Day 11 Evora

It was time to leave Peso da Regua and drive the three hundred miles south to Evora. Peso da Regua was a pleasant town with enough scenic side trips to be a worthwhile place to visit, but a few days were sufficient. The decision to go to Evora was made after much lively discussion prior to last night’s dinner. I’m sure we’ll enjoy it…I know I’d better. The drive down was an exhilarating one on the Auto Strata (Autobahn) with no speed limit. The major highways are excellent; new, smooth and fun to drive. Evora is an old walled city built in the eleventh century with a population of about 14,000 that still live inside the wall. Our fairly upscale hotel, the M’ar De Ar is just inside the wall and has absolutely no view, but it is a convenient place from which to explore the town. After checking in we wanted to see how big the town was, so we walked across the town to the opposite wall and it took less than thirty minutes. The little town survives on tourism, so I don’t expect much…maybe I’ll be surprised. We had lunch at an outdoor café in the town center. Sylvia had a not very good fried calamari and I had pretty good pork with clams. After wandering the town and getting acquainted with the streets and squares, we went back to the hotel to do nothing for a few hours before dinner. There appeared to be relatively few tourists this time of year, consequently I didn’t think restaurants would be very full. A walk around the town took us past two places that had looked promising earlier in the day; one was looked as though it had been in business for many years, and the other was very modern looking with an interesting looking menu. We opted for the former and walked in about 8:30 and although it was practically empty, were told it was booked up. Disappointed that we had missed an opportunity for a very good meal, we went to the other more modern place called Prova & Sorri. It was rather empty, but at least there was a table available. We ordered a bottle of wine and a regional favorite Arroz de Tamboril, a rice and seafood stew. ..It was absolutely terrific. The seafood was shrimp, clams, and Cod fish and the broth was seasoned with cilantro and coriander. By the time we were served, the place completely filled up with what appeared to be all locals, and when we left at 10 o’clock, there were still families waiting for tables. It was a lucky find again.