CASA DO VALLE

This summer Casa do Valle had a little sister, Casa da Vista!  In the bottom of the property, with its own entrance, 3 double rooms and a suite with a kitchenette was raised from the wilderness of bambu, fig- and olive trees, and lots of other things growing wild. The new 'Casa da Vista' (= 'house with the view') at the bottom of the property has indeed great views! Many, many years ago we built the house of Casa do Valle because my husband wanted a garage.  And below that garage the original 4 rooms were built within the structure that we needed to have to have that garage on street level.  The rooms there were made to host my family when they come from Finland to Portugal - so that they could feel at ease, have their own space and  this way stay as long as they wanted.  Then a friend who had a B&B suggested we start renting the rooms out.  We did and loved the activity!  The garage had to go, we remodelled the rooms and eventually ended up...

The Market of São Pedro There are several open-air markets around Sintra that are year-round fun for tourists and locals alike. In the times of closed in shopping centers, markets are great fun, full of exciting sounds and smells that invite us to browse and shop - many times for items we only could find this way. The larger markets, such as São Pedro and Monte Abraão, also have food stalls for a nice, warm lunch, and snack counters with freshly baked traditional pastries. The São Pedro Market in São Pedro de Sintra is held on 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month.  This is a very traditional market with everything you can imagine: food, like freshly baked bread, cheeses, and fruits and veggies; baby animals from birds to puppies; trees and plants; clothes and shoes, even men's suits; baskets, toys, and electronic gadgets, rugs, ... you name it, and most probably you can find it here.  The vendors that sell 'things' at this market are often selling stock with slight defe...

This entry has been written by Charles Lund, an American traveller who stayed with us in October.  An avid golfer, Charles wrote about his experiences in some of the golfcourses near by and within a daytrip from Sintra.  If you understand anything about golf, his writing will be a great help in choosing the courses and planning your days around golfing activities.   Penha Longa Atlantico I was able to get an email reply and my name on the tee sheet to play this Robert Trent Jones, Jr. course without having to pay in advance or provide a credit card number to hold the time.  I arrived at the course about an hour early and it was part of a large hotel complex.  The area for the course and the hotel was in some undulating terrain which was well forested, with lots of pine and oak trees.  I’ve played a lot of Robert Trent Jones, Jr. courses and his courses often have a large number of spectacular holes, with a couple of quirky holes that don’t seem to f...

I prefer the latter. I always loved autumn, and autumn like we are having is great. It is finally summer here in Sintra. July and August were OK, but not like our usual summers, more windy and even rainy. September was great - 25-30º daily, sunny days, cool nights. And it is continuing, at least for another 2 weeks. The pool temperature is still 23º and the pool is very frequented. But it is clearly fall . The fall of the leaves, the fall of the petals of the boganvila all over the lawn, The days are getting shorter, the morning traffic has started earlier as the people travel to work after their holidays. The fruits are different, it is time for grapes and melons. We here at the guest house are preparing for cold. I have gone pine cone picking (great for starting fires, and there is a wood heated tile covered heater in room #3), we are ordering, and cutting, firewood, checking that the heaters work - and it all seems so strange as the temperatures hit the 30's in the...

I have asked Diego Scarabelli to write this blog entry. He knows his planes and is enthusiastic about them. I could really not distinguish them myself, except for by color and maybe types of wings (without knowing their names...) But the museum is actually very good and not so well known, so therefore I thought it would be worth the blog entry! So - here is the entry of Diego, thank you very much! (The plane in the first picture is a Saber) Military planes have always been my passion. I like to watch documentaries about them and, of course like to see them in the museums. You do not really understand their beauty and their abilities until you see them in person. From the ground we see them as little objects, but some of them are very big and yet agile. It is fascinating to imagine that these machines are the masters of the skies, or at least, they used to be before they were replaced by new and more advanced technology. Nevertheless, to fully comprehend the new jets it is...

Castelo dos Mouros, the Moorish Castle, has been on top of the mountain of Sintra for over 1000 years. When Portugal had its first King, D Afonso Henriques in 1154, it was used most for vigilance - never was it used for fighting battles. As the conquerers moved more southward, its importance was less and less, and it was left to ruin. The earthquake of 1755 did a lot of damage as well to what was left of it. It wasn't until early 1800's that King Fernando the 2nd started the restoration of this castle, erecting and fixing it once again, making paths from the Santa Maria area to it so that the people of Sintra could enjoy the mountain and the romantic aura that it provides. In my morning paths I love to walk up to the Moorish castle. A round trip from Casa do Valle takes roughly an hour - including my stops for photos and a drink from the fountain. I also usual...

This summer has been ever so busy! We have had works in the property and I have had nearly no time to write the blog! Therefor I have asked some special people and guests to write about their Sintra experiences and share some interesting hints of what to do - that is not the most obvious to all the visitors. The first people are Siiri and Elena - two students on a budget visiting Sintra. Here is their experience up in the mountain, more specifically, visiting the Park of Pena Palace. My friend Elena and I had the most magical time in the Sintra mountain. One beautiful day, we went to the town center and bought freshly made bread from a pastry shop and decided to have a picnic in the Pena Palace gardens, which apparently most people tend to ignore, only visiting the palace itself. We found a deal in the local shop for the entry tickets to palaces and gardens in Sintra which was 20 euros for each of us to get into practically...