Evora

This blog is a little out of order, but we will catch up later on Lisbon and Porto.  I thought today's explorations were too interesting (or bizarre?) to wait.

Evora is a beautiful little town perfectly preserved from the XIVth century, surrounded by its protective walls reminiscent of Lucca or Sienna.

Wandering through the narrow cobblestoned streets we visited the Templo Romano, the Roman baths, and climbed up to the top of Catedral Evora for an enchanting view of the entire region.

The highlight of our visit, however macabre it may seem, was the chapel built entirely from human bodies.
Due to a lack of valuable land for cemetary space, and a concern that the local residents of the parish were getting too materialistic, the monks decided to relocate the bones of 43 cemetaries and build the “Chapel of Bones”. The Capela dos Ossos was built in the 16th century.  

It is a small interior chapel located next to the entrance of the Church of St. Francis. The walls are made solely of human bones, including skulls. The idea was to provoke meditation on life being transitory, and, by association, that material goods and the trappings of wealth are not what the church wishes its followers to aspire to. This is clearly shown in the famous warning at the entrance Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (“We bones that here are, for yours await").

 The number of skeletons was calculated to be about 5000, coming from the cemeteries that were situated inside several dozen churches. Some of these skulls have been scribbled with graffiti. Two desiccated corpses, one of which is a child, dangle from ropes.  At the roof of chapel, is inscribed the phrase "Melior est die mortis die nativitatis ("Better is the day of death than the day of birth)"

I offered to donate my bones, but my Portugese must be a bit rusty, as they just sold me a postcard instead.

Lorraine atop Catedral Evora

The Cathedral from the Cloister

The Templo Romano with the Cathedral in the Distance

Temple of Bones

Wall from the Temple of Bones

We bones that here are, for yours await!!

Santiago de Compostela

We continue our journey to Santiago de Compostela, the celebrated end of the Camino de Santiago, a 800 km trek that begins in Saint Jean Pied de Port, France.

 Each year thousands of faithful (and probably some who are not so much) make the pilgrimmage to the burial place of St. James. Our thoughts of making this same hike next year are tempered by our weakened condition, a result of our encounter with food poisoning, and the cold, rainy weather in Santiago. Our exercising and walking have fallen off. We usually manage between 12 – 17 thousand steps every day - which is about 10 km, but this week we have not even hit 10,000 any day. We were thinking that we could average at least 20 km a day and do the Camino in 40 days, but now we realize that we would have to be in top shape to accomplish this.

The city is dominated by the Cathedral of St. James. Legend has it that the remains of the apostle James were brought to Galicia for burial. In 813, according to medieval legend, the light of a bright star guided a shepherd who was watching his flock at night to the burial site in Santiago de Compostela. The shepherd quickly reported his discovery to the bishop of Iria, Bishop Teodomiro.The bishop declared that the remains were those of the apostle James and immediately notified King Alfonso II in Oviedo. To honour St. James, the cathedral was built on the spot where his remains were said to have been found.

The city itself is bustling with the triumphant pilgrims who have successfully completed the journey, and celebrate their accomplishments with impromptu songs, dances and chants of self-congratulation. Cafes and restaurants spill their tables into the streets, creating a festive atmosphere despite the gloomy weather. Of course, the main attraction is the cathedral itself, and it is stunning.

 Lorraine and I have been to the Vatican and seen the Sisteen Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. We have seen Notre Dame in Paris, France, but these have serious competition in the Cathedral of St. James. The sheer size of it, the stained glass, the gold leaf covering the detailed statues, the tapestries, the bejewelled mosaics, and the artwork simply awe the senses. We have never seen such a display of overwhelming wealth.

The cathedral is jam-packed with pilgrims, the faithful, and those of us who just want to see what it is all about.

I am sorry to say this, for it will alienate many of you, but for me, it was all about greed, pomposity, and the bullying of the Church. How many millions were spent in the glorification of God here? Was this to cow the people? To strike awe and fear into their hearts and minds by building this tribute to the almighty?

It was gaudy, pretentious and wasteful. It was interesting to note how many people surrounded the cathedral begging for food. How many people could be helped with the fortunes that were invested in the hopes of buying a stairway to heaven?

The Cathedral

Inside the Ornate Church

Pilgrims on the Camino

Santillana del Mar

We are still not well, but at least are stomachs are not violently rejecting anything that we attempt to consider eating. However, we have only eaten crackers and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It is certainly one way to lose weight quickly, but not one that we would recommend.

Still we soldier on, and reach the "town of three lies" – Santillana del Mar. Not a saint, nor is it flat (llana), nor is it by the sea. It is named after Santa Illiana, and it is beautiful, like a Shakespearean village stuck in time. It is a medieval village, with most of the houses dating back to the fourteenth century. Cars are not allowed on the cobblestone streets, although some deliveries do take place.

Our B and B on Canton Street was surrounded by “casonas”, old houses formerly owned by nobility, charming in their gothic exteriors featuring elaborate coats of arms. At the end of our street was the Colegiata (Saint Juliana´s collegiate church), the most important religious monument of the Romanesque in Cantabria.

The town featured many siderias, which we learned were cider houses, but were still too ill to sample any. We did manage to have a very small taste of dinner – I had a rustic mountain stew, and Lorraine tried a few bites of a pasta which was far too rich for our traumatized stomachs.

Public Watering Place

Colegiata 

Main Street - Note Cobblestone

Our B and B Posada Ansorena

Sick in San Sebastian

Sometimes it rains, and sometimes you get the perfect storm.

Melissa had been sick with a nasty cough for most of the trip, and now Lorraine has it. Then my back went into spasm. Then we left our camera in Missy's purse when we left Venice in the early morning. I think she has had her eye on it for a few years.

So now we take the bus to the airport, fly to Barcelona, pick up the rental and arrive late afternoon at our stopover for one night. Nothing else is open so we buy two pitas at a Donair/kabob shop that is dark and empty. Lorraine has chicken and I have pork. Hours later in our room, Lorraine becomes violently ill, and is sick all night. I am fine (remember, I had the pork).

Next day, we are scheduled to head to San Sebastian, but Lorraine is still very ill. We head out anyway, Lorraine being the trouper that she is, but we don't make it without incident. We arrive in San Sebastian and Lorraine spends the rest of the day in bed. I am fine.

The next day, we set out to explore old town San Sebastian, which is in Basque country, home to some of the world's greatest chefs and everywhere the tapas bars proudly display a cornucopia of delectable snacks – of which Lorraine can have none. We return home where we both lie down, and I am NOT fine. Violently ill for the next day and a half – I guess the pork had a delayed reaction. We both spend the next day, all day and night, in bed or in the bathroom, sleeping 38 hours out of the next 48.

One of the most Beautful Beaches

The Start of Old City

Tapas Which We Could Not Eat!

Venice!

Well, into everyone's life a little rain must fall, and no, it is not raining, but Lorraine and Missy both have had terrible colds, and my back has been in spasm for over a week. It has made sleeping quite difficult, and I am sure you can imagine what it was like to take the train from Mestre to Venice on a day when the mercury was doing its best to blow off the top and escape the thermometer.   We had to struggle with all of our bags up and down staircases to the train. The train's air conditioning was not working, and while the temp outside was pushing 40 C (104F), it was over 50C in the train. Apparently, we are setting records for the hottest days ever in Venice.

VENICE! It is a city of 118 small islands linked by canals and bridges. The buildings sit upon wooden piles that rest on limestone, brick and stone. Amazingly, these alder wooden piles do not decay quickly in the oxygen-poor water. So, basically, it is a city built on stilts in the marshy Venetian Lagoon. The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon. It is also the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi.

The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and once again between 1575 and 1577. In three years, the plague killed some 50,000 people. In 1630, the plague killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens. But the Venice that we explored was peaceful, quiet and absolutely beautiful. With a lack of groundspace to work with, the Venetians seem to compensate with beautiful balconies overflowing with trumpetvine, impatiens, geraniums and other colourful plants decorating the already beautiful pastels of the buildings.

Get lost in Venice. That is my advice and that's what we did. Don't bother with the free maps, although the one from Alilaguna is not too bad. Get yourself a reference point – like the train station (La Ferrovia, or the Ponte Rialto, or the Piazza San Marco – and figure out where the spot you are going to is in relation to one of these. The signs for all of these major attractions are everywhere, and are clearly marked. The free maps will just frustrate you. We wandered through the alleys and over the bridges, sometimes hopping on a vapporetto (a waterbus) to enjoy the sights, and sometimes just sitting to people watch and drink in the views.

Is Venice sinking? Yes, but more slowly now that they have realized that the artesian wells they were drilling for drinking water were the cause of the drastic descent of the city in the 1960's. Studies indicate that the city continues sinking at a relatively slow rate of 1-2mm per annum.

We took a day trip to Murano, famous for its ornate glass-work, known as Venetian glass. It is world-renowned for being colourful, elaborate, and skilfully made. Some of the most important brands of glass in the world today are still produced in the historical glass factories on Murano. They are: Venini, Barovier; Toso, Pauly, Millevetri, Seguso. Barovier; Toso is considered one of the 100 oldest companies in the world, formed in 1295. We took a waterbus across and strolled (well, I kind of limped, staggered, and hopped with my bad back) and – yes – this is the island known for its glass-work. Almost every single store front proudly displayed beautifully crafted pieces made by world-class artisans and proclaimed “NOT made in China!” We were treated to a glass-blower making coffee cups, wine glasses and vases, and we began to appreciate how much work went into each individually-made, hand crafted piece. I felt guilty but did not pull the trigger on a “bargain” that my salesfriend offered me. $1000.00 for a set of 6 drinking glasses.

We dined by the canals, drank Italian wine and watched the sunset on our last day. We will miss beautiful Venice.

Miss and Me in P San Marco

Sweet Lorraine and Miss on a Back-Street Canal

Glass Blower in Murano

View Down a "Side Street"

Getting Lost in Venice has its Perqs

Santa Fiora - The Whole Family!

Miss here, guest blogging for Dad about our adventures at the farmhouse in Santa Fiora, Italy. Not totally sure what I was expecting when I thought about us going to a farmhouse in Tuscany, but for some reason I was not fully expecting a farm. Well, it is definitely a farm! We had horses, sheep, goats, cows, donkeys, hens, roosters, ducks, dogs, cats and even a peacock! We were put to task on the first day learning how to feed the animals. The kids loved it and were dutiful helpers every night.

 There is a pool with a gorgeous view of the mountains. All I can say is thank goodness for that pool! The kids were in there about 3 times a day and loved every minute of it.

 Santa Fiora is a great place to stay for many reasons. One is that it is close enough to a number of the major cities you would want to visit like Florence, Sienna and Assisi. Geoff and Joce took on Florence and Sienna, while Mom, Dad and I explored the beautiful Assisi.

The second reason that Santa Fiora is great, is because you really are in the heart of Italy and you have to try and learn some Italian to get by (if you don't, you will end up with 8 massive t-bone steaks from the butcher, when all you want is 4). My Italian is still nowhere near decent (Dad's is getting really good), but at least I picked-up a couple of key words.

 The third reason we all loved and appreciated were the people that owned the farmhouse: Corrina and Sandro. They were incredibly nice and invited us to events in the town. Dad even got to participate in a talent competition (He played guitar and sang After Midnight) and was given a medal for his stellar performance. He was honestly the only person to get the town on its feet clapping and singing along with him. There was also a medieval event that was mainly cancelled due to rain and thunderstorms, but at least Kingston and Mia got to see a mock sword fight the night before.

 Corrina and Sandro also helped us to plan a fantastic birthday dinner night by introducing us to Albertina. Albertina is a true Italian Nona in her late sixties, who doesn't speak a lick of English. She showed us how to make pasta from scratch and let us roll and cut the flour, eggs and olive oil into tagliatelle for an authentic pasta with bolognese sauce. She also whipped up for us bruschetta, another pasta with gorgonzola, zucchini in a white wine and olive oil sauce, veal scallopini and a caprese salad. I think I made it through the bruschetta and the first pasta...so much food, but so good! Albertina, Sandro and Corrina enjoyed the feast with us and we had a wonderful celebration. Dad broke out the guitar and we all had a good sing-a-long into the night.

 A lot of this trip has revolved around food. One of the nicest meals and views we had by far was in Montenero D'Orcia at a restaurant called Antica Fattoria Del Grottaione. We had an epic last Sunday brunch with great food, great wine and the most spectacular view overlooking other hilltop towns. They served only one Italian beer that is about 10% booze. When you have it in the restaurant it is about $10 Euros. The bottle is extremely nice, but we found out the hard way that it is another $10 Euros for the bottle if you want to take it home, making them a pricey $20 Euros. Good thing we only bought 2 for the road :).

 Unfortunately for me, a couple of days before we had to go, I came down with a really bad summer cold. It meant missing Geoff, Joce and the G-kids' last dinner and the drive to Cinqueterre was just lovely. Even though the ending wasn't the best, I will remember Santa Fiora and the farmhouse as a great experience and will especially appreciate the time I got to spend getting to know the G-kids even better.

The Pescheria - Huge Fish Swimming Around

Albertina and her Pasta!

Kingston Feeding the Ducks

Dad Got the Whole Crowd to Their Feet and Won a Medal!

Incredible View from our Restaurant in Montenero

The Kid's Favourite Spot!