Let the Biking Begin! Lisbon shuttle to Elvas, and Biking to Vila Vicosa

Why do I think that waiting only two days to blog is easier? The last two days have been as full of adventure as the previous seven!

We left our Lisbon villa early Saturday morning to taxi over to the Hotel Liberdade where we would meet up with our fellow bike tourers and take a shuttle to Elvas.

Goodbye lovely Lisbon! We loved our lodgings.

Everything went so smoothly - we had time to grab coffee and pastries for breakfast and the "shuttle" was actually a huge and luxurious motor coach with tons of room for 13 bikers and our guide! We stopped for coffee and then for lunch in a small town about 2/3 of the way to Elvas. It was market day and we really enjoyed looking around.

Lots of seasonal squash for sale!

I loved looking at the birds but felt sorry for them too...

The butcher had wooden pigs wearing pork-laden hats...? 

The bus delivered us safely to Elvas and we eagerly donned our biking duds, grabbed our seats and pedals and went to the hotel courtyard for bike fitting.

The veranda of our hotel in Elvas - so fun to see palm trees and flowers!

We had a very pleasant test ride of our bikes. They are actually lighter and better than our bikes at home! 

Happy bikers pose at the entry to Elvas' fortress walls.

After 20k of riding to awaken our bike muscles we returned to the hotel. We had a lovely pre-dinner meeting with lots of snacks, then off to a local restaurant to enjoy regional specialties. Too much good food and wine was had by all!

Peter had a chance to do a couple of quick studies of the Elvas vistas from the hotel veranda:

This morning (Sunday 10/16) we met after breakfast for a walking tour of Elvas, a fascinating fortified town only 2k from the Spanish border. So much interesting architecture - layers of structures that started with the Romans, then the Moors, then the various ruling powers that would become Portugal.

Here is a collection of scenes all from Elvas - as a hilltop fortress, the vistas were amazing:

Then it was time to bike! We cycled through very arid countryside dotted with olive trees, cattle, and sheep. We chose to do an optional loop ride to make our day's total ride 50K. 

It surely isn't Minnesota terrain! We had plenty of long climbs and exciting downhills. The quality of the roads was super. Our only challenge was 4K of cobblestone road at the start of the loop ride - made us appreciated smooth pavement even more!

Our hotel in Vila Vicosa is amazing - it is the Pousada Convento Vila Vicosa, a 500 year old former convent, and in 1997 turned into this stunning historical hotel. The rooms and public spaces are such a treasure:

Amazing scale of doorway to our room - about 5'-5"!

The corridor outside our room which overlooks the cloister.

Beautiful cloister space - we love how this climate allows for so much outdoor living space.

Another view of the cloister and the lodging spaces that surround it.

Vila Vicosa is also at the heart of Portugal's marble quarrying region. We had a tour of the Marble Museum and learned more about this vital and beautiful industry.

Our group Outside the museum admiring the sculptures and marble samples.

Again, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the hotel - so many courses, so little stomach capacity! Now it's past time to get some rest, as tomorrow we ride 55K to Monsaraz. Thanks for traveling along!