Published on Jun, 2023
Having toured the main visitor attractions to the west of Lisbon on two previous vacations, we opted to see the countryside southeast of the city, so we chose this tour. Within a half hour, we were out of Lisbon. Gone were the hills. The views quickly morphed from city scapes to flat farms and ranches with few towns or people in sight. In less than two hours we were in Évora, a small, charming town with very narrow streets and tight, challenging ninety degree turns. One of the town's highlights was The Capella dos Ossos (the chapel of bones), where the chapel's interior walls are covered and decorated with the skulls and bones of humans. From there, we moved on to a cork products manufacturing facility, where we learned about the harvesting, sorting (into multiple grades) and the transitioning of cork into products ranging from engine gaskets to clothing and furniture.. Our guide, Jorge, then took us to Herdade Das Servas vineyards where we toured their wine production facility and cellars. The best part of the trip, however, was spending time sipping some of their excellent wines, and reflecting upon the day's events with our wonderful guide Jorge.