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Colina Flora www.colinaflora.com (that small, yet lovely, eco-guesthouse set in the heart of the Sintra Natural Park, with ocean views, and only minutes to beaches has spruced up it´s walking holdiday  package with the additon of an  exciting 3 hour guided  tour of the Serra da Sintra on Segways.  Silencetours www.silencetours.pt are the organizers.  These tours add a special adrenaline rush to Colina Flora´s eco-style vacations.  Touring the country side on Segways is a funfilled, exciting experience and is eco-friendly, since the vehicles are electric and  virtually soundless.

Segways are two wheeled, self-balancing electric veheicles.  The user stands on a platform and controls the Segway movement by shifting her/his weight.  Segways can go up to  20 km/hour.  In Portugal various police forces employ them for patroling.

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There is a lovely gallery/floral design shop in a huge old Adega (winery) in Pe da Serra ( a tiny hamlet above the ever so quaint village of Almocageme that none of the guidebooks seem to care about.), near Sintra:  Flores do Cabo, www.floresdocabo.pt  is one of my favorite places to visit for exhibits, to browse and to find unique pieces of nature.   A recent find is an immense palm leaf which functions as a fruit bowl at Colina Flora, our eco-guesthouse www.colinaflora.com .    Flores do Cabo, is open daily from 10 to 6, and  is  a few minutes walk from Colina Flora, so we´re frequent visitors. 

Their current exhibit features the Portuguese artist Milu Petersen who has studios in Lisbon and in Brazil.  Vibrant colors, happy motifs, joyous exuberance.  We love her work.

 www.milu-petersen.blogspot.com

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Marilha, my Portuguese neighbor and walking companion, and a great cook, thinks that in Portugal, good food is at the heart of every kitchen, the kitchen is at the heart of every house and in Portuguese villages time is still taken to cook.  I must admit that the fundamentals of Portuguese cuisine were unknown to me before moving to Portugal. I knew that  fish, of course, and great fresh produce, due to the mild Mediterranean climate, are abundant.   And the weekly markets have become favorite haunts, especially the organic farmers market in Cascais on Saturday mornings in the beautiful Marquis de Guimaraes park .

The process of turning our new home into an eco-guesthouse has  not allowed me the time to take Portuguese cooking classes. But new found Portuguese friends have shared recipes and recommended cookbooks.  Portugal cuisine is simple, enlivened by a vast array of regional dishes.  Most popular, throughout the country,  is the dried salt cod: Bacalhau.  Bacalhau lovers have  told us that there are over 500 recipes with Bacalhau as the main ingredient.  And then there are fresh  sardines which seem to become everyones favorite summer food.  Sardines are in season from late May to about September.  They are usually served grilled with boiled potatoes and a simple green salad.  Portuguese love grilling sardines, seasoned with some coarse sea salt, outdoors.  (Sardines are vegetarinans, so they are not as likely to be contaminated with heavy metals etc as larger fish.  They are an omega rich food)

Since my Portuguese is still rudimentary, cookbooks written in English are the source for creating Portuguese meals.  The New Portuguese Table by David Leite ( his food/cooking blog is www.leiteculinaria.com)  and The Food of Portugal by Jean Anderson (www.jeanandersoncooks.com) are often referred to.   My absolute favorite is Piripiri Starfish – Portugal Found –  by Tessa Kiros. (Love the “Potugal found” bit.)  I´ve been collecting Tessa´s cookbooks for years.  Her cookbook, Twelve, which dwells on Italian treats for every month of the year, inspires our dinner menus several times a week.  Tessa is dedicated to the idea that food is the basis of a country´s  identity. So  Piripiri Starfish is a journal of her impressions while traveling about Portugal as much as it is a wonderful cookbook exploring  Portuguese fare and traditions.  The book is beautifully adorned with photos depicting Portugal, its art, landscape, people and food. 

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 Looking for that special place to stay while visiting Sintra,  Portugal?  There are lots of guesthouses, B&Bs and several hotels, in a variety of price ranges, to choose from.  But there are only a few guesthouses in the beautiful Sintra Natural Park, aka Serra da Sintra, a circa 14,000 Hectare (circa 40,000 acre) protected landscape and UNESCO world heritage Site. 

I´m going to rest on my own laurels today and praise Colina Flora.   Colina Flora is a small, yet lovely, eco-guesthouse located in the heart of the Sintra hills. We´ve been busy renovating and upcycling this 1970´s house with terrific ocean views and a peaceful rural location.  And it  is only a few minutes from several great beaches, about a 15 minute drive to Cascais and Sintra and about 35 minute drive to Lisbon.  

Colina Flora is a comfortable house with 4 individually designed  guest-rooms, a swimming pool, several outdoor sitting/dining areas and great country-sea air.  The “Eco” denotes the way its been renovated, furnished, run and cleaned.  The food and gardens is organic.  We hosts are vegetarian foodies who support local organic farmers, small food producers and things made in Portugal.  Organic breakfast is included.  Delicious vegetarian lunches and dinner are available upon request.   Colina Flora  is the perfect peaceful haven to return to after exploring the wonderful surrounding area. 

Colina Flora is perfect for walking and biking vacations, surfing, beach combing, birdwatching, golf, tennis, horsebackriding, sightseeing, relaxing, music and art festivals, honeymoon destination and/or a mix of everything.  

Check out our website for lots more information. www.colinaflora.com  Come visit and stay a while.  Read the reviews on www.tripadvisor.com

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A wonderful alternative to the dose of disturbing nightly news (which always leaves me feeling sad and frustrated because I can not  go out and help in some way)  is the Daily Good www.good.is    Good is a magazine dedicated to reporting on positive  events and trends.  There is Good out there!! 

 One of yesterday´s positive reports related to fisherman in the Mediterranean being paid to fish for garbage and haul it to shore for recycling and proper disposal.  The tons of garbage floating about this planet´s seas is alarming.   

This clean-up program is EU sponsored and, if sucessful, might be the model for cleaning up the oceans, too. 

Even though Portugal´s beaches are famous for their beauty and cleanliness, garbage still  washes ashore.  We´ve taken to gathering up the ugly stuff during our morning beach walks.  Come on, all you beach lovers, lets do this together!! 

While on the topic of  oceans, the new museum in Biarritz, France:  Cite de l´Ocean et du Surf,  will open in June.  The architect, Steven Holl, has created a concave structure with lots of glass that  blends beautifully into its location.  The museum is intended to raise public awareness of the role the ocean and surf play in science, ecology and recreation.  This museum is being praised in sustainable building newsletters.  

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As fans of organic agriculture and a daily glass of red, we´ve found several tasty reds at our favorite organic supermarket : Miosotis in Lisboa.  The selection of organic wines from Portugal is still meager.  But  the few we´ve tried have been pleasant and not too rustic. Portuguese wines seem to carry the negative rap of being too earthy.  The  organic, red table wine from Quinta Mata Porcas (the name could mean: thicket or forest of pigs.  The alternate translation is: kill the pigs.  We love pigs so we´re hoping its the former) is our favorite, with a robust pallet, and fits our budget.   Farmers are becoming interested in converting to organic methods for their vines, as popular demand for organic wines increases due to a growing health conscious population.  www.agrobio.pt

Wine making is an ancient traditon in Portugal.  One theory is that the Roman invaders taught the art of winemaking  to the Portuguese who then produced and exported it to Rome.  Portugal has a large variety of native grapes producing a wide variety of wines with distictive features.  Perfect for growing organic, since the right grape should be in the richt place.  Portugal´s wines are often considered to be too rustic for the discerning pallet.  But the past decade has seen an increase in recognition for  high quality Portugues red wines.  And the majority of today´s red table wines, being exported, have fruity berry and plum notes often complimented by oak spice.   Portugal´s wine demarcation system is older than  that of France.  UN has designated two wine making areas as World Heritage sites:  The beautiful  Douro Valley in the North near the city of Porto and Pico island wine region.                   

Here in Colares, in foothills of the Sintra Natural Park, is the home of the ancient, ungrafted Ramisco vines.  These vines were the only ones in Europe to survive, thanks to the sandy soil and their deep roots,  the 19th century phylloxera plague, which wiped out most vineyards across Europe.  Colares wines have been famous since the 13th century and are know for their deep color and full body.  The wines of Colares are some of the most expensive in Portugal, since many vineyards have  been plowed under for development, and so production is way below demand.  Colares wines  older, best vintages have become collectors treasures. 

The Adega Regional de Colares, dating back to the 18th century,  www.arcolares.pt offers wine tastings/tours.  During the summer months cultural events are held admidst the huge oak barrels of the wine cellar.  We attended a concert of  Rua da Lua, a swinging  fado band, there last summer.  The immense Adega was lite with hundreds of candles whose light magically reflected off the enorous oak wine vats.  I wonder if the wine enjoys being sung too – might enhance the fermentation process.

A tour of the Adega Regional de Colares, with wine tasting,  is a destination on Colina Flora´s walking tours.  Guests really enjoy this event and usually purchase several bottles to take home.   Contact www.colinaflora.com for more information.