train – TravelmyStories

That same Sunday, after we saw the train arriving to Mount Dora, we went to visit the other side of the train trip. If you don’t know of what train trip I am talking about check this link The Train I Didn’t Take. Leaving Mount Dora we took Lakeshore Dr.coasting along Lake Dora. We couldn’t help drooling innocent envy because of the enormous houses by the lake, each with their own little pier and boat. Ahhh they have their own little paradise in their own home.

Well our destiny, Tavares! Tavares is the other side of the train trip.

At the moment we got there the heat was a little bit nicer to us than earlier when we were at Mount Dora. Clouds started to get together for their usual afternoon party, that brings rain and loud thunderstorms, but at the moment it was just calming down the heat.

We parked at Wooton Park in front of Lake Dora. Tavares didn’t look as elegant and fancy as Mount Dora. It was more sporty, outdoor, casual look, and family oriented than Mount Dora…

Tavares is definitely kids friendly! With this heat anybody will like to play here! The seasonal splash park is only $2 dollars. Any Sunday afternoon with a book in hand you can sit and relax while the kids have fun splashing some water. For more information check the link! TAVARES CHILDREN’S SPLASH PARK

COMMENT: (Tavares and Mount Dora two small cities that have so much to offer. You can ride in trains, seaplanes, boat tours even Segway tours! They have a little bit of everything.)

City of Tavares, America’s Seaplane City! Thats the way it’s called, and I could see they represent their name very well. Continuing with our exploration of Tavares, the Wooton Park face the Lake Dora, where some of the seaplane tours departure.

It is so nice to enjoy the outdoors. With so many options that you have here, you need to make good planning and budgeting. But always be careful in Florida when close to lakes, never forget that we have some residents that are always in the look out of their property…

Yes! I am talking about alligators, this guy was close to the shore and the seaplane. They are always looking a new snack on the menu 😉

Taking about menu, that means food! There are few locals restaurants. Jorge was into Irish, so we ended up eating at O’Keefe’s Irish Pup and Restaurant, a local restaurant with an interesting history, check to the link. I ate something that I never tried before, and ended up been pretty good. It was an English Muffin topped with tuna and cheddar cheese. Yummy! I highly recommended.

Other views of Tavares…

After we finished eating the thunderstorm start bullying at us. Its full power force us to leave town. Seriously when we were walking to the car we felt one thunder so strong, so close to us that we ran like little kids to the car. It was pretty scary. That’s another thing that you have to be careful with Florida summers. Almost every afternoon we have storms full of powerful thunders and plenty of people die around here for that. Please take seriously a thunderstorm and take refuge.

Well, that all for Tavares and the train I didn’t take.

Until then…

xamlinnette 🙂

With our tummies full, we kept going against the time, running our eyes between the maps and the cellphone to keep track of the time. We walked through narrow streets, with small shops to the right and left of the road. Every small shop had merchandise overflowing to the sidewalks, and vendors were trying to meet your eyes to get your attention, so they could sell you a souvenir or two.

Suddenly out of nowhere my eyes met with something that seems not to be part of that region. Even though I knew we were going to see this landmark in Évora, it was more impressive seeing it in front of me, it looked bigger and for a moment I felt that we were in other country… maybe Rome or Greece… But no, we were in the right place Évora! This was The Roman Temple of Évora! Also referred to as the Templo de Dianna ( the ancient Roman goddess of the moon, the hunt and chastity). Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself how huge is this ruin. By the way that day was a beautiful day to be outside, the clouds adorn the sky so nicely. It looked like freshly paint white clouds over a soft but intense blue. See the pictures below.

Next we encounter the famous Évora´s Cathedral. Impressive in the inside, with abundant of monuments, Saints, astonish chandeliers, elegant gold altar and all kinds of detail christian art on the walls and more. Then we went up the stairs to the rooftop, at that point we were so tired of walking and going up the stairs, to be honest, we were tired also of seen so much religious monuments… we were overwhelmed with the exuberant amount of religious decor, so at the rooftop we took a break. That gave us the opportunity to enjoy the incredible view. That included lots of orange brick rooftops and an old aqueduct that is another of Evora’s landmark that we only were able to see from the distance. Once again picture time! Featuring a picturesque sky and a cathedral that looks like a castle. Then once again we went down stairs to an inside garden.

There were many other landmarks and attractions that the time didn’t allow us to see. We walk back to the train station, there we sat for few minutes while enjoying some snacks, thinking all the walking that we still have ahead of us once we get back to Lisbon to the Entrecampos train station. From the Entrecampos station to our hotel was 30 more minutes… Oh well sure a day full of exercise, then the train arrived and we left.

Until then…

xamlinnette 🙂