Hi, I'm Helen
Welcome to my blog and my home 'Casa Valhal' in Portugal. I hope you enjoy my adventures x
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Casa Valhal
March 23, 2020
  • By Helen
  • Home

CASA VALHAL (Living the dream)

Welcome to Casa Valhal, a rustic 3 bed schist house, located in the village of Vinhó, a few minutes...

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March 21, 2020
  • By Helen
  • Portugal

WELCOME TO VINHÓ

Welcome to our little village of Vinhó which is situated in the parish of Vila Cova de Alva, in...

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May 9, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Baloiço Bridges Covilhã Forest Hiking trail Historic Portuguese Village Insects/Wildlife Lakes and Lagoons Leisure & recreation Miradouro (Viewpoint) Mountain Region Natural Park Nature Nature Art Portugal River Beach Swings of Portugal Tourist attraction Waterfall

ROTA DAS PONTES (HIKING TRAIL – CORTES DO MEIO – COVILHÃ PR17 CVL)

After a full weekend of DIY and gardening we rewarded ourselves with a Bank Holiday Monday hiking trip. A...

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May 4, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Botanical Garden Forest Leisure & recreation Lisbon Mountain Region Nature Palace Parque e Palácio de Monserrate Poetry Portugal Portuguese Gardens Roman ruins Sintra Tourist attraction Waterfall

AN AFTERNOON TRIP TO PARQUE E PALÁCIO DE MONSERRATE

I really wanted to visit Monserrate Palace during our 2021 trip to Sintra but we just didn’t have enough...

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April 28, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Castle Caves Easter Hiking trail Historic Portuguese Village Leisure & recreation Megalithic Monuments Miradouro (Viewpoint) Monsanto Mountain Region Nature Nature Art Portugal Portuguese cake Religious Tourist Attraction Roman ruins Schist Village Self guided walking tour Tourist attraction

BANK HOLIDAY EASTER DAY TRIP TO MONSANTO (PART 2)

After a fantastic morning enjoying the idyllic Jardim do Paço Episcopal we headed on to the Portuguese historical village...

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April 22, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Botanical Garden Easter Jardim do Paço Episcopal Leisure & recreation Miradouro (Viewpoint) Mountain Region Museum Nature Nature Art Portugal Portuguese Gardens Tourist attraction

BANK HOLIDAY EASTER DAY TRIP TO JARDIM DO PAÇO EPISCOPAL (BISHOP’S PALACE GARDEN) PART 1

After a busy Easter weekend of DIY on our casa (3 full days of back breaking home maintenance and...

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April 16, 2022
  • By Helen
  • DIY Easter Home and Garden Portugal

EASTER DIY HOME MAINTENANCE MAYHEM – WINDOWS, DOORS & SORES

There will always be some kind of work to do on our schist Casa and some DIY jobs are...

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April 11, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Baloiço Castle Celebrations Historic Portuguese Village Leisure & recreation Megalithic Monuments Miradouro (Viewpoint) Mountain Region Museu do Pão Nature Portugal Religious Tourist Attraction Roman ruins Schist Village Self guided walking tour Sortelha Swings of Portugal Tourist attraction

CELEBRATING OUR 7 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY IN SORTELHA

I planned a romantic getaway (day trip) to Sortelha to celebrate our 7th Wedding Anniversary. Sortelha has been a...

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March 15, 2022
  • By Helen
  • British Passport Important information Portugal Travel Documents

RENEWING A BRITISH PASSPORT FROM PORTUGAL

I thought it would be a good idea to share our experience of renewing a British Passport from Portugal....

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March 6, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Bridges Castle Celebrations City Park City tour Covilhã Historic Portuguese Village Lakes and Lagoons Leisure & recreation Megalithic Monuments Miradouro (Viewpoint) Mountain Region Museum Nature Portugal Religious Tourist Attraction Roman ruins Self guided walking tour Swings of Portugal Tourist attraction Urban art

CELEBRATING MY BIRTHDAY: A DAY TRIP TO THE MOUNTAIN CITY OF COVILHÃ

I love it when my birthday falls on a weekend and hubby is off work so we can celebrate...

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March 1, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Carnival Celebrations Gastronomy Portugal Religious Celebration Shrove Tuesday

HAPPY SHROVE TUESDAY AND CARNIVAL DAY 2022

For me personally a special time of reflection, prayer and to give thanks to the traditions I celebrate. Confession...

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February 20, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Celebrations Portugal Valentine's Day

VALENTINE’S DAY CELEBRATION 2022

I’m not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. I prefer to celebrate birthdays as a birthday is your own...

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February 4, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Baloiço Bridges Forest Geopark Hiking trail Historic Portuguese Village Insects/Wildlife Leisure & recreation Miradouro (Viewpoint) Mountain Region Nature Portugal Religious Tourist Attraction Swings of Portugal Tourist attraction Waterfall

TRILHO DA POMBEIRA (HIKING TRAIL – CASTRO DAIRE PR8 CDR)

Another day, another hike, this time the wonderful PR8 CDR 10 km circular Trail of Pombeira. The starting point...

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January 19, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Bridges Clouds Forest Hiking trail Insects/Wildlife Lakes and Lagoons Leisure & recreation Mountain Region Nature Portugal Schist Village Tourist attraction Waterfall

ROTA DA CABRA E DO LOBO HIKING TRAIL (SÃO PEDRO DO SUL PR4 SPS)

Time for a change so instead of chasing more waterfalls I opted for something a little different. I discovered...

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January 10, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Garden Insects/Wildlife Leisure & recreation Nature Portugal

FROM SEED TO FEED (OUR FRUIT, VEGETABLE AND FLOWER GARDEN DIARY) 2022

I can’t believe that this is my 3rd “From Seed to Feed” post! Well here we are another year...

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January 5, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Bridges Clouds Forest Hiking trail Insects/Wildlife Leisure & recreation Mountain Region Nature Portugal Sky art Tourist attraction Waterfall

AN AFTERNOON TRIP TO CASCATA DO RIO DE MOURA

Hubby had a rare weekday off of work so we decided to chase more waterfalls. Cascata do Rio de...

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January 5, 2022
  • By Helen
  • Forest Geopark Hiking trail Insects/Wildlife Leisure & recreation Mountain Region Nature Portugal Presépio Tourist attraction Waterfall

NA VEREDA DO PASTOR HIKING TRAIL (VALE DE CAMBRA PR3 VLC)

What better way to cure a hangover than a hiking trip to Vale de Cambra! It is the 1st...

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December 31, 2021
  • By Helen
  • Celebrations Christmas Health & Wellbeing Lifestyle Portugal

OUR 2 YEAR MILESTONE

Today is New Year’s Eve and our 2 year milestone, gosh time flies when you’re having fun. 2 years...

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December 29, 2021
  • By Helen
  • Baloiço Celebrations Christmas Christmas Village Gastronomy Historic Portuguese Village Mountain Region Nativity Scene Nature Art Portugal Presépio Religious Celebration Religious Tourist Attraction Schist Village Swings of Portugal Tourist attraction

CABEÇA ALDEIA NATAL 2021

Upon a friend’s recommendation we took a day trip to the captivating and unique Christmas village of Cabeça, Seia...

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December 21, 2021
  • By Helen
  • Águeda Celebrations Christmas City Park City tour Portugal Tourist attraction Umbrella Sky Project Urban art Worlds Biggest Santa

A PRE CHRISTMAS TRIP TO ÁGUEDA (UMBRELLA SKY PROJECT)

I had originally planned to visit Águeda on Christmas Eve but the weather forecast for the Christmas week is...

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December 21, 2021
  • By Helen
  • Christmas Forest Hiking trail Insects/Wildlife Leisure & recreation Mountain Region Nativity Scene Nature Portugal Presépio Tourist attraction Waterfall

TRILHO DAS CASCATAS (VILA DE REI PR1 VLR)

I had originally planned to embark on this trail on Christmas Day but the weather forecast is not looking...

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December 21, 2021
  • By Helen
  • Christmas Nativity Scene Portugal Presépio Religious Celebration Religious Tourist Attraction

PORTUGUESE PRESÉPIO 2021

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas! On our recent day trips we have driven past so many...

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December 15, 2021