Category: Casa Rural

Family Reunions in Spain

Family Reunion in Spain We received a contact from Clare via our Facebook page a couple of weeks ago, to ask if it would be feasible to organise a family reunion at Villa Florencia. The situation was that Clare permanently lives near Alicante with her Spanish husband and four year-old twin daughters, and two sets of her aunts and uncles were going to be having their holidays near Castellón – the next provincial town north of Valencia. The idea was that they could all possibly meet up somewhere between the two points (so on the northern Costa Blanca) and spend some time together. Clare asked if we had overnight accommodation available for the whole group, which we had, and also whether we provide an evening meal service, which of course we do also! She therefore reserved sufficient accommodation for everyone, and the stage was set for a family reunion on Saturday, with dinner and everyone staying over on Saturday night before departing during the day on Sunday. Clare, her husband and their twins decided to stay in our self-catering apartment, although this was only for their sleeping accommodation as they were fully intending to join the rest of the family…

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Gandia Golf Course – La Galiana Golf

Gandia Golf Course – La Galiana Golf More and more people are coming to the Gandia area to enjoy the beautiful scenery and take part in some sort of outdoor activity holiday, and one that should not be overlooked by anyone thinking of this part of Spain is the game of golf. When one thinks of golf in Spain, many are drawn to the south of the country but there are some beautiful courses in this region as well. One such course is La Galiana, situated about 30 minutes’ drive from Villa Florencia (Gandia Casa Rural). It is set in the Vall de la Valldigna and the La Galiana course enjoys a spectacular setting in a valley surrounded by pine and orange groves, isolated from residential areas. More than 5000 local species of plants and trees have been used for its landscaping. This course has everything that makes golf such an attractive game. It has a great location in the Vall de la Valldigna and is a protected area of nature, where there are no residential buildings, and it features spectacular scenery and stunning views. The course itself is 18 holes Par 72 and 6975 meters from the back Tees,…

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Mediterranean Garden Plants

We recently had the pleasure of having the Theemann family from Germany visit us for a few days. They arrived with their son and daughter as well as one of their daughter’s friends, and we assumed they were here for a few days’ winter sunshine during the break in the school term. They had booked the self-catering apartment for four nights, but as they arrived fairly late in the evening they had also arranged to take advantage of our evening meal service. During dinner, it transpired that although they certainly were looking forward to a spell of much warmer weather than they had left behind n Germany, the main purpose of their trip was shopping – but not the usual souvenir shopping that many of our guests treat themselves to. Back in Germany, the Theemanns run a garden nursery business with several outlets, and they were here in order to place orders for palm and citrus trees and other Mediterranean Garden Plants for the coming season. This is an annual undertaking for them – they come to our part of Spain most years for this – and as a result they have contacts and lines of supply already well established…

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Guests from the States – Rural Bed and Breakfast

Rural Bed and Breakfast We were really pleased to welcome visitors from far away this week – Mike and Sharon Farrell and their family from the United States. They were travelling as a group of six, spanning three generations, and the main purpose of their trip was to visit another family member who was studying in Spain for a semester. The had arrived in Barcelona a few days before travelling to us, and now wanted a couple of days relaxation in a rural Bed and Breakfast before visiting their relative in Alicante. Having spent time sightseeing in Barcelona, and then more sightseeing on the way down, they finally arrived after dining en route, and were happy to settle in and relax for the rest of the evening. However, they did not want to miss the opportunity to see something of our part of Spain, so took time to plan what they would do the next day. Having heard about the famous Borgia family of the area that gave the world the only two popes of Spanish origin, they wanted to see the nearby town of Xativa, where the family came from, so made a plan to take a rural drive…

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Casa Rural Guests from Singapore

This weekend we were pleased to welcome Joseph Goh and his family, who had come all the way from Singapore to spend their holidays in Spain. They were a family of five, with Joseph and his wife, their two teenage children and a grown-up nephew. Joseph is a pilot with Singapore Airlines and enjoys taking his family to different parts of the world – and Spain was a new destination for them all. They arrived at Gandia Casa Rural by car which they had collected in Valencia, although they had flown in to Barcelona and then subsequently taken the train to Valencia. The Spanish rail network was in fact to be their principal means of transport around the country for the remainder of their trip, as they had purchased a rail pass that allowed them unlimited use of the railway for the duration of their visit Their plan was to explore our part of the Costa Blanca for a couple of days, and one of the main attractions for them was the fact that this part of the country remains genuinely unspoilt by foreign tourism and is still largely undiscovered except by the Spanish holidaymaker. After settling in during the…

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Mountain Biking in Spain, Walking and Winter Sunshine Holidays

Autumn Activity Holiday – Mountain Biking in Spain, Walking and Winter Sunshine Towards the end of October we received a reservation from Anne and Nigel who wanted to come to our part of the Costa Blanca in order to have an activity holiday in some welcome autumn sunshine. It was their intention to spend time getting to know some of the towns and villages in this part of Spain – which they had not visited before – and also to be out in the beautiful countryside both on foot and with mountain bikes. Since they were experienced mountain bike enthusiasts, they had already been in touch with Mountain Biking Valencia to arrange the rental of bikes for some of the days of their visit. They wanted to combine some guided excursions with some skills training, so by the time they arrived they had a fairly clear idea of what they wanted from their holiday. Dave and his wife Carolina joined Anne and Nigel here at Gandia Casa Rural for dinner on the night of their arrival in order to meet with him face to face and decide on the form the ride should take on their first full day of Mountain…

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