CASA DO VALLE

Winter mornings are wonderful here! Our Bed and Breakfast is on the mountain between the valley and the palaces. When the mist of the night condensates it creates a cloud that covers the villages in the valley only exposing the tree tops and chimneys. Another cloud hovers above the top of Pena Palace hiding and exposing it in a colorful cloud - it is magical! It is easy to be a morning person in Sintra. I usually get up early morning, way before any of the guests do, and walk the grounds with the dogs - so I can truly appreciate the awakening of the day. Sintra is very photogenic - it is a thrill for all the photographers from amateurs to professionals to try their skill on day or night time photography. Sometimes we get random people ringing our doorbell asking to enter the garden for the perfect shot of the palaces or the valley. I am glad to oblige, realizing that we do have a wonderful place for it. And we do get guests that stay up at odd times to catch the full moon over the...

It was a great week without rain! I know rain is needed, but a break was needed, too. Three weeks ago when the rains started, on a stormy night, the wall of our property suffered and a few meters of it fell down. It is a wall over 100 years old, made of heavy rocks. Finally the weather permitted its reconstruction - and it feels great not to have the rubble around. It is amazing the amount of rocks that a wall contains! We have collected rocks like that all fall - Originally this ground was a vineyard so it was narrowly terraced. Through the years, some of which of abandon, some of the terraces were undone, fused, vanished - and now we find these big rocks, previously from the walls all over the ground. We are collecting them, preparing for a pond-landscaping for later in the spring. Right now it is more important to start pruning. This last week our gardeners started the pruning/cutting process. Last year we planted about 60 fruit trees on the ground. They are fine, but the o...

Sintra has arrived to the extreme weather - Extreme beauty with the full moon - and extreme rain and winds! We all hope this passes quickly. So what do you do in Sintra when the wind is blowing and the hail hits the windows, and it seems impossible to leave the comfort of your room? Some people play board games or cards, others read and others just catch up on their sleep. I have just ordered an English Scrabble to go along with the Portuguese version, to be easier for more people. Our little library got a few additions this week as our Australian guests took advantage of the 'take one - leave one' suggestion. A thank you for them, it is nice to have circulation! I was reading commentaries on our house on a site this week and noticed a comment regarding the absence of TV in the rooms. In a rainy day it would be a nice thing to have a TV in the room. I might agree, and felt bad that the message that they are available had not gotten to the client, who consequently missed th...

We have created a couple of getaway-packages for those in need of change in their routine: a 1-night and a 2-night getaway! All the prices are valid until the end of May/09 and are for two people. 1 night Sintra getaway includes 1 night in Casa do Valle with full breakfast for two, 1 Regaleira horse-and-carriage ride, coffee and 'travosseiros' for two at the famous pastelaria 'Piriquita' - all for 95 euros! 2 night Sintra getaway includes 2 nights in Casa do Valle with full breakfast for two, 1 São Pedro horse-and-carriage ride, coffee and 'travosseiros' for two at the famous pastelaria 'Piriquita' - all for 175 euros! And we are still continuing with the special welcome of free port wine and walnuts included in the room price until the end of January!