Who we are

Hi!

We are Carlos and Cecília and we live in São Bartolomeu at Quinta Vinagreira. São Bartolomeu is a rural village on the southwest coast of Terceira island. We are surrounded by pastures, bounded by stones walls, on which old vineyards grow.

Quinta Vinagreira is our home, a traditional rural house in a small garden. Here we write our everyday story. It's the canvas where we paint the will of a journey to return to the simplicity of life and happiness.

We are both ornithologists and have a profound love for Azorean nature. I'm also a yoga teacher. Although, none of us has a formal job. We try to make the best of our days with the idea that less is more.

"Quinta da Vinagreira" means "Robin farm". The name was given for several different reasons, but the main one is our common love for birds. Here in this cozy space, the robin is a common visit. When we are planting, contemplating and collecting things in the garden, there it is, peeking on us. So this bird is the symbol of the best moments in "Quinta da Vinagreira".

How can we define our living?

Get a general idea

What we love:

Laziness - It's assumed we love to do nothing, or in other words, everything we wish. So a lot of free time and no conventional job is a condition here.

Pets - we have 8 cats, 3 dogs, 14 chickens, 3 goats and 2 ducks. Now you know where we spend most of our time;)

Food - We love to eat and cook. I love vegetarian cooking and Carlos traditional Portuguese food. The garden is the main inspiration for everyday eating.

Garden - The idea of producing our one food fascinates us and also allows spending time in the backyard with the cats, the robins, and the trees ... it's just marvelous.

Books - You will find them everywhere in the house ... this is the passion of Carlos and he spends most of his time reading.

Yoga and Meditation - These are my passion, all the places and moments can be a meditation or a connection using my body, my breath, and my heart.

Garbage - the garbage of other is our treasure. We love to recycle and to create, adding my story to a piece that has one story, is an incredible spiritual ritual. There's nothing new in this house and nothing is finished. This space is like our life, a continuous unfolding project.

If you want to spend the day with us, what you can expect:

First of all, there's never a real plan on the table, but there are a few things that always happen.

You have to love animals, especially cats and dogs because they share the house with us. We will spend time feeding the chickens and search for eggs and take the goats to pasture. We always cook so you will prepare meals and seat at our table for a nice lunch. A lot of times the cooking is done in the wood stove, so getting and cutting wood is a normal activity. When we do so, we love to bake fresh bread. The preparation of the meal will also involve collecting something from the garden. We love to share our home recipes.

Many things can happen, sometimes we go to the garden, make pickles and jams, do mornings walk, take a swim in the near sea, go to the local marketplace to by some fish and vegetables, collect seaweeds, berries in the wild. If you come in one of my Yoga class days, you can also accompany me to my yoga class in Angra city, at the end of the day.

I could keep listing things, but as I told before we also never know what will happen because life is always mysterious and full of wonder.

We hope to see you soon at Quinta Vinagreira.