CASA DO VALLE

Summer has finally arrived, with temperatures over 30ºC in the afternoons! The temperature rise coincides with the holiday period of the southern Europeans, which means that crowds will be thicker. We have many suggestions for you to make your visit in Sintra more enjoyable! Here are some of them.  Remember that more will appear, and we will keep you posted through Facebook, and of course the information board at the reception. First of all, Sintra is full of fabulous historically and culturally important monuments and most of them are well visited.  There are also some that are less famous but equally interesting.  Do you really want to see them all? Is Pena Palace really what you want to see is its fairy-tale park what you were imagining? Are you more interested in walking in the nature than seeing art? Choose well where you want to go and let us help you if you are not sure what Sintra has to offer - believe me, it's a wide variety of things.  That is one of...

To start our outdoor activities at Casa do Valle this summer are Yoga classes!  Starting the 25th of July (and continuing on all Wednesday afternoons at 530 pm), Cátia Pereira will lead us to relaxation after a busy day out, preparing for a good night sleep in a rested body. Cátia is a 'lisboeta', meaning born in Lisbon. She enjoys teaching yoga with a focus on breathing techniques and mindfulness.  She was certified in India, having traveled to Thailand and Australia, where she took wellness training courses, including massage therapies such as Ayurvedic massage, Thai massage and reflexology. Cátia believes cultivating yoga is a profound body, mind and soul expression, while the Universe and the alignments of the planets and stars influence each one of us. She teaches Hatha, Vinyasa flow,  yoga Nidra, and Meditation and also leads meditative walks. Other activities to start in the beginning of August are special massage days and guided hikes, such as walks to th...

This spring and beginning of summer, the question we have answered the most to our guests is 'What's with the weather?' Or 'Is this weather normal here this time of the year?' Mostly we answer 'No, it's not normal' or 'Well, there is really nothing we can do about it'. It really has been much colder and wetter than 'normal'. In March it rained 4 times the normal average amount, and it was the second coldest March in the history of Portugal (since the measurements begun). It HAS been cold.  It HAS rained a lot. Yes, we still have heaters on in the rooms in JUNE! Unheard of! But it is not raining continuously. Luckily it is nothing you cannot cope with, with a coat or a sweater. As we are entering the month when summer officially begins, we keep hoping that the morning shower of each day will be the last one. And we also keep hoping that the fall will be like last year - beautiful weather until the end of November! To me the wea...

During your escape to the green hills of Sintra, complement your stay at Casa do Valle with our wellness offers. This summer, to make the most of your stay with us, we have developed a special program for our guests, together with our expert Lena Lönnbäck. Having Sintra as scenery you can enjoy a relaxing or invigorating massages, walks in the less known paths of the Sintra mountain, and renew your energy with a fitness session, ranging from calm and relaxed stretching to stamina building exercises. You can even have a one-on-one health promotion consultation with our expert, Lena Lönnbäck – more about Lena at the end of this blog. Free Wellness Activities: Guided morning walks in the mountain, to the palaces and around the neighbourhood, 2-3 days a week Exercise classes , 5 times a week, including:          Stretching and core strength            Functional Training         ...

Sintra is a challenge to photographers. A challenge well worth attempting, as once it is succeeded it is really worth the while. And it is fun trying.  The nature is sepectacular.  The architecture phenomenal. The fantastic light makes it a challenge. The green and the mist of the mountain.  The colors and architecture of the villages. The wild strength of the coast line. The splendour and uniqueness of the architecture.  The poetry of the sceanery. Winding roads. Overgrown passages. Granite boulders casting their shadow.  Splashing waterfalls. Rising  mist. Ivy covering the tree trunks.  Groups of bicycles climbing up and down the mountain.  Bread being delivered at the early morning hours. Vendors setting up the antique stalls. Surfers waiting for THAT wave. The sunrise burning through the morning mist.  The sunset painting the mountain orange in the summer. The winter winds bringing the promise of the spring flowers. This ...

Praia da Ursa (Updated in January 2021)  Sintra is not primarily a beach destination, but it does have some great beaches.  Golden sand, beautiful round stones, and magnificent cliffs.  Surfing, tanning, walking.  Great restaurants, dinosaur footprints, paragliding, and fishing. Attention though - the beaches are Atlantic beaches, so the water is not as warm as the Mediterranean ones in the Algarve - and the waves are stronger and more dangerous as well. The long Atlantic Walk (GR11)   passes on the cliffs over all of these beaches.   I will start from the Southern most beaches and work my way up.  Here is a short 2-minute introduction video to the beaches: Praia da Ursa - (Our cover  foto) The double arches resembled  a bear, giving the beach its name (Ursa=Bear) The southernmost of Sintra beaches got its name from a double arch that used be on the beach resembling a bear sculpted by a giant. The beach is accessible by foot only, o...

There are plenty of music festivals in the summer in the region - from Classical to Jazz to Rock. Here is a  list of  some of them with short information  of  performers, venues and prices.  All are doable from Casa do Valle and Casa da Vista.  Also, there are lots of individual concerts through the year, in Sintra and in Lisbon. Estoril Jazz is the first of them - it started today!  In the Casino Estoril, for two consecutive weekends, you can listen to musicians such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Roberta Gambarini and Scott Hamilton.  Tickets for individual concerts are 20-25 euros.  For more information, see their site  http://www.projazz.pt/artigo.aspx?lang=pt&id_object=1610 . And a sample of Roberta Gambarini  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1teDm7lLFw&feature=related . The weekend after Estoril Jazz Lisbon rocks with Rock in Rio music festival, at the Bela Vista Park.  These concerts are mainly outside, t...

This month officially introduces spring again!  We have had a horrible and wonderful winter.  Horrible because it is our rainy season and it has not rained hardly at all - agriculture is suffering and we have started the watering system approximately two months before 'normal' time.  And wonderful for the same reason!  The previous two winters were so rainy, that the thought of yet another rainy winter was not very appetizing.  So, shame on me, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the cold and dry winter.   As I mentioned in my last blog entry, we have been busy arranging things - in the garden as well as in the rooms.  And we have been busy planning our WELLNESS SUMMER!   Between 13/6 and 5/7 we have the privilege of having Joel  Löwenberg with us.  He is a Health professional from Sweden who  has lived in Portugal, and speaks fluent English.  Joel is a health and weight-loss coach in Sweden, a personal trainer, and a...

Last week when I spent a week abroad for work, Sintra was HOT with temperatures rising until 38-40 degrees in the afternoon. Now that I am back, they went back to the 20's. The pool water is about 24º and it does not change quickly, which is really good! It seems that this coming week we can expect temperatures of up to 27º and then next week they go over the 30º mark again. You can follow the weather here through the following site (accuweather): http://www.accuweather.com/forecast.aspx?partner=accuweather&metric=1&loc=EUR|PT|PO012|AMADORA&week=15 So last week I was not here - I went to the United States for work, and stocked up on some important items: A proper 110 - 220 volt current converter, with the proper adapter. This because we have had some situations with sensitive equipment of our American guests as they are sometimes unaware that it is not always enough to just have a plug that fits, the current is also very important! If you are American and st...

The 46th edition of the Sintra Music Festival opened this weekend. This year the special focus and central theme is Liszt and Mahler , both known for musical romanticism, fitting so well in Sintra, the capital of Romanticism. This classical music festival hosts its concerts not only in the Cultural Center of Olga Cadaval, but also in the palaces, churches and manor houses. From June 24th until the the 10th of July, there are numerous concerts and recitals, talks and movies, performed by a large and varied group of national and international artists. The list is enormous, please check the official site of the Festival for further information; schedules and venues http://www.festivaldesintra.pt/. Some of the concerts are free, to others the tickets average 10-15 euros. Great opportunity to indulge in classical music! In case that you are not familiar with these composers, here is an address to a youtube video of a romantic piece by Liszt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGw4c2YGGB...

Summer is here. We have temperatures of nearly 30 daily, and have had a few thunderstorms, which is great to get rid of the heavy humidity we have had. Plus it is giving extra water to the garden! It has been very busy here in many ways. The rooms have been quite full, and we have people from all over the world: from Australia to America, Belgium to Holland, Norway to Singapore. We start having 'regulars', people who come every year, and it is very nice to see their faces time after time! We are busy 'up-keeping': several of the rooms have gotten a cote of paint - there are always marks from the suitcases on the walls and stains that do not come off. This has been quite a challenge, to find a day when the rooms are empty and the painter has time, at the same time! Mainly we have been busy in the garden. We have planted 60 new fruit trees: apricots, peaches, lemons, passion fruits, apples, pears, grapes, oranges... (...