We had reserved a 9am bus to Evora. We arrived at the Sete Rios bus station by taking the metro -- the Lisbon Card came in handy again! Unlike yesterday, the day started sunny and warm, so we quickly applied sunscreen!

The bus ride was pleasant and the bus was very nice and comfortable. About 90 minutes later after driving through cork and olive groves we were dropped off at the smallish Evora bus station and we took a taxi to the center of Evora -- Praca do Giraldo.

Immediately we were struck by the interesting architecture -- most building are painted white with yellow trim. Evora is a relatively small town located in Portugal's heartland region known as the Alentejo -- famous for its hearty cuisine (sausage and clam stew is its specialty). The town's older, more conservative residents are supplemented by college students attending the university in town. Although relatively small and compact, there is a lot to see in Evora as it has a long history.

The Praca do Giraldo serves as the main square outside the old town walls. In the morning the square was kind of empty, allowing for nice views of the Church of Santo Antao and the fountain at one end, and charming vistas down the narrow side streets leading off of the square.

We stepped off the square to check out some Roman walls and the remains of the Roman Aqueduct that used to supply water to the town. As we walked by we couldn't help but smell the delicious scent of freshly baked pastries, so we followed our noses and went back to the main square and grabbed a "light" breakfast at the Cafe Arcada.

We continued our walk and soon entered the Praca de Sertorio and got good looks at the imposing Town Hall, followed a bit further on by the Roman Arch that once served as a main gateway into the town. A short walk from here led us to the crown jewel of Evora -- the square at the top of the hill containing a beautifully preserved Roman Temple, an interesting church, the town's main museum, and a tranquil garden.

The Church of Cadaval contains and impressive gold alterpiece and offered a peak at the ossuary through a grate in the floor. The very picturesque Roman Temple contains 14 Corinthian columns and looms over the center of the square. On the other side of the square is the interesting Museum of Evora which contains a surprising amount of information about the history of Evora -- we spent far more time there than we had planned.

Our next stop is the grand cathedral. The catheral is huge, and we particularly enjoyed the views from the relatively steep climb up to the roof. By now it was starting to get downright hot, so we tried to find some shade up there but it wasn't easy. This was compensated by the remarkable views of the Alentejo.

For the rest of the afternoon we relaxed around the town and checked out a few more of the sites. We stopped at Church of St. Francis and visited its creepy Bone Chapel. We then wandered through the public market as it was closing up, but were able to buy some cheese and fruits which we snacked on (in the shade) in the company of peacocks in the tranquil public gardens.

As it was Sunday a fair number of the recommended restaurants were closed, but we found a place that served some mediocre food. Craig's expectation of gazpacho was totally turned on its ear when he was literally served a bowl of ice water with bread, vegetables and a drizzle of olive oil.

Towards the end of the afternoon we wandered over to the other side of town and poked around the University a bit. Again, as it was Sunday there wasn't too much activity. We then headed back to the bus station for our return trip. We stopped for a snack and wine at a little bodega across from the bus station in a total non-touristy part of town. We were amazed when the total bill for the food came to just over 1 euro!

By now the thunderclouds had started to build and we dodged raindrops on our trip into the bus station. We tried to get onto an earlier bus, but they were full. So we waited about 1 hour for our bus to depart. 90 minutes later (through pretty intense rain showers) we were back in Lisbon.

This was to be our last night in Lisbon before heading on to the southern part of the country, the Algarve, for some time on the beach. We really enjoyed Lisbon and the surrounding areas, so although we were sorry to be leaving, we were definitely looking forward to our next destination.