Hello Everyone!

I must admit the only time of the year when I miss my homeland of Germany is with the on set of the Holiday Season/Advent.  I still decorate the house and have made wreaths for the doors and dining table, bake cookies, make wonderful soothing pies.  And I do not miss the snow, ice and freezing cold and am thrilled with  all the flowers in bloom. 

So instead of pine boughs, www.colinaflora.com guestrooms are decorated with these  wonderful flowers of the season.

These are some of the flowers currently blooming in our garden and I am so and amazed with.  The 6 Camellia trees in our organic garden, next to the guest kitchen, have just started blooming.

Calla Lilys are popping up in our garden and grow abundantly along our walking paths in the Sintra Natural Park.  These will bloom into March.

Birds of Paradise are so amazing and I love putting one in each guest room. 

And yellow Asters grow wild.

Portugal hat ueber 800 kilometer Kuesten Landschaft mit tollen Straenden fuers Wandern, in den Wellen spielen, Surfen oder einfach sich an der herrlichen Natur erfreuen.  Der groesste Teil von Portugalskueste ist  unverbaut –   Natur Pur !!!  So kann man Tage lang den Straenden entlang marschieren auf markierten Wanderpfade und sich an den Wunder der Natur erfreuen.  Die Portugesen sind freundliche Leute und bemuehen sich Besucher aus dem Ausland Willkommen zu heissen.  Ein grosser Teil der Bevoelkerung spricht English.  In den Restaurants und Cafes wird man hoeflich und freundlich bewirtet.  Das gute Essen mit vielem frischem Fisch ist meist sehr preiswert und der Wein ist billig aber gut. Viele der Straende zaehlen zu den schonesten von ganz Europa.  Im Sueden an der Algarve gibt es Strecken, wo die Stadtplanner etwas blind waren, mit zu vielen Hotels und reisige Bloecke von Ferienwohnungen.  Dennoch ist es wirklich schoen dort man muss nur etwas inland gehen um nette Doerfer zu finden.

Die Wintersaison ist perfekt fuer Golfspieler.  Portugal hat viele hervorragende Golfplaetze der Meisterklasse im ganzem Land verstreut.  Es gibt eine grosse Auswahl von Pauschalreisen und Golfschulen.

Centered self-guided walking tours are a great way to really explore and appreciate the surrounding beauty, character, flora and fauna etc of a region.  Being centered is more relaxing than packing up everyday.  Colian Flora ( check-out website for more information) www.colinaflora.com is perfectly in the heart of the wonderful 14,000 ha Sintra Natural Park with its amazing coastal cliff paths, magical forests, hills and valleys with interesting historical sights etc. -   a walker´s Paradise.  We are avid walkers and after two years we are still discovering new paths.

Last Sunday we visited the recently opened, after being closed for renovation for years, Chalet da Contessa D´Edla.  Beautifully restored, with intricate ornamentation around the windows and doorways made out of cork,   the restoration work is ongoing, set  in a vast park with great trails and incredible views, it is a walker´s delight.  The paths are marked and meander through the forest with incredible rock formations, views of the Pena Palace and coastline.  It is a good spot to walk to from Colina Flora www.colinaflora.com on a trek to Sintra or while exploring parts of Serra da Sintra.  For more information about this lovely chalet and its vast gardens and walking paths go to www.parquesdesintra.pt

According to international weather gurus, Portugal´s Algarve has the most sunshine hours of any other place in Europe and some of the most beautiful beaches, too.  The Algarve is a favorite resort area with lots of  inexpensive flights  possibilities from northern Europe flying to Faro.  It is easy to avoid the tourist crowds by seeking refuge in the lovely little villages in the hills about an half hour from the coast.

One of the special guesthouses in this area is  the Reguengo www.reguengo.de.  A charming, quaintly restored old farm with little stone cottages next to a river, with solar power, well water, wellness/yoga retreats and more.  A place to relax and feel at home amongst friends



Then there is our favorite region: the Sintra Natural Park.  Lots of sunshine here too, with beautiful secluded beaches and grand coastal cliffs, magical forests, romantic castels and palaces and lots of friendly people.  And our own Colina Flora, a “green” country  guesthouse with its peaceful, rural location in the heart of the Sintra Natural Park which has special low rates for the winter months, yoga, art and vegetarian cooking retreats and more.  www.colinaflora.com

Hello Everyone!

Portugal, with its mild Mediterranen climate,  is a wonderful place to escape to.  The region of the Sintra Natural Park is  one of the most beautiful parts of Portugal.  Not as warm as the southern Algarve,  but with its unique landscape, pristine beaches, magical forests, unspoilt nature and sunny days raging between 13 and 18 degrees, close to Sintra, Cascais and lisbon it is the perfect place to spend the winter.

Colina Flora, a “green” country guesthouse peacefully located in the heart of the beautiful Sintra Natural park is offering special winter get a way packages through March:  Spend 7 nights and pay for  6 with room rates reduced for the winter months and a good bottle of Portuguese wine awaits you.