Evora

September 30/ October 1
Bona dia!
Evora is a very interesting town. Our hotel is a former bull-ring, we are told, and there are more students here than tourists for a change! Our cafe of choice is a vegetarian establishment where you pay by the weight of the food you have chosen. I had a meringue and a fairy cake! I am pleased to report that the midriff situation is as forecast- no muffin-tops here. Roman influence is very

strong here, notably including an aqueduct carrying water from kilometres away.

Had a short trip to another hillside village/fortified castle today. Monsaraz was a medieval castle, fought over variously by the Moors and the Christians, and given as a thank you gift to the Knights Templar. Dan Brown, eat your heart out! It looks out on the (apparently) largest reservoir in Europe. It is hard to know if these facts are true, we just nod wisely and move on. It is certainly the biggest body of water we have seen in Europe. The area also features many megaliths from the Stone Age. We had to check them out- a little underwhelming, to be honest!
Off to Lisbon tomorrow.