Manuel, the helpful taxi driver, drops me off at the bus station in Tavira and 4 hours later, I'm in Évora! I'm looking forward to this place, supposedly one of the most beautifully-preserved medieval cities in Portugal. The entire city is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I booked myself into the most awesome-sounding hostel in town, only to have the manager inform me that I will be the only guest over the next 3 days. Huh. OK, maybe it's not me. Portugal's just not happening the way Spain was. When I tell the manager that I'm staying for 2 days, he cringes and says, ''We'll have to find some things for you to see here, then.'' Oh no. I've done it again. ;) Trying really hard to stay positive; this sucks!
But it turns out OK. Évora is a great little spot and I round out my 2nd day with a day-trip to the town of Monsaraz.
The first spot I visit is Capela dos Ossos. For those like me whose Portuguese isn't up to snuff, that's ''Chapel of the Bones''. And of bones, there are plenty! Records show that 17th-century Franciscan monks decorated this chapel with the bones of 5,000 people as a means of <<reflecting on the transitory nature of the human condition>>.
The inscription above the doorway reads <<Our bones resting here await yours>>.
And it worked. I found myself doing some good thinking in here. In all seriousness, the message gets put across quite effectively.
It also creeped me out, though. To add a ghoulish touch to it all, two mummified corpses (one of a child!) were hung by the altar.
And when I say <decorated> with bones, I mean the walls, ceiling, pillars, arches, windows, lamps... These monks weren't kidding...
Alright, moving on to less morbid things.... The aqueduct! Now, I don't know anything about engineering, but this looks cool. Stretching 9 kms, it was built in the 1530s to bring clean river water into Évora. Houses, cafés and shops were built right into its arches.
Walking around Évora... The gardens near the Palacio Dom Manuel, built in the 1400s.
I love how the leaves are changing color in mid-December, something that happens almost 3 months before in Canada (late Sept/early Oct)...
They do have interesting art in this town... That is a woman's torso/pelvis lying on the square next to the fountain, with her left marble buttock aimed right at us.... No, it's not a fallen statue. It is a work of art placed deliberately in the traffic lane of the square.
Sidewalk restaurants. Love it.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Graça
This is the main square, Praça do Giraldo, and my hostel is the white/yellow building at left. I don't quite understand how such a beautiful plaza merits having a garbage bag-ish, cone-shaped Xmas tree erected in its center...
It's a little better at night... Another work of art? Or are the town's coffers a little bare?
Sunset from the hostel terrace with a glass of red wine and Xmas music playing in the square below... Oh yeah...
***
Day 2 brings me to Monsaraz, a little hilltop village with a population of 20 people. That's not a typo, I did write 20. It was sweet, but as it's December everything was closed down. I walked down every single street, went into every single store, then spent the remaining two hours sitting in a café waiting for the next available bus.
The town has placed an assortment of somewhat creepy papier-mâché figurines throughout the town as part of their Xmas decorations. I counted over 30 of them, plus various barnyard animals, which means... *drumroll* There are more papier-mâché people in Monsaraz than real people!
This castle was added to the town in 1310, after the Portuguese King recaptured it from the Moors. The town was then handed over to the Knights Templar as thanks for their help.
I booked myself into the most awesome-sounding hostel in town, only to have the manager inform me that I will be the only guest over the next 3 days. Huh. OK, maybe it's not me. Portugal's just not happening the way Spain was. When I tell the manager that I'm staying for 2 days, he cringes and says, ''We'll have to find some things for you to see here, then.'' Oh no. I've done it again. ;) Trying really hard to stay positive; this sucks!
But it turns out OK. Évora is a great little spot and I round out my 2nd day with a day-trip to the town of Monsaraz.
The first spot I visit is Capela dos Ossos. For those like me whose Portuguese isn't up to snuff, that's ''Chapel of the Bones''. And of bones, there are plenty! Records show that 17th-century Franciscan monks decorated this chapel with the bones of 5,000 people as a means of <<reflecting on the transitory nature of the human condition>>.
The inscription above the doorway reads <<Our bones resting here await yours>>.
It also creeped me out, though. To add a ghoulish touch to it all, two mummified corpses (one of a child!) were hung by the altar.
And when I say <decorated> with bones, I mean the walls, ceiling, pillars, arches, windows, lamps... These monks weren't kidding...
Alright, moving on to less morbid things.... The aqueduct! Now, I don't know anything about engineering, but this looks cool. Stretching 9 kms, it was built in the 1530s to bring clean river water into Évora. Houses, cafés and shops were built right into its arches.
Walking around Évora... The gardens near the Palacio Dom Manuel, built in the 1400s.
I love how the leaves are changing color in mid-December, something that happens almost 3 months before in Canada (late Sept/early Oct)...
They do have interesting art in this town... That is a woman's torso/pelvis lying on the square next to the fountain, with her left marble buttock aimed right at us.... No, it's not a fallen statue. It is a work of art placed deliberately in the traffic lane of the square.
Sidewalk restaurants. Love it.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Graça
This is the main square, Praça do Giraldo, and my hostel is the white/yellow building at left. I don't quite understand how such a beautiful plaza merits having a garbage bag-ish, cone-shaped Xmas tree erected in its center...
It's a little better at night... Another work of art? Or are the town's coffers a little bare?
***
Day 2 brings me to Monsaraz, a little hilltop village with a population of 20 people. That's not a typo, I did write 20. It was sweet, but as it's December everything was closed down. I walked down every single street, went into every single store, then spent the remaining two hours sitting in a café waiting for the next available bus.
The town has placed an assortment of somewhat creepy papier-mâché figurines throughout the town as part of their Xmas decorations. I counted over 30 of them, plus various barnyard animals, which means... *drumroll* There are more papier-mâché people in Monsaraz than real people!
This castle was added to the town in 1310, after the Portuguese King recaptured it from the Moors. The town was then handed over to the Knights Templar as thanks for their help.
Heading to Porto tomorrow, Portugal's 2nd largest city, in search of more civilized pursuits! Wish me luck!
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