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| A morning autumn picture taken from near the Moorish Castle toward the Historic Center |
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| António Chainho plays 12/10 at Olga Cadaval |
As autumn sets in, we are still enjoying afternoon temperatures of app 25 degrees. However, it is obvious that we are in autumn as leaves are falling, the fruits are finishing and the night time temperatures start dropping. This is a wonderful time. There are less people about so it is easier to get to places, less queues and still great weather. The pool water is still over 20º, and we have people swimming daily in the afternoons. For anyone who likes photography this is prime time; the sun is not so overpowering that the shadows are easier to deal with. Also, you get phenomenons that are special for autumn and winter; the morning fog is thicker and tinted by the rising sun. This is indeed the perfect time for the participation in the garden photography contest with a special price for the pictures taken in the Parks of Sintra.
In the fall, the events are lesser, but there are still a few concerts and cultural events worth mentioning. In Lisbon 10-12 of October there is a Flamenco Festival with several performances of great names of Flamenco. And the same weekend in Sintra, the 12th, the great Portuguese Guitarist António Chainho gives a concert at Olga Cadaval Cultural Center. Also at the Olga Cadaval, on the 19th of October, the singer/composer Rogério Charraz will present his record 'The Key'.
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| A boxing lesson with Joel Löwenberg |
This summer's theme 'Wellness' was well received and went very well. We still continue with the morning walks, and often I have guests joining me and Pandora (the dog) for walks in the mornings. We have also participated this summer in two projects: a master's theses study by a student from the Copenhagen Business School - a study which was done in collaboration with the Sintra Tourism office, and all of the small hotels and guest houses and B&;Bs, to find out what attributes are important for our guests as they choose a place to stay - and also how well we perform in these points. I will write an entry about these results as they are made available to us. We also participated in a small consulting project by the same student, to further use the service design techniques to discover what the customers liked more and less a bout their experience with us, and most importantly, what we can do to improve this experience. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the studies, using their precious vacation time for helping us improve!
It has been awhile since I wrote in this blog. Not due to lack of interest, but lack of time. This has been a busy summer. It was our first full season with the 11 rooms; 7 of Casa do Valle and 4 of Casa da Vista. We hosted 4 weddings here, for the first time, and had difficulties finding someone to help in the office. We finally found someone, and all with the rentals went very well. Unfortunately things such as the blog were left in 2nd place. Soon I should be able to add and album of photos in our facebook page about the weddings.
I will be writing soon two series of entries. One that has to do with the activities and new packages we have, and the wonderful walks I have discovered - the other about everything we have in our view. This second one came about as so many people have asked me the same questions all over, several times.
So - I will talk with you soon again, I have lots to write about!
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