’t on our list of sights to see today, but the exterior of Igreja da Graça was spectacularly decorated and definitely photo worthy. It seems a shame that the building is currently used by the Portuguese Armed Forces as a military residence.



We reached Praça do Giraldo where we photographed the fountain and Igreja de Santo Antão before continuing on to the Catedral. I have to say at this point that the cobblestones in Évora are HUGE and incredibly higgledy-piggledy. The streets here make the cobbled streets in Lisbon seem as smooth as a concrete footpath.



When we finally reached the catedral on top of the hill we purchased tickets for the ‘complete visit’: the cloisters, the rooftop and the museum. Évora Catedral was started in 1280 and completed in 1350 in the Roman-Gothic style. Situated as it is upon the Acropolis, the highest point of the city, the catedral sits upon a terrace surrounded by battlements, typical of fortress-churches of the Middle Ages. The current Main Chapel dates to the 18^th-century when it was rebuilt (redecorated?) in the Baroque style thanks to the patronage of Dom João V.



From the roof we were treated to sweeping views of the surrounding countryside and the Agua de Prata Aqueduct. Unfortunately this was as close as we were able to get to the aqueduct with the afternoon slipping away from us.



Next we tried to visit the Palácio Duques de Cadaval because it was scheduled to close at 5:00pm. Oops, at 4.25pm we found that it was already closed so we couldn’t go into the palace, but the adjoining church was still open. If we had just arrived in Évora at 11.30am rather than 1.00pm we would have fitted everything in?!



Fortunately the Templo Romano is an open air attraction that never closes. The temple is dedicated to Diana, the ancient Roman goddess of the moon, the hunt and chastity. It is monuments such as this that helped Évora to earn its world heritage status.



We eventually found our way around to university. Actually I should say down to the university because it was on the other side of the hill. Évora Universidade is the second oldest university in Portugal. It was established in 1559 by cardinal Henry and received university status in April that year from Pope Paul IV. Of course the fact that we had venture down hill meant climbing back up the hill to the catedral before making our way back down through the city towards the station. At this stage Bernie was still going like the Energizer Bunny and my right hip was killing me!!



On our way back down we stopped in at Igreja de Saõ Francisco which was now open for tourist types to view without interrupting any nuptials. With our train departing at 7.06pm we thought perhaps we should eat before leaving Évora. However, the problem was that the restaurants in the square opposite the church were only doing drinks and snacks until 6.00pm. So we had a snack (or perhaps our first course in a progressive dinner?) choosing some cold cuts (tapas), bread, cheese and tuna and sardine pate to go with our beer and sparkling water!



We exited the city walls and re-crossed the wasteland outside the wall as we walked back to the station after a whirlwind visit to Évora. When we arrived at the late afternoon train from Lisbon had just arrived. Excellent, the train was already at the platform by 6.30pm so we were looking good to depart on time at 7.06pm. We watched as the locomotive uncoupled from the carriages and choofed off up the track and out of sight … to find a switching point we assumed? All good, it was soon back and then choofed in the other direction before switching back onto the track the carriages were sitting on. All coupled together again it was time to board the train and we were on our way back to Lisbon right on time.



After catching the metro back to our apartment it was time to think about a bit more to eat. Since seeing the pastel de bacalhau (cheese-filled cod fishcakes) on our first day we have been thinking we should try them. Now, if we just could’ve remembered where we saw the shop selling them??? All I knew was that it was on the way to the supermercado we visited on our first afternoon. After quite a bit of zig zagging through the streets and when we had all but given up on finding fishcakes for dinner, there it was! We ordered six and nearly died when the amount to be paid was €30.00!! Then we decided we had better have some Portuguese tarts for dessert. After polishing off that lot back in the apartment our progressive dinner was complete!



And then it was straight to bed for me as I was exhausted after our day trip to Évora.





Steps : 18,366 (12.15 kms)

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