Live and soak up life like a Portuguese local for a week or so! Enjoy the casual unpretentious southern lifestyle in a laid-back rural atmosphere and the traditional 19^th century Portuguese architecture of a former peasant’s cottage, now turned into a unique and romantic holiday home situated at the edge of a typical alentejo farmer’s village. The place itsself is full of character with a lovely veranda and is surrounded by lawns and your own private garden (600 m2).

Have a relaxing holiday, away from stressfull modern day mass tourism places. For those who do not want lots of luxury, but like the simplicity of an authentic and charming cottage in a timeless back to basics rural setting. It’s a good place to sit and relax in and around the house, in the garden or on your veranda and there are good walks in the surrounding area. Both from the house and in the nearby national park. Especially spring, autumn and winter are a good time to go for walks.

The spectacular Costa Vicentina coastline with a choice of different unspoiled sandy beaches, cliffwalks and small bays is only an easy beautiful 30 minute drive away along a small countrylane.

The distance from the sea is perfect: also in the height of summer you live in a relaxed environment, yet not far from the magnificent coast and beaches where you can go for swimming, bodysurfing, sunbathing, eating out freshly caught fish and drinking delicious and cheap local wines. Spring , autum and winter are perfect for walks along cliff edges. There are spectacular seaviews.

Back in the village where Villetta Vicentina lies, after coming back from a nice stroll along the coast or a swim at the beach, you’ll find lots of farm animals such as sheep, goats, dogs, cats, horses, pigs and chickens. This is authentic rural portuguese life!

Two charming small towns are both in the vicinity :

Odemira (15 minutes)and Villanova de Milfontes (30 minutes)both with all the amenities such as supermarkets, restaurants, cafe’s etc.

Lisbon, Lagos, Faro and the Algarve can be reached on a daytrip in 1 ½ - 2 hours.

THE COTTAGE.

The country cottage is freestanding in its own garden. It sleeps 4. There are two separate bedrooms.

LOCATION.

Villetta Vicentina lies alongside a quiet country lane at the edge of a small village, where the asphaltroad ends and turns into a dirt track. So it is ideally located: easy to reach by asphaltroad, yet in a laid-back quiet location on a dirt track with very little traffic.

You could walk to the village from the house where there are a few pubs and a tiny shop for basic things. You could even ask Maria to make dinner, order one day in advance, in her small restaurant behind the bar Porfirio.

For restaurant suggestions in the neighbourhood look in the guestbook:Good food at very affordable prices.

The village is halfway between Lisbon and The Algarve and 30 minutes from the coast. If you want to go for a drink, or watch football with the locals, the local village pub is at walking distance. From the house you can also go for a nature walk or you can use the two mountainbikes in the shed and go for a longer ride eg to a local lake where you could swim.

Internet connection in living room.

The living room has a wood burning fire place, sofa, sofabed, armchair, round wooden table and chairs, and a radio/cd player.

There are two bedrooms : one has a large comfortable king size bed 160x200 mtr and the other has a smaller double bed 135x200 mtr and French windows leading to a garden terrace.

( It is possible to put one sofabed from the living room into one of the bedrooms thus creating an extra single bed if you prefer two single beds plus one double bed instead of two doublebeds.)

There is a small kitchen with a gas oven, refrigerator, pots, pans, plates, cups, glasses, etc.

There is a bathroom (with daylight) with large shower ,a 50 litre hot water boiler, toilet (sceptic tank), sink.

OUTSIDE SPACE/GARDEN/VERANDA/TERRACES/GARDEN FURNITURE.

You will have your own private garden (600 m2), shed, BBQ, lovely covered terrace/veranda (facing east, south and west). On the veranda is a big wooden table with chairs, a lounge chair , rocking chair, a hammock, another table and chairs.

The size of the covered veranda makes it a great place to use as an outdoor living area (one part tiled 7,5 to 3 meters, another part has a wooden floor, 2,5 to 4 meters) To allow you to sit anywhere in the garden there are extra deck chairs and a big parasol. For a nice siesta there are two hammocks to snooze in on the veranda.

In the shed there are two mountainbikes that you can use. Next to the shed is a private parking place for your car. There is also bodysurfing board in the shed you may use when you go to the beach.

Suitable for:

Our home is suitable for couples as a romantic hideaway, for a family with one or two parents with one or two children,for elderly people or for four adults. Not wheelchair accessible (there are two steps down to the kitchen and to one of the bedrooms). Pets are not allowed. Smoking only outside on the terrace please.

Owners.

Owners Yvonne van den Berg and Pyt Douma have tried to make Villetta Vicentina a cosy place to relax in, to feel at home and to recharge batteries. Having travelled a lot ourselves for work (Yvonne as a world wide Tour Leader in Latin America, Asia and southern Europe , Pyt as a Geographer in Africa) , we have stayed in quite a few hotels and holiday homes around the globe, and this is the type of place we would like to find for ourselves on holidays.

Contact.

We speak English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and a little bit of Portuguese. So you can always mail us in any of these languages. We will respond quickly.

Local contact/caretakers.

In the village we have Peter and Britta living in the next door farmhouse who are the caretakers of our house when we are not there .They live in the village permanently and know the surroundings very well Both speak English and German.

Surroundings

Halfway the Algarve to the south and Lisbon to the north, both reachable on a daytrip (1 ½ to 2 hours), and only half an hour from the spectacular alentejo coast.

The farmer’s cottage is set in an unspoilt rural location on the edges (..km) of the Costa Vicentina National Park, a short (15 mins) distance from the nearby typically Portuguese town of Odemira, with it’s local restaurants specializing in the Alentejo dishes of the region, a range of café’s and small boutiques.

The seaside town of Villanova de Milfontes with its river estuary is only a 30 minute drive away, with a coastline of beautiful sandy beaches edging the Atlantic Ocean. Here too you will find lots of interesting affordable restaurants, café’s and shops, great fresh fish and good wines. The coastline is well known for surfing and water boarding. There are beautiful coastal walks. Bird watching and horse riding are possible.

Guestbook/information.

In the house you will find a Guestbook with suggestions on things to do and places to visit in the local surroundings. There is practical information about the house as well as suggestions for good and very affordable restaurants in the vicinity. There are some books and cd’s for you to use.

Towels, bed linen, gas, electricity, water and wood for the fire place are included, as is the use of two mountainbikes.

This is going to be Villetta Vicentina’s first year as a holidayhome. We hope it will be a success and you will enjoy it just as much as we do when we are there!

Feel free to write any suggestions for future guests (and for the owners..) in the guestbook, or some poetry if the local wine has inspired you, not necessarily in portuguese. Ate a vista/hope to see you soon.