Evora, Portugal

Our first stay in Portugal was in the small, inland town of Evora, an ancient walled city. We stayed at an Orbitur camping park not too far outside of the walls. We found this town a delightful place to explore.

We bicycled into town and had to stop at the first century Roman temple, of course! We took advantage of a nearby coffee stand and sipped our Americanos while gazing upon the Roman ruin in Portugal. A little mind boggling.

Another key attraction in Evora is the Church of Sao Francisco. One of its chapels, pictured below, is lined with human bones. It was built in the 17th century, and according to the placard, "is an invitation to reflect on the transitory nature of the human condition."

Another interesting exhibit at the Church of Sao Francisco is the nativity scenes collection located in the upper galleries. We roamed through the exhibit of 2,600 representations of the birth of Jesus. A wide variety of nativities from about 80 countries. Here are just a couple of examples. As our visit happened to occur a few days after Christmas, it seemed a perfect way to round out the holiday.