vacation planning

It's that time of the year again. Sometimes I think I enjoy vacation planning as much as actually the vacation itself. Any suggestions are welcome, we're spending a few days in St. Petersburg first and then do a small tour of the Baltic countries in early September.

Sorry about the non crafty content on this blog lately, but time for sewing and knitting hasn't been that much. Summer has arrived in full swing and I've been spending more time outdoors .. hiking and especially cycling (I love these long, long days when I can still cycle for an hour or two after work). And I've restarted yoga, which I've really missed and forgotten how good it makes me feel.

I *have* started sewing clothes again, especially summer dresses, but it's been slow going and I need another few days before I have any finished items. Knitting has also been slow, mainly because cotton doesn't give me half the pleasure I get from wool. I've knitted the back of a Somerset cardigan and maybe this weekend I can get started with the front.

We are going to spend the weekend here, probably do some more hiking and try to get ourselves lost in those woods :)

Circo de Gredos

The next day was sunny and somewhat cold, therefore perfect for the hike we had planned. Originally we had planned 2 hiking days in the Sierra de Gredos: the Circo/Laguna Grande and the 5 Lagunas hike (from Navalperal de Tormes) as well. Because of the bad weather the day before we could only do one of them, so we chose to maintain the first hike and leave the 5 Lagunas for our next trip here.

So we drove to the Plataforma again and took the marked trail. It's supposed to take about 2.5 hours to get to the Laguna Grande, and another 2.5 hours to come back. I would say that's about right because that's approximately the time we took, but plan for a bit more time if you're not used to hiking.






About an hour and a half later we got the first glimpse of the Circo, and the Laguna below ...



Halfway down there's a junction, and you can either take the path down all the way to the shores of the Laguna, or actually hike towards the 5 Lagunas from here as well. This is a different path from the one we had planned to do - it involves hiking the steep mountain in front which didn't look that easy, but it would give us the best view of the 5 lagunas. Since we had time we had actually decided to try it, but we couldn't find any easy way to cross the river without getting wet (and it had rained the day before so I guess it wasn't the best day to attempt this anyway). Definitely we'll try it next time ...

A bit frustrated we settled down for a bit and had our picnic while savouring the views. I have to say this was probably one of the best days to come here. The weather was perfect and we barely met any other hikers (although our guide book states that there are hundreds of people hiking here in the summer and the path gets really crowded, but this day it was so peaceful I found that hard to believe).

Later, we hiked down to the Laguna. It seemed so small from the top, but up close it's actually quite big. There were wild deer (or maybe mountain goats ? we saw a lot of those too) grazing on the other side so we just sat and watched.





Some practical notes: there are 2 mountain refuges on this trail, there's one about 20 minutes after the start of the trail and the other one (refugio Elola) by the shore of the Laguna Grande at the end. Also, there's one fountain along the way where you can replenish your water supply, it's called "la fuente de los Cavadores", halfway the climb up the mountain.

Being relatively close to Lisbon and with so many trails available I have to say we will definitely come back here a few more times. The setting is incredibly beautiful and the park seems to be very well maintained.

For next time: definitely this one and if I have the courage then maybe this one

Burgohondo

On Monday last week the day was absolutely dreary outside. We drove towards the Sierra de Gredos all the way up to the Plataforma parking place (in Hoyos del Espino). It's from here that you can hike the trail to the Circo de Gredos and the Laguna Grande. Well, we did try ... but the wind and rain were so bad we walked about 500 m before turning back.

So instead we looked for a nice place to have lunch and found the amazing El Yantar de Gredos restaurant. Delicious food and good service, definitely an experience to try again.

After lunch we drove to Burgohondo, an unremarkable village but where our hotel for that night was located. A nice hotel with a very sociable host (and we had the hotel all to ourselves), and the views of Gredos were not bad ...

Monfrague

The Monfrague National Park is the most recent of all Spanish parks and is quite popular among birdwatchers. You can easily spot eagles and vultures flying by, especially at the top of the castle or near the Salto del Gitano area.

There are 3 trails in this park, and we had planned to take the Red trail (itinerario rojo) which is the longest and most complete (about 4/5 hours). It gives you a good overview of the park, going all the way up to the castle and the main sights.

It starts at the Vilareal de San Carlos village (the only village located inside the Park) but we actually parked near the Cardinal bridge (Puente del Cardinal) and started the hike from the Fuente del Frances picnic area.

The first hour and a half the trail goes through the forest, up the mountain and towards the castle. It's a relatively easy trail, with some steep parts once in a while. We got to see some wild deer passing by as well ...



The views from the castillo are amazing (be sure to get inside the tower and up the stairs to the top) and it's the best stop for spotting the big birds.

The red trail then goes down the mountain on the other side and follows the road until reaching the Salto del Gitano. Here we took the trail that follows the river bend (Senda del rio Tajo) until finally reaching the bridge again.









That night we stayed at this lovely place called El mirlo blanco, located near the village of Candeleda, halfway between Monfrague and the Sierra de Gredos. It was so peaceful and relaxing there, and I'm hoping next time the weather will be nice enough to try that pool.

Trujillo

On our way to Monfrague we spent the night in Trujillo, an historical town just about 3 hours from Lisbon. We weren't planning on doing any hiking that day, the weather was rainy and impredictable, so we just strolled around and explored the sights.

Stumbling upon a beautiful old church (Santa Maria de la Mayor), we decided to go in and see the magnificent retablo. Later, we also went up the tower to look at these amazing views.






Trujillo is also where Pizarro's house is located (there's a huge statue of him in the main square)




And just before it started to rain more heavily we went up to the castle and enjoyed the views once again ...





We took shelter in the courtyards at the main square (where we were disappointed to find out that the Pizarro restaurant was closed for dinner) and waited for the rain to pass ...








We spent the night here. A really nice hotel, which is located right outside the historical center (a 5 minute walk, really).

mini vacation

We're off for a few days (next week we have two public holidays here in Portugal, so I guess half the country will be on vacation, including us ...)

We've dusted our hiking boots and will be spending some time here and here.

Have a great week !

matching WIPs

Slowly getting back to some sewing, and planning the next knitting projects.
I'm thinking summer dresses ... and some cardigans to match, maybe ?





And these below .. hummm, will probably end up as skirts .. or maybe summer tops. Not really sure, but I love the fabrics. They came from Dot Quilts, a recently opened store in town (nice fabric shops in Lisbon are so rare that it's quite an event when a good one opens up, and this one is definitely a keeper)

Piódão, Serra do Açor

Another place I really wanted to visit but never had the chance before was Piódão, one of the most famous historical villages of Portugal. So being in the area we decided to go there for lunch before heading back home. I'd heard stories about the terrible road conditions to get there, but I have to say we really enjoyed ourselves. And the sights on our way there and back (we took a different road on our way back) are quite stunning.

The village itself is indeed beautiful, especially seen from afar.



And up close is also very charming.



We spent a good couple of hours going up and down all those stairs, and although the day had started out rainy, the sun finally shone through.








We had lunch at the restaurant in the main square (Piódão XXI), and although the food was good, the service not really, and the restaurant building itself doesn't really fit into the local architecture. It surprised me that something like that was allowed to be built there in the first place.

On our way back to Lisbon we stopped at a couple of other places that caught our attention: Chãs d'Égua, another charming little village, and Foz d'Égua, with the beautiful suspended bridge.

Chãs d'Égua



Foz d'Égua




And of course, thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful sights around the Serra d'Açor.







Definitely these are places we want to go back to.

Aldeias do Xisto, Lousã

During our Easter break last month we spent a few days in this part of Portugal. We'd never been here, so it was a really nice surprise.
Our main purpose was to visit a few of the Aldeias do Xisto, beautiful restored villages with traditional houses made of schist. Apparently there are 24 of them in this region, but we only managed to visit 4: Talasnal, Casal Novo, Chiqueiro and Gondramaz. My favourite was Talasnal (wilder and more rustic) but Gondramaz was definitely the most beautifully restored one.

Talasnal













Chiqueiro



Gondramaz





We stayed in Lousã, at this place, which was nice but a bit overrated.



Their restaurant is quite good, although not as good as this one here, where the food was outstanding to say the least (and huge servings too). The restaurant is outside of the city, up near the castle and the ermida (and the fluvial beach) and it's worth making a reservation ahead. We didn't, so had to wait around for an hour or so, which gaves us the opportunity to explore the surrounding area.

Restaurant "O Burgo"





Ermida da Srª da Piedade









And if you feel like having a nice cup of tea and yummy cake, a lovely place is the Casa de Chá "Solar do Adro", located right next to the church downtown. I also suggest the Pastelaria S. Silvestre for purchasing some traditional pastries to take home (can't remember the name now but we got some amazing ones made of chestnuts and honey)

Igreja da Matriz


Casa de chá "O solar do Adro"




More photos at Flickr here

strawberry picking ...

This is what we were doing last weekend ...

This weekend is not so nice (it's actually raining outside right now) so I started a new knitting project - the first one for spring/summer - in the color of strawberries instead.



The hectic project at work seems to have slowed down a bit so I think I'll actually have some time for crafts and blogging again (and I have a bunch of photos to post from our short break over Easter as well ...)

Minimalist cardi

I've been meaning to knit this since last year, then changed my mind because I didn't think the style would suit me. But after I got this lavender yarn some months ago I started re-thinking that idea and finally decided it would be a nice match.

The yarn was a dream to knit with (I'm sure it's going to pill terribly after some use, but it's so soft right now I don't care) and the pattern is quite straightforward and easy. The final result is not too bad, not something I'm crazy about but I like to dress in layers so it fits perfectly into my wardrobe.




Pattern: Minimalist cardigan, by Ruthie Nussbaum (from Interweave Knit Fall 2007)
Yarn: Debbie Blish Cashmerino (9 skeins)
Needles: 4 mm
Size: 34 ''


Changes: Not many. Just lengthened the body by an inch or so (it lenghtened even more after blocking), and didn't make the sleeve increases. And if I'd ever do this again I would probably add some slight waist shaping .

Amelia

Hello ... Still here, but time has been short. Can't wait for this project to roll out, so I won't have to travel back and forth so often. And I've finished Amelia, which I must say turned out much better than I hoped.



Pattern: Amelia, by Laura Chau, available at Knitty
Yarn: Handpaintedyarn.com DK in Purple Charm (3 skeins)
Needles: 4.5 mm
Size: 30

Changes: Just added a bit of length to body and sleeves, otherwise followed the pattern exactly.