CASA DO VALLE

These are samples of some of the different plums that are getting ready: purple and red plums!

This year the plums, of all colors, are truly wonderful! The cherry-sized ones are nearly gone (both purples and yellows), and the bigger ones are at their peak: reds, purples, yellows... How wonderful is it to walk around the grounds and have breakfast out, straight from the trees??? Also - a wonderful morning activity is the exercise bike by the pool outside and swimming. At 8 or 830 in the morning I start brewing the coffee for our coffee-drinking clients, but before that I have already ridden the bike and swam, 15 to 30 mins of each activity! The morning mist on the mountain, rising from the sea, the rising sun's rays hitting the mountain... and the pool water is about 25 degrees! A lot of our clients have also learned to enjoy it all - both the exercising and the mornings. Though to be fair, just hiking up to the castles is quite a work-out in itself! This is the 1st year we have been able to eat the cherries - we are now quicker than the birds! The weather this week has b

This is the time of the year when the days are longer and the nights are shorter - and full of Fire Flies! If you have never seen them, they are quite an interesting sight: flashing and moving yellow-green lights dancing in the height of your eyes or lower. We have a part of the garden full of them. It is the type of sight that makes you believe that fairies actually DO live here. My husband used to collect the flies in a jar for the enjoyment of the girls, but no-one is doing that anymore here. Our clients have been happily surprised to see them, trying to catch them or to photograph them. But it is really tough to know where to point your camera in the dark, and when exactly to release the shutter. This is also the time of color in the garden: the yellow prunes are getting yellow already, the reds red, etc (and they are so sweet!) The apricots are nearly ready and a third of the agapantos are in full bloom of blue. We had some cool weather and rainy days last week, and we a

This week I received the Cultural Agendas of June the Tourism Office sends us every month. It was so full of activities that you must stay a long time to do everything in it! There is something for everyone this month (and throughout the summer) - here are some of the highlights, but you should really check out the pages of the City Hall for more information (www.cm-sintra.pt). THE 44th EDITION OF FESTIVAL DE SINTRA runs 5/6 - 5/7. Lots of classical music, dance and opera performances. Some of the highlights are the Spanish National Ballet at the Olga Cadaval and the Opera Tosca of Puccini at the Queluz Palace. All the venues are at different palaces which alone adds to the magic - jazz, piano, violin, orchestras.... NIGHTS IN THE MUSEUM - The archeological museum of Odrinhas welcomes the visitors recreating the Roman times in candle light, escorted by people dressed as Romans. June 20th. AFTERNOONS IN THE SQUARE - A series of performances in the Square of the Sintra National P