I didn't know........I did know

I didn't know:
-that clouds and rain come and go so quickly.  It wasn't raining at 7 am, was at 8 am but by 9 am was clearing, fog lifting and sun coming out.  We followed the rain most of the morning, riding on wet roads but never in the rain
-that cork trees are a variety of oak tree producing acorns -- very long ones -- and not having conventional oak leaves.  Note the latin name for oak -- quercus and how similar it is to "cork".  The trees need to be 25 years old before first cork harvest and after that can be reharvested every 9 years.  In the year of the harvest, the trees appear red due to a secretion which also helps remove the layer of cork from the tree
-that the colossal olives did not just grow in Spain
-that only white sheet get a bell, and not even all of them (based just on some observation this afternoon  and more research is necessary before this can be seen as a generality)
-that there were still aqueducts in use.  Elvas has a 4 tier one still bringing water into the city.
-that persimmons grow in the southern part of Portugal
-that almonds also grow in the Algarve
-that if you buy a beer in a bar (thought it was just a little store), you have to drink it there rather than taking it back to your hotel room.  They do, however, give you something to snack with it -- I had marinated broad beans, tasty.
-that things in Portugal are quite cheap (outside of Lisbon) -- my beer was 1 euro.  Yesterday my coffee and pastry were only 1.60

I did know:
- that riding uphill on cobbles would be hard, but didn't realize how hard
-that you can do lots of uphill (980m) on a day that is mostly rolling
-that spinning in a low gear is the best way to climb hills -- some of the guys still insist on just powering up and that destroys your legs
-that centuries of walking on marble stairs can make them wavy, but had never seen it in a hotel before
-that spending a long time standing at the counter,by yourself, with about 10 guys, after dark, is not a good idea, so I drank my beer and headed back to the hotel (it was only about 6 pm, so no worries)
-that the best pork comes from pigs which eat acorns, but I didn't know that they were all black skinned
-that all around the world, London Plane trees are used to majestically line roadways -- even here
-that medieval towns were on the itinerary for this trip, but didn't realize that I would be cycling over a drawbridge.