WELCOME TO Val's Alentejo -I write about my region of Alentejo. My art ,painting, my cottages, Family life, my animals -Travels And my love for Roses- and rural country life.

Monday 11 August 2014

Catching up- summer days

A few days away from home.  Feels like much longer. 
A week ago, I went to Cascais to have a mini holiday.  It was combined with me looking after my youngest grandson  Max.   I took him to the beach below the Hotel.. It took me back many years , to when I used to go there with my sons.
  I have posted about Cascais about 2 years ago.   It is where I used to live , many years ago.  Two of my boys, live in the area of Estoril.. its a station away.
It's known as our Riviera .      Some stunning homes along the Sea front .    Our Hotel.. is the one on the cliff overlooking the sea.    Over 40 years ago, it was a private home.   Then sold and was turned into a hotel.
                 Cascais Bay.- A familiar sight for me ... We used to anchor in the cascais bay..  Filipe now anchors there when he sails.    Cascais now boasts a Marina.    Filipe I know, still likes to drop anchor. He swims ashore.    Cascais is a lovely village.    40 years ago , when I first arrived . It was just but a small fishing village.   We built our first home here in 1974.      We rented it out to the German Embassy.   Returning to South Africa..   In 1982- we sailed the ocean's and came to live permanently in Cascais and the Bay was our last  anchorage after sailing from the East coast of Southern Africa to Brazil, Amozon, Fernando de Naronha, Açores Islands :-  Cascais.
 I took this photo early morning, as the beach lovers  were arriving, before the intense heat of the day.
                                       Taken at 7am.  Beach just been cleaned and tractor turned over sand. The sea is still. 2 people walking their dog.
                                            This whole coast line is beaches. This is a view from my bedroom window.Early morning.    Cascais village has grown.  It has many more shops.  Shopping malls. The population has grown.   It was full of tourists.  A beautiful place to spend a holiday.

                                                The Portuguese- O'Niel Clan's home.
 The O Niel's - history is very interesting.
(wikipedia) :-   A very well know powerful family.      This is their beach home.. just at the back of the hotel I was in.
                                                                      Stunning architecture.
                                    My bedroom..-  just before turning in for the night.
                                                                Hand painted tiles adorn the walls of the entrance.
      Also on the upper floor..       And    stairwell.                                                      



Always so glad to be home.


I hope all my dear friends, that your summer so far has been a good one.    I have missed out on some of your posts.
Still taking a break.   Will catch up soon.

Thank you everyone who left your kind comments on my last post.
Stay well and enjoy life-  Its short!
VAL

Its always so wonderful to come home to my little oasis.

26 comments:

  1. So pleased that you had a lovely holiday in a beautiful hotel with your little grandson Max. Cascais looks a charming place, and has obviously grown much since the little village you knew and loved so long ago.
    It is lovely to go away, but returning home is always special. I think you appreciate your home so much more when you have had a lovely break.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Rosemary,
      It was a lovely break. A little more bonding with sweet Max. Now 4. It was bitter sweet to return to Cascais. It was a strange familiarity.
      Happy to be home.

      Delete
  2. it must have been bittersweet to return there again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes indeed Tex.. bittersweet.
      It was strange. As I have moved on.
      But Max and myself had a great time building up our bond.

      Delete
  3. Hope my comment came through, been having probs with this lately! x

    ReplyDelete
  4. It looks so beautiful there and is looks like you are having a great time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Betty.
      Life is good. I enjoy every day.. and love to be with my family.
      We do live life to the full.

      Delete
  5. What beautiful blue waters. Looks like such a charming place to spend a few days. Your hotel is beautiful. Tiles are stunning. But then your own place looks like a beautiful retreat as well. As Dorothy said,"there's no place like home." Welcome back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Atlantic at this time of the year , and close to shore is very blue. The hotel is old world charm Sanda.
      Cascais is a stunninly beautiful place.. a little more built up now.
      Indeed.. red shoes appropriate.. I was glad to come home..

      Delete
  6. It is nice to be home but that was a lovely place to visit! Your roses probably missed you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cascais is a beautiful seaside village.
      Ohh.. how my roses missed me.
      It is nice to be home.. Thank you Sunnybrook.

      Delete
  7. What a wonderful place to visit, Val. The beach with the huge rocks is so pretty. It was nice that you got to spend some time with your grandson. What a grand stair entrance. Your bedroom is lovely too. I can use a mini vacation like this, Val.

    Have a nice week.

    love,
    ~Sheri

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sheri.
      The whole of that coastline is stunning. Its amazing how houses could be built on rock..but its solid and they have been there for years. The hotel is lovely old world charm. You would love it Sheri.
      It was a bonding holiday too with little Max.

      Delete
  8. So happy for you Val, having a holiday at Cascais, a place not only beautiful but holding special memories for you. Time with Max is very special (remember, my grandson is also Max?) Wow, the O'Niel Clan house is super, isn't it? The yellow/white looks wedding-cake pretty, and it looks so big. They must have had lots of friends/parties there. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Patricia. I thought of you while there.. Not long now and you will be on your way.
      It was bonding time with Max, and it was great. Yes, I remember that your grandson is Max.
      The O'neils have a very interesting lineage and a very big family. The house has always been an attraction for me.

      Delete
  9. Dear Val, You could write an entire book with your third paragraph. Embassies, Africa, sailing the oceans. Brazil, the Amazon and more.

    Thank you for posting those fabulous tile pictures. Now I want to go to Cascais to see them in person.

    I loved the way you described your days when you commented on my last blog post. We two know how to live don't we. ox, Gina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Gina.
      I started writing a book of my life for the family over 12 years ago. I add to it when i can. I need to update a lot.
      Indeed we know how to live Gina.. life is to be lived and enjoyed to the full. I have been privelidged to be able to have been to so many places and had such a wonderful time and family while doing it.

      Delete
  10. Cascais is certainly a beautiful place no wonder you enjoyed living there - gorgeous hotel too. What an adventurous life you have lived.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cascais, is a hop and a jump away for you Elaine.. you would love it. The hotel is lovely old world charm ..
      My life has and is still full of adventure. I have been blessed.. and enjoy sharing it. xxx

      Delete
  11. What an interesting and adventurous life you've had, Val. You could write a book on it, I'm sure. Cascais looks like a lovely place to live or go on holiday, with its cliffs and beach and crystal-clear water. I'm sure you and Max had a lovely time.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It is wonderful to come home after a lovely holiday - the best of both worlds. I thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to Cascais. What a lovely place! No wonder you chose to live there and now, to holiday there.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Looks amazing Val and warm. Just what a girl needs. Shell- A Darlings Nest

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello, dear Val. Those photos show paradise for us Normans. Our sea is never clear, there's always a little wind lurking in the background and we have intense heat about 2 days a year ! That hotel is heavenly too, very grand ! All the best from France ! (By the way, I have a "new" blog now and as you are kind enough to show the old one on your sidebar, here is my new URL : thefreshstartblog.blogspot.fr xxx

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cascais looks lovely. You must have had such a sweet time with you grandson there. I enjoyed looking at your pretty pictures of the beach and the hotel. While I was growing up in France we always went to the beach in August, but now in the US, it is not the same about vacations. I miss the sea. It is nice to get back home though after a little while.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a beautiful place. Thank you for visiting my blog. It gave me a chance to come meet you. I will be following you, now as well!
    Penny

    ReplyDelete

comments will be published after approval