Spring in Central Portugal

Alentejo in spring has been a delight. With balmy 20ºCdays, azure skies and wispy clouds, it’s the perfect time to explore the largest region of Portugal. We start in Alentejo’s capital city, Évora. Within its original Roman walls we found a buzzing university campus but also pretty cobbled streets and a church with an exhibition of nativity scenes made by craftsmen from around the world. The history of the region is evident from the Moorish castles, Roman Villas and Temples and convents that we saw, some now converted into Pousadas and hotels where I wished the walls could talk. Just outside Évora, we visited Pepe Aromas, a sustainable organic enterprise built in a disused railway station with hectares of prickly pear cacti growing among its cork trees. As we drove along the impeccably straight roads, the scenery changed so regularly and we’d f frequently spy storks nesting on top of telegraph poles. We passed fields of almond, olive and pine nut trees, as well as forests of cork trees and glorious vineyards. At this time of year carpets of white and yellow flowers surround them. While in Alentejo, we stayed at two very special vineyards, Herdade Malhadinha Nova Country House and L’And Vineyard, plus had an amazing lunch at Torres de Palma Wine Hotel. The Portuguese are so hospitable – I’ve met some of the most wonderful people here – and are very generous with their gastronomy. With rice production huge in this area I have gorged on every flavour of risotto, along with delicious salads served with local olive oil and rustic bread a vegetarian delight, and of course all accompanied by the most incredible wine. To walk off some of the calories we headed to the coast. Alentejo has 100km of coastline, and is considered to be the last wild stretch of coast in Europe. We visited Comporta, both a village and also a stretch of golden sandy beach with dunes protecting the rich, rice paddy fields behind, and had a superb lunch at the Sublime Beach Club, washed down with rose sangria. Obrigado, Alentejo!