Évora Monte Evora Monte is a very old fortified town. The castle provides wonderful views of the plains below, which we found to be surprisingly green. Evora Monte witnessed the signing of a peace treaty for the Portuguese Civil War of 1834. I took a picture of Cristen and Inês outside the building where the treaty was signed. It seems that people were shorter back then!		Estremoz Estremoz is another one of the ancient fortified cities of the Alentejo. It was a wonderful place to go for a walk, and my parents even came across some old friends from Macau. We stopped by a little museum with examples of local arts and crafts -- it was very impressive to see what artists can make out small pieces of wood and cork. The fanciest hotel in town is the Pousada Rainha Santa Isabel. We couldn't afford it, but peeked inside and took a picture outside it.
	Elvas Elvas is a very pretty town, near the border between Portugal and Spain. It was witness to many important battles between the two neighbors. Two of the most striking sights in town are an impressive aqueduct, which consists of several levels of arches, and an old castle. We also found many pretty churches, with interiors covered in beautiful azulejo tiles from top to bottom.		Vila Viçosa Vila Viçosa is without a doubt one of the prettiest cities in Portugal. There are very large marble quarries nearby so that marble is plentiful in the area. Marble is used in sidewalks, park benches, and accents in nearly every house. The city is also full of orange trees which had a touch of color to the whole town. We had a nice lunch and visited the Palácio dos Duques de Bragança as well as some pretty churches around town.
	On The Road Out-takes from our roadtrip and some pictures to show how incredibly green Alentejo is in the winter. I usually remember Alentejo from my summer trips when it is always scorched into tones of yellow and brown by the sun.

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