Enjoy an escape to the Casa Aloes bordering the Quinta das Mil Flores, (which is a property of 3 hectares surrounded by pine woods and orchards), on the outskirts of the little hamlet of Sobreiro in the hills above the village of Pedrogao Grande and offers a pleasant balance between calm seclusion and easy accessibility.
In the Leiria region of Central Portugal, by the new A13 expressway between Tomar and Coimbra, the Quinta is 1 h40 by car northeast of Lisboa and 1 h40 hours southeast of Porto 35 min. from Coimbra). As the Quinta is in the nearly exact geographical center of Portugal, Pombal and Serta are close by, and it is an easy drive to visit UNESCO sites such as Alcobaca, Batalha, Tomar, Coimbra and Fatima, and also Nazare village and ocean beach, Obidos, Busaco, etc.
The concept of all the Quinta development is ecologically oriented.
In function of the possibilities of each existing or future building, many ecological techniques of insulation, materials and natural energy resources have been used : a vegetalized roof, geothermie, and/or solar panels .
Newly renovated, the Casa Aloes will sleep 6 persons, in 3 bedrooms, plus alcove with a baby's bed. Each bedroom has a standard double bed (one polychrome early 20th century, one Louis XVI). There are two bathrooms, one with an antique porcelain bathtub and a copper washbasin, both with bronze faucets, and a separate WC, and a second bathroom with shower. For starry summer nights, the third bedroom with twin beds, overlooks the Casa's "Plaid Garden" of Iris and lavender.
The house has a-salon-dining room with TV (80 channels) and a completely furnished kitchen, WIFI, built-in wall oven, refrigerator, cooking surface, sink, dishwasher, and cupboards, micro-onde oven, electric tea pot, toaster, dishes, glassware, cutlery, kitchen utensils, pots and pans, electric heating, kitchen, bed and bath linens. Furnishings are charming and eclectic, gathered from my travels around the world.
A washer and dryer are also available in another building, and the house has its own private secure interior parking.
CD's, tapes, DVDs and books in French, English, and Portuguese, are available for guests' enjoyment.
The Casa is non-smoking, but guests may nip out into the garden to puff away.
The Casa has a private patio and 2 small private gardens, overlooking the Quinta's three magnificent Rose Gardens. Guests have access to the main Quinta gardens of 1400+ catalogued species and varieties of rare plants : ornamental rare bio vegetables and herb gardens, olive groves, fruit tree orchards, rare flowering trees, shrubs and perennials, and the Chinese Poet's Pavilion. The gardens were created with the well known landscape architect and garden author, Alain Richert. (In France, in my husband's family estates of the Château de Thoiry 78770, and the Chateau du Colombier en Aveyron, 12330, the gardens we have restored and created together have been labelled 'Jardin Remarquable' by the French Cultural Ministry.)
The Quinta is about a 10 minute drive to the lake beach of the Zezere River dam, and the same to the charming island river beach in Mosteiro, and about a half hour to the specially amenaged river beach at Castanheira de Pera. The area is included in the scenic Route de Xisto, and offers many pleasant hiking and biking paths and routes. Pedrogao Grande, 10 minutes away has an indoor handball and basketball court, indoor sports swimming pool, exercise gymnasium, tennis, many shops, cafés, banks, post office, 2 small supermarkets, a weekly Monday morning farmer's market, hairdressers, restaurants and church, etc. There is also a large Saturday morning market nearby in the town of Figueiró dos Vinhos.
For those who prefer to avoid shopping trips on vacation, Sobreiro hamlet benefits from daily bread and pastry truck delivery and the weekly passage of fresh fish and meat vendors, so you can lean back and relax, enjoy the fresh, pine-scented air, the birds singing and watch the butterflies fly by.
The Quinta das Mil Flores and the Casa Aloes have appeared on Portuguese national television (SIC TV), in several portuguese, spanish and french newspaper and web news articles. The Quinta is also featured in the beautiful art book in French "Jardins d'histoire and sans histoire de la Comtesse de La Panouse", raconté à Bettina de Cosnac, Editions Monelle Hayot, France.
Options
(Not included in rental rates):
The garden is entirely organic and guests may buy on site freshly picked bio herbs, fruit and vegetables, (including many rare varieties not commonly available even in specialized grocery stores.)
We also have our own olive oil, grape juice, home-made jams, jellies, preserves, and chutneys.
Guests may also enjoy an original guided themed tour "The Making of a Garden" on the existing and ongoing creations and ecological projects of the Quinta.
GPS: Latitude 39.898968 Longitude : 8.165800
INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS IN ENGLISH OR FRENCH, PLEASE TELEPHONE: 00336 2951 1116 or email: quintadasmilflores@gmail.com.
