Several weeks ago we received a booking from a Spanish family who wanted to come and stay with us for a week and self-cater for themselves on a “Casa Rural” basis – i.e. renting a bedroom in the main house, but making use of the kitchen facilities for their evening meals. This suited them very well, as there were two sons of nearly 5 and nearly 2 years old in the family, so they were able to prepare their meals at a time to suit them, and still have time to relax in the garden after Miquel and Guillem had gone to sleep.
They had driven from their home near Barcelona, arrived in the early afternoon, and soon settled in to their room and organised themselves in the kitchen. They were not familiar with this part of the country, and – even though they were Spanish themselves – were unaware of what a great resort for families Gandía is. That first day they spent round the pool and in the garden, having had a long trip in the car with the two little ones, but the next day wanted to set out to explore everything that the area has to offer.
Gandía beach was the obvious choice, and when you are on a self-catering casa rural holiday, it is very easy to pack everything in the car in the morning and go to the beach for the main part of the day, with everything you might need readily to hand. They were very impressed with the family-friendly facilities that are available at Playa de Gandía, and soon realised that they had chosen a perfect holiday destination – albeit unwittingly! They soon settled into a regular routine of going to a beach in the morning, staying there until mid-afternoon, returning to the villa for a siesta, and then spending the rest of the afternoon and early evening in the pool until it was time for the children’s evening meal.
Other beaches were explored as well, mainly at Daimus and Oliva, although they did venture to Benidorm one morning.
They returned by early afternoon, though, saying that they had heard so much about it that they felt they could not come to this part of the northern Costa Blanca without at least seeing what was there for the day-visitor. It is only a 40 minute drive from Gandía, so it is easy to have a short visit there and still return to Villa Florencia for the rest of the day.
Miquel and Guillem had a wonderful time each afternoon in the pool here, and Miquel especially gained great confidence in learning to swim. In only a few days he was jumping in and swimming around with no trepidation at all, and both boys thoroughly enjoyed their time here.
Sadly, their week with us was over all too soon, and it was time for them to leave. However, their vacation time was not over completely, as they were travelling on to visit relatives near Madrid for a few days before finally returning home to just north of Barcelona. They had had a great time here, and the facilities of the casa rural had suited them perfectly. Hopefully they will return next year and see even more of what this part of the Costa Blanca has to offer.