Friday, May 22, 2009

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

8 comments:

likeschocolate said...

The portion of the food is enought to feed an army. Looks so yummy! I have never been to Portugal or Spain. Someday!

fantasma said...

Never went there too and it seems amazing! A new trip to schedule, I see...

Bárbara said...

Sigo o seu blog há alguns meses com muito agrado, e fiquei surpreendida com este post! Eu vivi perto das aldeias de xisto e trabalhei nesse hotel que menciona. Conheço bem todos esses lugares, que são fantásticos e concordo com a sua opinião.

Continue com o seu ótimo trabalho, é uma inspiração para mim.

Bárbara

Natacha said...

Apenas para comentar a coincidência: fiz o mesmíssimo programa... no Carnaval! O mesmo Palácio da Lousã (já experimentaste a reserva online, com o cartão MAS? compensa!), o mesmo restaurante O Burgo, o mesmo pulo ao Piódão (mas eu já conhecia, fui só matar saudades). Nas Aldeias, além das que mencionaste, visitei mais algumas e encantei-me pela Cerdeira, que tem um acesso difícil mas é linda!
Falhou o salão de chá! Mas como está prometido um regresso com o bom tempo, para experimentar as praias fluviais, lá tentarei a minha sorte.
Boas viagens!

Anonymous said...

os bolinhos de castanha e mel serão os talasnicos? bolinhos feitos na aldeia do Talasnal.

zarah said...

que lindo :)

Anonymous said...

os bolinhos de castanha e mel poderao ser os serranitos ou os talasnicos. a minha mae foi a ultima professora do Talasnal.
'e delicioso estar tao longe e ver as imagens da minha vila! :-)
na casa de cha ha um bolo pudim de perder o senso!!!

Paula said...

I just loved your blog! Makes me want to be there! You have a great sensibility! Nice work! :) Greetings from Brazil!