7. 1 April 2 April Elvas, Evora and Monsaraz

March 31 Continued

Had dinner 4 miles up the hill from our hotel at Veranda da Estrela. Our very cute waitress Johana, who spoke perfect English, turned out to be a fantastic standup comic and we all had a lot of fun working through the menu and the ups and downs of being Portuguese or American. Once Johana found out Jason and Laurie were from Florida, she started scheming to get them to smuggle her there. I guess I was not surprised she was a character since I had our hotel book this restaurant for dinner and the concierge was laughing her butt off on the phone trying to book us. This reminded us that a number of the wait staff we’ve encountered on this trip have been very funny comedians. This is definitely a contrast to some of the older Portuguese we see walking through towns who seem somewhat very dour and probably worn out from years of medieval Christianity. Johana’s fellow waiter also spoke excellent English and while the two of them teased each other now and then, he was a little more serious with us, telling us he was in college studying Sports Medicine but on the side he’s paying his way through a separate course in “Bay Watch” which definitely caught our attention. Bay Watch? How does one study Bay Watch? And why would anyone pay to study Bay Watch? After laughing too much we dug a little deeper and it turns out his English was slightly limited so he used the phrase “Bay Watch” to describe his certification course to be a Life Guard. Once we all finished laughing for the second time, he went on to tell us a good portion of the Portuguese coast is dangerous for swimming so a Life Guard is very important here. Glad we got that Bay Watch phrase straightened out. By the way, the Bay Watch guy was also very good looking as all young people in Portugal seem to be.

The restaurant, Veranda da Estrela, is high up in the mountains in a Portuguese ski village even though the actual slopes are 30 minutes away. Ski season having passed, the village was almost completely empty.

Because Johana’s English was so good, I got to ask her why Portugal flies so far under the radar. She said they are happy being in the EU and the only demonstrations recently have been nurses parading for higher salaries. She did go on to say that Portugal had a corruption problem with money being bilked out of the state bank. But still, she was here and because my questions were somewhat about politics, she added that she couldn’t understand what was going on with Brazil since both countries are somewhat related. She also was glad you-know-who was not her president and wondered why all these types were attracted to each other.

Dinner at Veranda da Estrela with waitress Johana

April 1,

Drove out of Covilha this morning with no GPS glitches and headed south to our last stop, Evora. A three-hour drive that took us through the most luscious country yet. Miles and miles of forests, fruit orchards, cork forests, vineyards, sheep and mountains. This is the central Portugal I imagined when I first suggested this trip. Loveliest country sides yet on this trip. For the first time there has been rain and since we knew Portugal need rain, it didn’t bother our drive at all. Otherwise, the weather has been stunning.

Stopped for lunch in the hilltop town of Elvas close to the Spanish border where we could look out on a distant field where the Spanish, Portuguese and English fought Napoleon to a standstill in 1811. A small town with an old castle and any number of city walls around previous city walls. We plan to dash to Spain tomorrow so Maria can talk to someone who understands her.

Way back in the day Elvas had large communities of Muslims (Moors), Jews and everybody else living together without a spat but by the 13^th century, for the Muslims at least, the welcome mat was thrown out. I have yet to find out what happened to the Jews but a gracious man gave us a tour through a house deep in the old town dating back to the 11^th century and originally occupied by Jews. The house was now being restored into a museum and storefront for his son’s plum jam business which was underneath the house. I guess a big bonus for the locals after the Muslims were shown the door were the unoccupied mosques which were then converted to churches – one of which was pointed out to me by the gentleman showing us the restoration project. The spoils of Medieval Christianity.

A forty minute drive put us in Evora, another walled old town. We’re staying just inside the town walls at the Hotel Albergana do Calvario which in its heyday was a convent. The most welcoming reception we’ve had on the trip with a handsome, attractive staff who have figured out how to make you immediately at home. I’ve rarely felt so immediately comfortable.

For dinner, the staff recommended Bistro Barao which sat 9. How could we argue? Raquel, who checked us in to the hotel, said the chef was the wife of the two person staff and the best cook in town. Meals were about 13 Euros a pop, no big deal. But when Maria and I ordered wine the husband bought out a $40 bottle of wine without blinking an eye. Maria and I are sort of the $8/bottle of wine types and in Portugal the wine has been even cheaper so we were somewhat surprised at the recommendation. We talked him down to $30 and the wine was indeed very good, but still over my $/taste limit. That being said, the wife was probably the best chef in town. Our food was fantastic and unusual.

Checked out the town for a couple of hours – see pictures.

2 April

Woke up and drove to Spain! It’s just nearby and since the EU borders are open we couldn’t resist. Ended up at nondescript farming town called Villanueva del Fresno, took a short walk and blew back into Portugal. Just because someplace is somewhere else doesn’t mean its interesting.

Common borders, common currency, the goal of trying to work together - The EU really is the most elegant political structure assembled in my lifetime. Are there issues? Of course, but what’s the option? Beat each other’s brains in until there’s A WINNER among many losers? Amazing that the EU ever came off in the first place. That being said, Maria thinks she may never come to Europe again if they don’t get smoking under control. Wonderful to sit in outside cafés for pastry and coffee until smoke clouds from nearby tables drift over. Must not be the anti-smoking ethic here that I’m used to because so many younger people, especially young women, puff away. I’d almost forgotten the smell of smoke even though my mom went through at least a pack of Camel’s once a day. We now choose our seating in cafes after testing the wind direction.

Just back across the border into Portugal we pulled into the small walled town of Monsaraz, very high up a hill with views for miles. This very small town was probably the most picturesque of all the places we’ve been. We roamed the grounds and the castle of Monsaraz until lunchtime but all the cafes and restaurants we found were closed. Thought I’d stop by the “Tourismo” office to find out about food but the older and somewhat haggard lady blocking the entrance for a smoke break waved me off as they were closed for lunch. But lunch is what I wanted to talk to her about.

Anyway, just before walking out the gates of Monsaraz we found a perfect cliff side sandwich shop. Great views and great sandwiches.

European nations seem to have a lot of common sense so I don’t understand why they handle water the way they do. Once outside your hotel or house the only water available is bottled. We can order “still” or “gas” with gas being carbonated. Since we only order “still” we’d be happy with tap water which we’ve been drinking at our hotels. But its just not available for us outside the hotels. I’m guessing bottled water must be a source of income for any number of interest groups. Upsetting, though, to think of the piles of plastic bottles we’ve created.

Back in Evora we strolled around for a bit. There is an astounding aqueduct in this town that dominates the landscape. After our walk we got down to serious cards and wine in the outside courtyard of this wonderful hotel, Albergaria do Calavrio.

For our second night, the staff here at the hotel recommended “Taberna Tipica Quarta-Feira” for dinner. A fixed price of ~ 30 Euros, one seating and one choice of meals. A little questionable when you think about it especially if that one meal is something you detest. But it was the staff’s first choice of Evora restaurants so Maria and I signed on. Jason and Laurie passed and one can hardly blame them given all the other good food here to eat.

Maria and I showed up to the small relaxing room which sat 28 and were welcomed by yet another member of Portugal’s very entertaining wait staff. Although we were the first to arrive, Joao, the owner, was soon apologizing to people without reservations as the place was booked for the evening. Turning his attention to us, he served the meal’s starter which much to Maria’s dismay was stewed Frog Legs…… After 50+ years with Maria, a frog lover extraordinaire, I’ve also developed a sort of attachment to the little hoppers so I was not enthused either. As proof of her frog fetish, Maria then showed Joao the tattoo of a frog on her ankle. But Joao was able to humor us enough to give the appetizer a try and unsurprisingly, frog legs taste like, you guessed it, chicken. We ate just enough to satisfy Joao and then moved on to one of the most spectacular meals we've ever had. Various breads with olive oil, spiced pumpkin jelly and honey along with chicken croquettes. Garlic toast, stewed pork (best ever), a spinach puree, mint/lemon pallet cleanser, and for desert, three interesting pastries with a candied plum on top. We finished less than ½ of what was served to us, but for foodies, this was the place.