More Evora sights

Some Roman ruins.

IMG_2765

IMG_2743

Sculpture around every corner.

IMG_2769

OLD architectural stones.

IMG_2772

Ah, a garage.  Parking spots are at a premium.  Visitors with cars typically leave them outside the city wall and walk.

IMG_2784

If you want to find out what’s going on in town,  this is probably the place.  The gentlemen gathered and kibitz every morning (maybe more frequently) at this particular corner of the main square.  Makes sense, as houses don’t have yards to socialize in.

IMG_2846

Dave figures he can slip right in and low and behold – he’s a local!   I think it was his lack of a tweed cap.  He thinks he’ still too young.  Regardless, his attempt to join the men’s club didn’t go so well.

IMG_2848

A walk in the park  – peacocks & wisteria. – Laura

IMG_2833

IMG_2837

 

Evora

Typical of old European towns, Evora is a maze of narrow lanes and walkways.  An abundance of courtyards makes for grand spots to linger.  This one looked like a favorite of college age kids.  FYI – it’s legal to drink beer at 16, and wine and spirits at 18.  Whooooo who!

IMG_2817

IMG_2763

We had a very nice lunch below at the Pateo. …..

IMG_2775

– waiting for lemons to drop.  The wait staff, here and at other restaurants in town, have been delightful – kind, friendly and truly interested in the customer service.

IMG_2776

Laura

On the move

The trip from Logos to Evora took 3 different trains. The first one, an hour long from Lagos to Tunes, was on a ‘local’ train.   Nothing fancy.  An aside:  When we took a day trip from Lagos to Portimao and back, the bus ride cost us 4 Euro each, while the train was only 2 each.

Anyway,  at Tunes we transferred to a regional train that had originated in Faro, the SE corner of Portugal, and would terminate in Oporto (Port), in the NW corner of the country.  We had assigned seats in a specific car, and though we tried to find our car (#6) before be boarded, we failed, and boarded car #2.  Set up pretty much like the inside of an airplane – nicer seats, narrow aisle- we schlepped forward (?) to car 6.  We found an empty luggage rack and our seats and shortly thereafter the food & beverage cart came up the aisle.  There was also a dining car.  The free WiFi was kind of slow, so we watched the scenery slowly change as we headed north.  The MPH was as high as 130.   Two hours later in Tunes we caught our final ride – a train coming from Lisboa (Lisbon) and terminating in Evora.  In assigned seats we watched the country side turn more into  rich farmland than the dryer, pine tree rich area to the south.  Total time of the trip was 4.5 hours, getting us into Evora at a respectable 6:30.

The  .8 of a mile from train station to our room was very walkable.  I do get a bit stressed over the sidewalks and streets – all cobbled – no smooth concrete.  We just take it slow and hope the luggage wheels hang in there for the final few legs.

IMG_2818

Our room in Evora is in a little 9 room modern hotel above a trinket shop (Ale-Hop) right smack in the center of town.  (Ale-Hop is a chain store, and has nothing to do with beer – most puzzling.)  The hotel is different in that there is a common kitchen for everyone’s use, as well as a patio and kids play area.  No meals includes, but they’ve done a nice job reconfiguring an old building into a modern facility. People watching was prime.

IMG_2813

Evora  is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, population around 55k.   The 1200 meter long wall surrounding the town was originally built in the 2-4th centuries AD, with a major rebuild/finish in the 10th century.  It’s a nice walk around the perimeter.  About 12 streets go through the wall, though originally there were only 4 gates.  Though we didn’t get the chance to explore it, the surrounding countryside looks absolutely beautiful.

IMG_2812IMG_2823IMG_2822From the looks of it, this fella’s been pushing up daisies for quite a while.  (He’s a piece of stone sculpture – creepy to come upon.)

IMG_2826

This last Sunday (the 29th) Portugal ‘sprang forward”, so we’re back in sync with the U.S. – 5 hours different from East coast, 8 from the West.  (Portugal is one hour different from the rest of western Europe.) – tick tock! Laura

Hope to see you again, Lagos.

Our 10 day stay in Lagos is over.  It’s been nice, but it’s nice to move on, too!  The windy and cooler weather (until the last days!) kind of kept us from wandering too far.  Dave is repeatedly in awe of the information and free tools/software applications available on the Internet, and he spent a goodly amount of time ‘learning’.  Saturday we’ll be taking the train, with 2 changes, to Evora, which is east and a little south of Lisbon.  We’re in Evora for 3 nights, then on to Lisbon for a longer stay.  Since we’ve never been to Spain or Portugal before, planning how long to stay in any town (and what towns to visit, for that matter) is kind of a crap shoot backed by a little research.  If Evora has more for us to see than 2 full days allows, it’ll be an easy additional day trip from Lisbon.

The following images will give you a better idea of what Lagos and surrounds looks like.

IMG_2736

Above is a photo of a photo, with our hiking trails in the foreground and town, with river running through it, in the background. Note the beach at the upper right.

IMG_2722Looking up river along the promenade.  There are two marinas and a large boat yard further up and on the right.

IMG_2729

Ah, the sandy beaches!  This is west of the river mouth.  On the east side, the sand stretches uninterrupted all the way to Portimao. IMG_2737

A popular pastime with a bazillion places to chose from.

IMG_2718

Coming down our very steep street toward the river.

Portuguese dogs learn early to wait patiently for their masters, who spend a lot of time socializing.

Sweet little local ride.

IMG_2708

A day trip to Portimao, 15Km to the east, found us looking at a water bottle igloo.

IMG_2703

Inside of local Portimao restaurant where we had lunch.  The beautiful tiles are common.   Though we haven’t eaten out much at all – maybe 3 times here in Lagos – a common thread has been a heavy hand with the salt.

IMG_2739

Be well – Laura

Arty apartment

IMG_2742

Our apartment here in Lagos (pronounced la-goosh, accent on the 2nd syllable) is at street level, with the owner living upstairs.  Carmelita is a retired architect who now dabbles in art, tends her beautiful garden/yard, and is a wonderful hostess, even having us up for a glass of wine & snacks in her garden.  She was born in this house, as was her father, and she is the 5th generation to occupy it.  We have a little private, enclosed courtyard past the door on the left.  Our front door is on the right.

IMG_2715

This is the mirror mounted on her front wall to help drivers’ visibility to the people, dogs, and cars coming around the corner. You’re looking at what we see out our front door – minus the 2 goofballs.

IMG_2683Our little street does get local traffic, but not so much that a dog can’t take curl up and take a nap.

IMG_2613

IMG_2620

IMG_2616

IMG_2622

I took these photos when we first arrived to give you a look at Carmelita’s art work, but also to know where ‘things’ were when we arrived.  Often we rearrange things, tucking away the knicky-knacky and fragile items, lest we break something!  All will go back to it’s proper place before we leave -Laura

bikes

 

IMG_2590
This is a German late 1970s Zundapp Famel. The company went out of business in 1984. From Wikipedia I found that Xunda Motor Co., in Tianjin, China bought the intellectual rights to the company. They produced small Zündapp motorcycles from 1987 till the early 1990s. Zündapp is still in business, but makes Honda based 4-stroke motorcycles and electric mopeds.

 

IMG_2546
This 1930s motorized bicycle was built by the French company Terrot in Dijon France. This was spotted in a store front window in Seville Spain. I like the golden flared exhaust pipes.

 

IMG_2489
I don’t know much about this “Monkey Bike”. If you go to the URL printed on the front fork of this bike you will end up at a Spanish importer of bikes. I’m guessing this is a 110cc Honda. This was found on the streets of Seville.

 

IMG_2632
This is the first Portugese brand of motorcycles I have heard of. Apparently Macal produced a range of models with 2-stroke as well as 4-stroke engines.. They bought their engines from various suppliers including Honda. This bike is in active service. Notice the left hand side kick start on a concentric shaft with the gear shifter. Macal was founded in Portugal in 1921, and ceased production in 2004. This was spotted at the farmers market in Lagos Portugal.

 

IMG_2316
This late 60s early 70s British looking motorcycle is actually a 2013? Chinese Mash 125. Why they label it “Seventy Five” I don’t know. They even put a British flag on the side and all the printing is in English. This was spotted in Ronda Spain.  Dave

 

Lagos coast walk

The weather hasn’t been great since we arrived – a bit of rain every day and in the mid 50’s.  With today forecast to be the sunniest day for a while,  we took to the pavement and followed a walking path along the costal cliffs.  A lovely and at times dramatic walk.

IMG_2649

Yup – Dave way ahead 🙂

IMG_2666

IMG_2661
Note the crazy fella top side!

IMG_2652There are many beaches scattered in amongst the cliffs, and their sand looks gorgeous.

IMG_2656
Light house and a café at the point.