Residencial Os Manueis Évora

... hallway if you wished to put on a show. Second, the shower worked by rotating a handle to get water that sprayed from a movable nozzle, a nozzle above your head and a series of nozzles mounted horizontally to the shower wall that sprayed at you horizontally. Another awesome bathroom was our bathroom in Seville. It had my favorite toilet so far. Everytime the toilet was flushed it groaned loudly for ten to fiftenn minutes. Miss you all and hope to talk to you soon.

... left the cafe with enough time to get to the bus station. Once we got there though, we found out it was a holiday, All Saints Day, and we just missed the last bus! The guy at the ticket desk said we could catch a bus to Portel, 30 min. south and then hitch from there, only option since we already paid for a ccomodations and a taxi back would be 80 euros! So we catch the bus and arrive in Portel where a couple of ...

... have a day there anyway after the extension in Porto), and found a little guest house just outside of the city walls. A great decision, it turned out. After a brief rest, we headed back into the city to find it alive with the most lifelike, intense Renaissance Fair we have ever seen. It is truly a different experience to see a Renaissance Fair in a place that actually had a Renaissance. I mean, the backdrop was a castle! We enjoyed great eats, music, and parades ...

... and they show movies on the trips too. but tonight marks my last night here in portugal. i've been roped into doing the pubcrawl at the hostel tonight, so yet another interesting flight lies ahead. speaking of which, the air traffic controller's strike has apparently been called off! (i'm actually kinda disappointed about that).

... Shopping down the Rue 5 de Outubro was next on our list and a few items made of cork found their way into our bag. The bonus here is that this should not put us over our weight limit on the plane!! Lunch was next and we found a small typical Alentejo style restaurant. We had wine out of the HUGE wine vats - you will see in the photo - and then we had a very different Tomato Soup with Pork Sausage on the side and then a plate of Wild 'Peeeeeeg' with salad ...

... had some serious issues as she completely shut-down and didn´t speak the rest of the evening. Later in the evening she was in the restroom complaining to other women on the trip about how upset she was. More on this chick later. But more importantly I´ve been overseas for less than 24 hours and I´ve already managed to offend someone from a different country - a fact that I´m really proud of ;D ...

... dos Loios, a 15th, century monastery, part of the Pousada do Portugal luxury hotel chain. We walk in like guests, but compared to them, we look a trifle scruffy, and the staff isn't quite sure whether to let us wander, or politely usher us out. All in all, Évora is a great town, and we would stay on at the drop of a hat, but we have to continue on our tight itinerary. We find a riverside park along the route to enjoy our picnic lunch.

... monuments, convents, and unique architectural details to make anyone happy. After just three days in Europe, Katie and I have talked a few times about how it doesn't really feel like we have traveled very far from home. Living in the New York area, we are continually surrounded by people speaking different languages and practicing diverse customs. Here in Portugal, the people, culture, foods, and way of life aren't that much different than those we encountered ...

... splotch when looking through the LCD. It would go away when I'd zoom. I tried cleaning the lens but that didn't help. Putting my troubleshooting skills to work, I shook the camera and smacked it! The splotch went away. :) That evening I had to change to another hostel that was way out far...again Lonely Planet's maps and directions were very poor...I very much want to smack those writers upside the head. That hostel was kinda drab too. Today I ...

... Evora was easy enough. Finding our hotel...not so easy. What's with us today and this relentless hide & seek driving? It took an hour driving around in Evora to find our hotel. We were in the right area the whole time...circling the place because it wasn't labeled, nor were the streets. It was way too appropriate when U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" came on the radio. So, simply posh, little room #207 at Solar Monfalim...high stucco'd walls and a ...