We woke up on time.
Finally.
After several days of travel chaos, jet lag, accidental naps, and general time-zone confusion, this felt like a major personal victory. We made it to breakfast relatively on time and were feeling pretty good about ourselves.
At breakfast, we got a little bad news for future us.
Our hot air balloon ride for the next day had been canceled because of the wind.
That was supposed to be our big Évora birthday plan. Kaylea loves heights and has never been in an untethered balloon and the idea of travel across the inner Portuguese country side had us humble bragging for weeks ahead of time. We must've forgotten to knock on wood each time.
Instead, tomorrow was now going to become spontaneous exploration day.
The hot air balloon company also let us know over email that one of Aaron’s phone numbers was not working. Unfortunately, that was the same phone number we had given to all of our hotels.
So that's awesome. It'll probably work out.
But that was tomorrow’s problem.
Today still had a plan, and the plan started with picking up the rental car. Aaron had been getting a little nervous about driving in Lisbon, and the uber ride to the car rental agency didn't help. These streets were here before cars existed.
At the rental counter, the car guy took one look at our luggage and tried to upsell us to a bigger car.
We considered it for about four seconds. Then we held our ground and stuck with the tiny car.
This turned out to be the correct decision.
Not only did all of our stuff fit, but Aaron immediately fell in love with the car. It was small, easy to maneuver, and exactly the kind of vehicle you want when you are trying to escape Lisbon without accidentally scraping a wall or row of parked cars.
Aaron now wants one at home.
Getting out of Lisbon was a little stressful, but the tiny car made it kind of fun. Eventually, the city loosened its grip, the roads opened up, and we drove about an hour and a half toward Évora.
Our first stop was Fitapreta Vinhos, a winery just outside the city.
The winery had a very cool story. It was founded by a 24-year-old and his business partner, and now one of the founders lives in a restored palace on the vineyard.
Aaron has new career goals.
Specifically, he needs to find a job where buying a palace can be counted as a business expense.
We did a wine tasting, and it was delicious. The whole place had that perfect combination of old stone buildings, countryside views, and a romantic atmosphere that made us seriously consider abandoning our entire life and becoming Portuguese wine people.
During the tasting, we met a nice Canadian man who recommended a restaurant in Évora for dinner. He was extremely enthusiastic about it. According to him, it was the best food he had eaten in Portugal.
We took note.
The winery was only about 20 minutes from our hotel, so after the tasting we drove the rest of the way into Évora.
This is where the tiny car truly became the hero of the day.
Évora is beautiful, but the streets are tiny. Tiny tiny streets. Tiny tiny turns. Tiny tiny parking. Another win for the tiny car!
We checked into the hotel, got settled, and decided to investigate the Canadian man’s dinner recommendation.
One thing we are learning in Portugal is that there is always food around, but if you want to eat at a specific restaurant, especially a small one, reservations matter. This place did not let us book online, and we knew it was unlikely that we would get in the same night. Still, we figured we could stop by, ask, and if it was full, maybe make a reservation for the next night.
It was very full.
One of the chefs came out and told us they were booked for tomorrow too because of a special party.
As we were standing there talking to him, the Canadian man from the winery looked up at us from inside the restaurant.
Of course he did.
It was a tiny restaurant, and he was taking up one of the tables.
So we did what all great travelers do when Plan A fails.
We got Indian food.
And it was delicious.
After dinner, we took a late-night walk through Évora to see the Roman temple. The streets were quiet, the air was cooler, and the whole city had that old European nighttime magic where every stone wall looks like it has been minding its own business for 900 years.
The day mostly went according to plan. We escaped Lisbon, picked up the rental car, made it to the winery, checked into Évora, and ended the night wandering around ancient ruins.
We did not eat at the Canadian man’s favorite restaurant, and one of our phone numbers may or may not be useless.
But we found a tiny car we loved, drank wine at a vineyard-palace situation, ate excellent Indian food, and made it to Évora in one piece.
Tomorrow could be spontaneous exploration day.
Today was a win.
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