Tag: Gandia Spain

We were pleased to welcome Neil and Debs to Villa Florencia at the end of last week, with the added dimension that they are from Canada, taking five weeks to tour through Spain and Portugal, and doing the whole thing by public transport – mainly bus. We collected them from Gandía bus station and brought them to our home, and the emphasis of their trip was to stay away from large cities and towns, and to spend time walking and hiking in the hills and mountains that this country has to offer away from the better known tourist destinations. Their aim was to stay in bed and breakfast accommodation along the way, planning their route a week or so in advance and staying at each place for three or four nights at a time, which would give them the opportunity to get a feel for each area and explore the natural environment. They are keen outdoor explorers and walkers in Canada, but were taking a six month sabbatical from work to enjoy life without pressure for a change and had decided to take advantage of some European late summer sunshine, as the weather in Canada is beginning to cool considerably…

Read Article

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….

Read Article

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…

Read Article

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…

Read Article

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…

Read Article

This week-end we celebrated the final Despedida de Soltera – Bachelorette Party of the 2011 season. 10 lovely lasses from Castellon,….

Read Article

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…

Read Article

Wednesday sees the beginning of the most significant fiesta in the Valencian Community – Las Fallas. This culminates on March 19th each year, when the huge effigies that have been constructed in the streets of Valencian towns are burnt in homage to St Joseph – the patron saint of carpenters – and traditionally marks the beginning of the new season and the casting out of things left over from the previous year. The effigies are constructed during the week leading up to March 19th in the streets and squares of the towns, usually being a collective effort of that particular neighbourhood. The subsequent judging of the statues takes place, and the order in which they are ranked then determines the order in which they are burnt on the night itself, with the winner being left until last.Each day at 2.00pm from Wednesday onwards, there is a deafening fireworks display (or “mascleta”) that takes place in the large square by the railway station in Gandía, and this is the signal that the day’s festivities can commence. Shops and businesses often close for the rest of the day and the populace takes to the streets to admire the effigies that are taking…

Read Article

Early January marked the arrival of Peter and Sally, along with their good friend Margaret, who had made a booking several months before to stay with us in our self-catering apartment. They flew in to Valencia and hired a car at the airport, arriving by about midday – which meant they had had a very early start in the UK. When commenting that they obviously had no trouble finding us, since they made the trip from the airport so quickly, it emerged they knew the whole area really well, as they used to own a holiday property in Xeraco, the next town north along the coast from Gandia. So this was something of a trip down memory lane for them, visiting all the places that they knew and loved when they were regular visitors to the area. They had booked our self-catering apartment as they thought that a self-catering holiday would be the best option for them and give them the greatest level of independence, but they often chose to dine with us in the main part of the house in the evenings. Each evening they would tell us of the trips they had made that day, comparing the area…

Read Article