The sat nav behaved impeccably and took us to our 4* hotel which had been pre booked for us by Ann & Arthur, it was a valentine special - offering B&B for two nights (Sunday 13th & Mon 14th) + a bottle of champagne for the sum of 88 euros in the centre of Lisbon (an absolute steal). How ironic that we’ve been married for 35 years and yes, we’ve celebrated valentines day in different ways, but wow actually celebrating a romantic w/end in Lisbon was somewhat surreal .We wined and dined and generally enjoyed the opportunity to spoil ourselves in the warm and plush surroundings and even a hot cooked breakfast for two mornings, which we haven’t experienced in some time. I have to say, that whilst we were treated extremely well by the hotel staff, the weather, on the other hand was less kind, sadly it pee’d down the whole time we were there. Nevertheless, we did get out to see some of the sights, and experienced Lisbon’s hospitality, including the underground and the ancient tram system.
We decided to take our leave from Lisbon reasonably early on Tuesday 15th Feb, the weather had improved slightly meaning no rain in the immediate vicinity but still quite overcast and very ominous. Temperature (especially for keith) was around 10 o’clock GMT and according to the barometer probably 5 minutes on the median to rare side. Well after a full and hearty breakfast from our 4* Hotel Lucia we put on our gear, loaded up the bike, programmed the satnav and with an audience and a round of applause from the hotel staff we took off faultlessly, and turned up a one way street the wrong way – only joking. 
We were once again on the road heading due east to our next destination, Evora. As we left the city heading for Evora, we crossed over the River Tejo estuary on a bridge which I can only describe asawesome, it was at least 7 miles in length and some distance up in the air, a major fete of engineering and alot of EU money in the making I’m sure!! Sadly though I didn’t get the chance to take a picture, Ann wouldn’t let me stop. By the by for the officianado’s of the blog we have logged over a thousand miles on the clock since we landed in Santander on the 2nd Feb; We’ve experienced temperatures as low as 5 degrees on the bike going up thru the mountains which, combined with the wind factor probably taking them down just below freezing, up to a pleasant 15 or so degrees of sunshine in Chaves. As far as rain is concerned we’ve been very fortunate indeed. We have witnessed some torrential downpours both in Torres Novas and Lisbon, but on each occasion, thankfully we were off the bike sightseeing.
We arrived in Evora in good time and after a search found some accommodation, which on reflection, left alot to be desired, but hey ho you win some and you lose some. The town itself had alot of history, Of particular note was an ancient Temple dating back to Roman Times, it also had a wonderful aqueduct structure, an absolute joy to behold, the type of structure that Mike Baggot would be proud to put his name to . (so Moira and Jim Nallen if you’re reading the blog see the pics and please take note, in my view this would be an excellent opportunity and a most worthy destination for those history and geography pupils of St Bens, to carry out some practical field study, subject of course, to approval from T S.) hehehehe. The weather later that evening took a distinct turn for the worse it absolutely chucked it down with a thunderstorm to boot – fortunately for us, we were tucked up in our pits and at best just out of reach of the rain.So friends here end’th the reading, onwards and upwards, tomorrow’s another day.
Lots of luv
The essay writers. Xxx
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