{"id":423,"date":"2018-10-08T07:32:05","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T07:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=423"},"modified":"2026-08-18T16:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T16:34:16","slug":"euro-travellers-2018-08","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=423","title":{"rendered":"EURO-TRAVELLERS 2018. 08"},"content":{"rendered":"

8\u00a0 TOLL ROADS IN INLAND PORTUGAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inland Portugal is certainly hilly!\u00a0 Mountainous even, in parts.\u00a0 It’s now Wednesday 13 June.\u00a0 We spent half of yesterday trying to work out how to use their electronic-only toll roads.\u00a0 And the other half using them!\u00a0 What a game!\u00a0 Why does such a small country need three different systems anyway?\u00a0 In fact, why do they need perishing tolls at all?\u00a0 I suppose, to be fair, the auto-routes are major pieces of engineering and would have cost a fair bit to build.\u00a0 I wonder if EU money was involved?\u00a0 Bet it was!<\/p>\n

Anyway, after two hours trying to register our card by SMS as instructed (in miniscule writing on the back of the card), a very helpful lady in a pharmacy suggested I try entering the code with no spaces.\u00a0 Bingo! So that was how we spent yesterday morning.\u00a0 But I need to catch up a few days.<\/p>\n

On Saturday (9th June) we went to Vila Vi\u00e7osa to see the Palazzo Ducale – the Dukes’ Palace.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

For many centuries it was the seat of the House of Braganza – one of the most important noble families of Portugal.\u00a0 Building was started in 1501 by Duke Jaime because he had got sick of living in his uncomfortable, hill-top castle.\u00a0 It has had several make-overs since, mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries, and now boasts a 110 metre long facade allegedly modelled on the royal palace in Lisbon.\u00a0 With lots of marble!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

Doorway of the Knots – yes, it\u2019s really called that!<\/p>\n

Talking of marble, as we had driven from Borba on the N4 towards Vila Vi\u00e7osa, we chanced on a couple of marble quarries.\u00a0 Perhaps “chanced on” isn’t the correct expression.\u00a0 Borba is dominated by massive piles of “nearly-marble”.\u00a0 You can’t really miss them.\u00a0 They are enormous structures built of cuboid chunks of pale coloured rock.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

This is the waste from the quarries which are themselves huge pits with more or less vertical walls and turquoise coloured lakes in their bottoms.\u00a0 Clearly the pits are a lot less obvious on the sky-line than the spoil heaps!\u00a0 There were prominent signs everywhere which probably said something along the lines of “Welcome to our quarry.\u00a0 Please step right up to the vertginous edge to take your photos”! So I did as instructed! I\u00a0 still can’t see why they used so many skulls on the welcome signs!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

On Sunday we relocated to be near \u00c9vora. Difficult decision regarding camp-site.\u00a0 The choice was between a large urban site “potentially crowded and noisy” or a small rural one further out at \u00c9voramonte with “potential for road noise”.\u00a0 \u00c9voramonte won.\u00a0 Another village with massive hill-top fortifications.<\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

The fortified dwelling was closed but the views from the surrounding gardens were impressive.\u00a0 We could see clouds in every direction.\u00a0 360 degrees of grey stuff.\u00a0 The tower appeared to be held together with rope tied with really big knots in carved stone.\u00a0 It transpires that these knots are symbols of the Braganza family.\u00a0 This explains the proliferation of things knotty in Vila Vi\u00e7osa.<\/p>\n

Significant dates in the life of the castle include: 1306 built; 1531 destruction by the Lisbon earthquake; 1834 signing of the concession of \u00c9voramonte ending the Liberal Wars (I put that bit in for Bruce!); 1987 electricity installed.\u00a0 I reckon that even modern-day Portuguese electricians could get power installed in a building in less than 712 years – even if they did so with reverse polarity!<\/p>\n

Monday wasn’t the best of days to visit \u00c9vora.\u00a0 On Mondays a lot of museums and interesting buildings don’t open.\u00a0 Still, it WAS Monday.\u00a0 We parked immediately outside the old city walls in the shadow of a massive aqueduct.\u00a0 So the Romans had been here before us!\u00a0 That’s the third such structure we had come across in this part of the Iberian peninsula.\u00a0 There were also partial remains of some sections inside the city walls.\u00a0 This is the Aqueduto da \u00c1gua.\u00a0 Part of an impressively complex scheme to bring gravity-fed, drinking-quality water directly to the central square of \u00c9vora (the Pra\u00e7a do Giraldo).\u00a0 <\/span>It did this via nine kms of tunnels, channels and aqueducts.\u00a0 Actually, it was built in the 16th century – so that probably rules out the Romans!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

Carpark with its own aqueduct.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

\u00a0The<\/span>\u00a0Praca do Giraldo in Evora.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

The Church of St Francis in Evora.<\/p>\n

Another old site was the Capella dos ossos – the bone chapel.\u00a0 Located alongside St Francis church, it is the biggest of five such relics in the area.\u00a0 There is a spooky inscription at the entrance – “N\u00f3s ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos!”\u00a0 “Us bones already here are awaiting yours” – or something like that!\u00a0 Constructed in the 15th and 16th century (a busy time around here!) by a Franciscan monk (or three) who wanted to bring home the message of human transience.\u00a0 And they had some spare bones from some 5000 skeletons which had been relocated from the church grounds.\u00a0 We had seen a smaller version in Monforte.\u00a0 There had also been one in Compo Maior but the story there was a bit different.\u00a0 Apparently, in 1732 there had been a massive gun-powder explosion and fire which destroyed two thirds of the city killing thousands.\u00a0 As a memorial to them, their bones (skulls and femurs) have been used to line this small chapel.\u00a0 Rumour has it that a bolt of lightning may have ignited the massive arsenal in the fort.\u00a0 Luckily, the lightning strike we suffered last New Year just took out the computer, TVs and other electronic gear – but then we don’t store explosives at home!<\/p>\n

The city is also home to real Roman remains – known (incorrectly, as it happens) as the temple to Diana.\u00a0 Thought to have been built in about the first century AD in what was then the central square of \u00c9vora, a city known at the time by the catchy name of “Liberalitas lulea”.\u00a0 (Bruce, were these the same Liberals who were at war before 1835?)<\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

Diana Temple – (or not?).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

Evora’s Library.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the gateways to the city was named Raimondo’s Gate after a famous resident of Chieveley.<\/p>\n

\"D:\\JTUserData\\Documents\\PICTURES\\My<\/p>\n

Another was dedicated to the patron saint of car hire – the Gate of Avis.\u00a0 Actually, that’s the Gate we used to enter and leave the city.<\/p>\n

Yesterday you already know about – Esteramoz for a toll card at the post office; shopping, for provisions and fuel before heading into the mountains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We’ve relocated to Chave Grande a site high in the hills above Viseu near the village of S\u00e1t\u00e3o.\u00a0 Almost level with Porto. but that’s the next bit of the story – and tomorrow I’ll tell you how I’ve been able to catch up today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

8\u00a0 TOLL ROADS IN INLAND PORTUGAL Inland Portugal is certainly hilly!\u00a0 Mountainous even, in parts.\u00a0 It’s now Wednesday 13 June.\u00a0 We spent half of yesterday trying to work out how to use their electronic-only toll roads.\u00a0 And the other half… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-portugal-2018"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=423"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8109,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423\/revisions\/8109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}