Cre8tive Escape

Portugal 2022

An unforgettable experience in Europe

Join knitting Rockstar extraordinaire Andre’ de Castro as we guide you on an exciting 14 night adventure through Portugal and Spain.

We’ll begin the trip in Lisbon, Portugal. From Lisbon we’ll head to Andre’s hometown of Porto where he’ll personally lead us on a tour of his favorite places in Porto.

Then, we’ll take a break from city life and head down the Douro river on a short cruise and spend a couple of nights in the countryside, then back to Porto. After a free day in Porto we’ll make our way to Madrid, Spain for the balance of our trip. Find the full Itinerary below.

Extend the fun in North Africa

For those of you who like to stay and explore I’ve created a 6 night add-on in Marrakech, Morocco.

Andre’ will, of course, be joining us for this part of the tour as well. He will be teaching a bonus class in Morocco. When I’ve made the investment to go so far from home I love to stay and explore new things when I have the option.

While in Marrakech we’ll explore the gorgeous city including the spice markets, their gardens and beautiful architecture. Because this is the add-on and we’re staying in one place you’ll have some options to do half day trips and a full day trip... or, you can choose to lay by the pool and relax. Find the full Itinerary below.

Meet our teacher 
Andre' de Castro

I’m thrilled that we’ll have Andre’ with us for the entire trip to teach us all things knitting!

We will have a minimum of 12 hours of class time with Andre’ plus additional time to knit and sip with him as well. We will also be having a special trip KAL designed specifically for this event by Andre’, a cowl pattern with inspiration drawn from Portuguese tiles. You will receive a kit with the yarn for this project when we arrive in Portugal. It will be from a local yarn dyer. Yay!  

Read about the classes below!

Learn about the Classes

Cast-on Party

During the Cast On party you will receive a kit that’s been specially dyed for our project. Andre’ has designed this project to accompany us throughout our two weeks together. Andre’ will explain his design and we’ll actually cast-on in this class. What fun! Please note: You will be given a full materials list of things to bring for your classes well in advance of the trip. ie, needle size, stitch markers etc. 

Beginning Portuguese 

In this class students will be able to learn through simple samples of stitches the basics of the Portuguese Knitting Style including a small historical framework, how to hold the yarn, the needles, the placement of the hands and the correct tension when knitting.  How to use the Portuguese Knitting Style in order to knit in a more efficient, quick and simple way. 

Colorwork

In this workshop students will be able to learn how to work with more than one color at the same time and using typical Portuguese motifs (tiles, tapestries...); all aspects of working with colors will be addressed including color theory and dominance, how to make a motif pop out of the work. You will learn how to catch floats behind the work and how to maintain a constant and perfect tension.

Lace by Music

Lace by music is a type of lace knitting. Borders or edgings that were made by women in the most remote villages of Portugal.
This lace is interesting because it is primarily purl stitches. A special "code" as been created to pass along those patterns from generation to generation. This “code” is the so-called "music" of the lace and is composed of a series of symbols created by people who at that time didn’t know how to read or write.

Oh the places we will go | Itinerary

We have fifteen days of amazing adventures planned for the Portugal/Spain part of this Cre8tive Escape and seven additional days in Morocco if you purchase the add on!
 
Click on each date to see the itinerary below to see where we will go together!

June 9-12 Lisbon, Portugal

You’ll need to arrive in time for an evening meet and greet and dinner at 7 pm on June 9.

  • Class #1 Cast On Party Class
  • Lisbon City tour
  • Visit Belem tower- a mighty medieval fortress on the Tagus River (a UNESCO World Heritage site)
  • Visit Jeronimo’s Monastery- a lasting symbol of Portugal maritime heritage
  • A trip to Rosa’s yarn store. (she’ll be dyeing our KAL kits)
  • Class #2 Beginning Portuguese knitting
  • A night of Fado, a popular Portuguese song, usually with a melancholy theme accompanied by Mandolins or guitars.
  • A free afternoon
 

June 13-14 Porto, Portugal

  • Visit Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fa’tima and have lunch at a 4 star hotel.
  • Personal tour with Andre' of Porto, his hometown, to show us all of the local history and hotspots
  • Class #3 - Lace by Music
  • Trunk show with Lady Bug Yarns

June 15-17 Douro River Cruise, Portugal

  • We’ll cruise the Douro River and see the secrets of Douro and Tamega.
  • Cruise the Crestuma-Levar Dam
  • Douro wine tasting in at “Quinta” (a local winery)
  • Visit Mateus Palace, Chapel and cultural places in the area.
  • We’ll cruise on a typical “Rabelo” boat
  • Visit a winery in the Favaios Region
  • Enjoy an evening dinner with traditional Portuguese music and a visit to the gardens of this Quinta as well
  • Class #4 Intro to Brioche
  • Visit an Olive press and enjoy an olive oil, wine and honey tasting.
  • Have lunch at a typical wine hotel in the Vinho Verde wine region
  • June 18 Porto, Portugal

    • Free day in Porto

    June 19-23 Madrid, Spain

    • Tour of Madrid’s beautiful history
    • Class #5 BO- KAL
    • Flamenco Show
    • Visit a local yarn shop(s) in Madrid
    • Free day in Madrid
    • Farewell dinner

    Add On: June 23-29 Marrakech, Morocco

    • Fly to Marrakech
    • Moroccan cooking class
    • Guided tour of the spice markets and leather tanneries
    • Bonus class with Andre’
    • Free days where you’ll have the opportunity to do extra excursions if you choose*
      • I’m going on a camel ride- anyone wanna join me?
      • Maybe ride a hot air balloon too- still wanna join me?
    • Final farewell dinner
    • You will depart from Marrakech, Morocco on June 29 to go home. 

    *Extra excursion will be an additional cost upon arrival in Marrakech

    © 2019, Cindy Hallam Events