CASA DO VALLE

Santa Claus and his elves are back in Sintra as we get closer to Christmas: the Sintra City Hall shows solidarity by organizing the Christmas Kingdom in the central Liberty Park in favour of families and animals in need. At the same time, in the middle of the Historic Center an ice-skating rink, a carousel, Christmas market and gospel choirs will be the center of attention. A proper elf-greeting at the gates of Liberty Park The Christmas Kingdom will open on the 1st of December at 3 pm as Santa Claus will arrive escorted by motorcycles! The land of elves and fairies welcomes you to join in the activities, games, concerts and wonderful food until the 23rd of December. Even though most of the activities are meant for children, adults will certainly enjoy the the sites of the wonderful park turned into a winter wonderland! Although the visit is free of charge, non-perishable food items or small money donations to buy food are accepted at the entrance for families and ins...

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 ...

I have not blogged for awhile for it has been hectic and wonderfully busy. The last month was vey busy with walkers/hikers from Finland who came with the Matkamieli company from Finland. It was a busy, wonderful time, with lots of new things for us as well.  Though we often have groups visiting, rarely groups that take up all of the space for several weeks in a row. It was a marvelous time, I often went along to the hikes, and enjoyed company, other than Pandora, on the walks. I was reminded what a wonderful region this is for hiking, and what varied terraine there is.  One of the days the groups walked through small villages, another through a forest to the other side of the mountain, to Cascais, another yet high up on the cliffs along the Atlantic coast.  In fact I have now mapped many of those walks on Sports Tracker and Map My Walk for the benefit of others, knowing the distances, changes in altitudes and also recording photos of the key spots. So inspired was...

'What's with all the trees?' has been a frequent question this year.  In January I was in extreme weather conditions in Finland:  -31C temperatures when driving to the Finnish travel fair.  At the same time Sintra had its own extreme weather, a very rare cyclone, as 130-140 kms/hour winds swept through  Sintra and Lisbon area.  In a few hours Sintra lost roughly 2500 trees.  About a month later, heavy winds hit us again and even more trees went down, weakened allready by the previous storm. 3000 trees is alot.  Yet when you look up the mountain, it looks the same.  It is only when you are actually in the mountain, walking through the parks and the paths that the reality hits you. When I returned from Finland I thought I would give it a few weeks for the workers to clean up and then I would walk up again, and did my morning walks in town and on the beach instead.  Three weeks after the storm, after listening to the chainsaws day in and da...

We've been trimming a lot of trees this winter As the winter and spring do their normal match of sun and rain, warmth and cool weather, we play along and try to execute all planned tasks according to the weather. We try to be ecofriendly, and compost and use the tree trimmings for firewood.  So in the dry days we have cleaned the garden, trimming trees, powerwashing patios and lawnchairs.  One particular day the old iron of various origins was taken to recycling and the non-composted and non-choppable garden waste was taken away.  It is amazing the space it seemed we gained! And it is amazing the things you accumulate. Collecting things for recycling near the guest dog kennel So now we have more space and more firewood, which we unfortunately still need (I am ready for spring). And we have more space for our planned parking area.  We normally park our cars in the street, but some times in the summer we need  more space, so we have dedicated the end of ...

I have mentioned in my earlier posts how much I enjoyed the dry, cold winter.  Naturally, February was supposed to rain quite a lot, but it didn't.  Not at all.  We enjoyed warm, sunny afternoons, had lunch on the balcony and the garden was blooming.  That was supposed to happen in April - and now we are having the February weather in April.  And it seems like we will in May as well.  Temperatures are below the historical average, and contrary to other years, we are still heating the rooms. Of course there is nothing we can do about the weather. What we can do, is prepare for it so no matter what the weather, there are things to do.  So here are my suggestions to a great holiday in Sintra, for every weather.  1st - Pack accordingly .  Remember that no matter what the weather, Sintra is on the mountain and has a micro climate. Though we have beautiful beaches, Sintra is not primarily a beach destination.  Even in the heat of th...

We have had the most gorgeous winter!  After the last two rainy winters, we have just enjoyed a solid month of sunshiny afternoons and cool nights.  Perfect for outdoor activities, such as walking, hiking, bicycling, sitting at outside cafés, horse riding, golfing... Last night we started getting some rain, which, let's face it, was already needed for crops, and it IS the season for rain, anyway, so we should not complain!  But it has been really nice to go for the walks and do many outside activities without having to worry about showers. And after today it should be nice again for a week or so! (You can always check out the weather here through the link  http://www.accuweather.com/en-us/pt/lisboa/sintra/forecast.aspx  ). The new supporting wall before it was painted We have started this year with many improvement activities.  First came the new supporting wall for the level of the internet house.  The November rains and the roots of ...

Christmas Season Activities! As Portugal is deep in the crisis, one cannot help but wonder what that will do for tourism and for Christmas season.  Like many other cities, to save money, Sintra has opted to have no public Christmas lights in the streets. This does not mean, however, that there is no Christmas animation - quite the contrary!  The shops all have their own window displays, and some of them are quite creative, I might add! And there are MANY concerts and programs happening, some free, some paid, some in Sintra, some in Lisbon.  Some are for children, some for families, some more for the grown folks. In this blog I will basically just list the events, and add links to sites with more information. I will start with Sintra . Parques de Sintra have programs for the whole family! Natal Saloio (Country Christmas) on December 4th at Monserrate Natal Real (Royal Christmas) on December 11th at Pena Palace Natal Franciscana (Franciscan Christmas) on Decembe...

While a big part of Europe is covered in snow - this is what our forests are covered in right now! It has been awhile since I 'blogged' and have wanted to do so for awhile now! It has been a busy season, more so than usual in February. Casa do Valle is in those Gift Voucher Packages called Smartbox and 'Life is Beautiful', and the last few months we have been very busy with people coming to spend a night away from routine - which is great for us! An interesting issue has been raised and I have noted, which is 'What's the weather like'. One of my sisters gave me for Christmas a bit over 4 years ago a 5-year agenda/diary. I am now in the last year. Every day in 5 lines I write what has happened: Lots of paperwork, shopping, first fresia of the year bloomed, ate the first cherries/plums/pears/figs.... and very importantly - what the weather was like. In the last 5 years there has not yet been a fool-proof pattern in January/February. The old people around...