I have to confess that until very recently the only Segovia that I knew of was Andrés Segovia the very well known guitarist. Then in October 2010 while looking at Google images for Roman ruins in the Iberian Peninsula, I discovered the Roman aqueduct at Segovia and read that it is almost 2000 years old, nearly 30 metres high and made with large blocks of stone with no cement! It was photographs of this incredible aqueduct that persuaded me to spend some time visiting Roman ruins in Spain and Portugal in January 2011.

A satisfying morning´s halt (reports the AA Explorer Guide to Portugal). You can take in most of the sights in ... half a day, according to The Rough Guide to Portugal. Neither was Lonely Planet encouraging: At its worst, Baixo Alentejo´s principal town ... is dull and depressing, with drunks often lounging in the main pedestrianised street... We had already visited Beja previously on two occasions and determined to try out the Pousada de São Francisco again, and we booked for 5 January nights.

Conimbriga is probably the most fascinating Roman town in the Iberian peninsular. It is situated at Condeixa-a-Velha just a 16 kilometres south of Coimbra in Portugal. About 15% of the total area of the Roman City has been uncovered to reveal, houses, baths, a forum, two city walls, an aqueduct and Roman artefacts which are now on display in a museum, which is even better than the excellent museum at Merida in Spain.

It is almost impossible not to be aware of the amount of Roman ruins in Spain and Portugal. Below this introduction you will find a description of Italica near Seville, this is where I first realised that the Romans used concrete as well as stone and brick for their construction.

The Iberian peninsular was first visited by Phoenician traders as far back as 1500 BC who came in their ships from the area that we now know as Lebanon and settled all of the Mediterranean rim as far west as the Straits of Gibraltar. They did not come as conquerers but to trade with the locals, most of the major Mediterranean coastal cities were originally founded by Phoenicians.

Lisbon´s Underground Roman Galleries, located in Rua da Prata, Baixa, will open to the public on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of September. The entrance is in Rua da Conceição nº 77.

Discovered in 1771 during the reconstruction of Lisbon after the earthquake of 1755, the galleries are dated from the first century after Christ and are similar to other public buildings of the Roman city of Olisipo.

I quite often give in to my fondness for chocolate, but usually it involves a 12 minute drive or ride to the chocolate shop at the shopping center at Guia, or even easier stopping there briefly on my way back from Lagos or Portimão.

However on March 12th because of the proximity of my birthday I succumbed to temptation and we rode 332 kilometers to the 'International Chocolate Festival at Óbidos'.   We stayed in a very nice hotel called Casa d’Obidos about three kilometers walk to the center of Obidos and walked up to the town the next day.

Aveiro: Seaweed, Salt and a Saint. Quirkiness is one of Portugal´s best loved features, and I have no misgivings about using the word quirky again to describe the city of Aveiro.  Aveiro has been called the Amsterdam of Portugal and the Venice of Portugal as well as the most attractive town in Beira Litoral (Lonely Planet 1999). 

The Golegã Horse Fair which is also known as the National Horse Fair held every year in November, is a celebration of the Lusitano breed.  The fair is held at Golegã in the Ribatejo region of Portugal. Golegã is 133 km north east of Lisbon on the west side of the river Tejo.

To find Golegã on a google map click here. To go to The Golegã Horse Fair web site click here.