CASA DO VALLE

Autumn has officially kicked in - and with better weather than July! Gone is the unpleasant wind, and the temperatures have risen to over 30 degrees every afternoon this week! It is true that leaves have started to fall, and the pool has to be vacuumed more often due to that - but wow what a goodbye we have for the summer. We still have an abundance of pears, still lots of flowers around the garden, but the sun IS lower and gives a nice, soft air about. The pool temperature is still 22 degrees, warm enough to swim. Inspired by the official start of autumn and plenty of guests asking what the weather is like in the winter or spring here, I placed an album on our facebook page called '4 seasons' with pictures of the surroundings from the last year. I also started a discussion on the facebook page regarding ideas for the getaway weekends we are planning to offer. If you have the time, please contribute and let us know YOUR opinions about what could and should be offered/includ...

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...