Costa Blanca Walking holidays

Last week we were pleased to welcome a couple from Edinburgh who had booked to stay with us for a week of late summer sunshine. Brian and Ruth are keen hill walkers and hikers, and wanted to spend some time in nice weather preparing themselves for a walking challenge that awaited them after their return to Scotland. During conversation, it emerged that both Brian and Ruth are doctors back home in Scotland and were both feeling the need for some well earned rest and relaxation – as well as pleasant walking in the sunshine. This part of the Costa Blanca has some magnificent walks, and it is fast becoming a recognised destination for Costa Blanca Walking holidays for hikers and hill walkers as well as more serious climbers. Routes are for the most part well signposted and marked out, and lead participants through beautiful scenery and tranquil surroundings. Estimated times are displayed as well as the level of difficulty involved, so there is something suitable for everyone in the area around here. Brian and Ruth were to be staying with us for six nights, so they had time to combine plenty of walking and exploring with some relaxation in and…

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Casa Rural Family Holidays

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….

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Old Friends Return!

Last weekend we were really pleased to welcome back some guests from last year – 2 groups of girls who enjoy coming to Gandía for its nightlife, but at the same time like to stay in a quiet rural location. Gandia Casa Rural offered them the ideal place to stay, where they could self-cater and have a short break but enjoy all the benefits the house has to offer at the same time.The first group of four friends come from Segovia, and have visited us twice in the past. The other two girls are from Castellón, and last year was their first visit to Gandia Casa Rural. Since they had not stayed with us at the same time as each other previously, the two groups soon got to know each other and became friends, and went out to Playa de Gandía together on the Saturday night. Before that, however, there was plenty of time for relaxing around the pool and making the most of the facilities of the casa rural. Friday was spent settling in and then going to the beach at Playa de Gandía, returning in the evening and then having a leisurely barbecue in the garden. They all…

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Self Catering Breaks in Spain

We received a phone call a week ago from a past guest who wanted to return to us again – always a request we are pleased to get! This lady and her husband live in Guadalajara near Madrid, and the last time they had come with another couple on a bed and breakfast basis. This time, however, she was interested in a villa rental holiday, and they wanted to bring a third couple with them as well. A villa rental sounded like a great idea for them, since it would give them the full flexibility that they were looking for, and they remembered that we have a self-catering apartment as an integrated part of the main house. This would be the ideal size for the six of them, and a more economical option compared to renting the main house, which can sleep a maximum of twelve people. Naturally, they would be able to make use of all the facilities of Villa Florencia that are available to all our guests, whether they are villa renters, B&B guests, or renting the self-catering apartment. They were only able to come for two nights, so the fact that we can rent out the apartment…

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The Italian Job, in Spain

Last Friday we were happy to welcome a group of Italian friends who had come to Gandía to celebrate a wedding. The bride (Carme) is a local girl who now lives in Italy, is marrying an Italian man, and who had returned to her hometown for the ceremony. This group of 16 friends were the guests of the groom, and Villa Florencia was the ideal base for them to stay together for a weekend that combined time spent at the ceremony and party, as well as a chance for a short self-catering break in the sun. Most of them arrived on the Friday in the late afternoon, although a few followed on in the early evening, having come in on later flights. They had decided that a villa rental would be the best option for them, and would give them a greater degree of flexibility and freedom, rather than staying in a hotel. They very quickly organised themselves with shopping trips for food and refreshments and settled in to an evening around the pool, before setting off to the bride’s family’s house for a pre-wedding party. Saturday was the actual day of the ceremony, but they only had to leave…

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The Canadians Come to Spain!

This week we were pleased to welcome some new guests who were visiting Valencia province from their home near Montreal in Canada. Marco and Claudia and their 12 year old son Michael arrived on Tuesday, and stayed with us for 3 nights, and they wanted to spend most of their time acquainting themselves with Valencia City. They did not want to stay in the city itself, however, but preferred to find accommodation in a rural setting which still gave them convenient access (preferably by public transport) to Valencia. It therefore seemed the perfect answer for them to stay with us, drive the short distance to the train station, and travel into the city with no parking or navigation worries. However, when they arrived on Tuesday in the late afternoon, they settled in to their rooms and soon made good use of the swimming pool, as they had had a long drive from Barcelona and wanted to relax in the beautiful sunshine for what was left of the day. They were having a touring holiday in Spain, but concentrating on the Costa Blanca, and also the Costa Brava further north, having originally picked up their rental car in the south of…

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Italians in Spain!

Back in April we received a booking from an Italian lady who wanted to make a reservationfor ten days for her extended family, to include her husband and herself, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, her parents and four children. A group of ten people in total – the perfect number for a whole- house rent! After some correspondence, it was decided that they would rent the whole house on a self-catering basis and would provide their own breakfasts and cook whatever meals they wanted in the kitchen themselves. We were more than happy to oblige, and assured them that we would be on hand to give them any assistance and advice they might need, as well as suggestions for how they could spend their time in our part of the Costa Blanca. A self-catering holiday on the Costa Blanca for a family of ten might not be the easiest of vacations to organise, but they all arrived in two small people carriers on the appointed morning, having arrived at Valencia airport a couple of hours earlier. They wasted no time in settling in to their rooms, and then organised themselves on shopping expeditions to buy the necessary food and drinks for…

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The Story of the Heidelberg Student´s Kiss

The Story of the Heidelberg Student´s Kiss

Several months ago we received a booking for two nights from a German couple wishing to break their journey at Villa Florencia. It turned out that they were on an extended holiday in Spain of just over three weeks, and we were to be their first stop in Spain, on their way to the Costa del Sol. They had departed from near Heidelberg and embarked on a 17 hour drive, arriving in the early evening, and looking for a well earned rest!In recent times we have had several guests stay with us in similar circumstances, as it seems Villa Florencia is at a convenient stopping point along the way down to the south of Spain and the Costa del Sol. Travelling guests feel that once they reach a point slightly south of Valencia that they are then on their way to their destination, and can afford to have some time to relax and unwind after the stress of a long journey. Klaus and his girlfriend arrived in the early evening and spent the following two nights in our self-catering apartment, which suited them very well, as the first morning they were still catching up on some much needed sleep! In…

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Best Warm Beaches in Spain

  As its name suggests, Playa de Gandia is the summer, coastal resort area of Gandia and lies a short distance from the main, inland town. With a large number of hotels and self-catering apartments offering accommodation from modest to luxury, Playa de Gandia is also the proud possessor of one of the finest beaches to be found anywhere in the Mediterranean. Awarded the prestigious Blue Flag award, the beach is backed by a beautiful promenade some seven kilometres long with shops, bars and restaurants which together provide the tourist with everything they could need for a complete seaside holiday.  Enjoy the region’s most important events and discover its customs, culture and people first hand… Discover and hidden nooks and crannies of La Safor and you’ll love the variety.The surreal and beautiful mountain formations and the landscape throughout La Safor make this district a nature lovers paradise for scaling to peaks and descending into ravines and seeing the native species. You will find a great variety of ecological hiking and biking trails and campgrounds all within a magnificent natural setting.

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Walking Holidays in Valencia Province

Valencia Bed and Breakfast

Hillwalkers from Holland Rob and his partner Matthew from Holland contacted us to ask if we had a room free at short notice, as they were currently in Extremadura and wanted to come to our part of Spain – partly to leave the rain behind (hopefully), and also they were in search of a good hiking and hill walking spot. We were more than happy to welcome them, and they duly arrived the next day. They initially booked in for two nights, but soon felt so much at home and realised the possibilities for walking in the area were so good that they extended their visit to a total of four nights. The weather was mixed during their stay, but they found a good balance – when it was bright and sunny they stayed around the pool and in the gardens, and when it was cloudy they went on one of the signposted walking routes in the surrounding orange groves or mountains. One day they even took time out to explore Valencia City, which they found a great place for a change of scene. Most of the time, however, they spent out and about in the local area and made…

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Guided Spanish Walking Holidays

Guided Spanish Walking HolidaysA feature of the area surrounding Villa Florencia is the plethora of walking routes for the hiker, all carefully signposted with distances and estimated walking times. Beautiful April weather and a visit from my nephew prompted the decision to sample the delights of one of the walking routes ourselves.Turning left out of the driveway, a few steps along the road took us to the country lane that winds through the orchards and past several villas and casitas up to the tree-line, where the walk that we had selected begins in earnest. We had decided to walk the route that is designated as the GR236, which in fact begins in the nearby village of Ermita and comes past the house. Its destination is the mountain village of La Drova, and the estimated time for the walk from the tree-line point is 2 hours 20 minutes. The weather was perfect, with warm sunshine following a light shower of rain in the early morning, so by the time we were starting in the early afternoon the air was fresh and the sun gently warmed us as we went. The entire route is marked at regular intervals either by conventional signposts,…

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