Spanish Property Hunters return for a second look

Spanish Property Hunters return for a second look! A couple of weeks ago we were glad to meet Malcolm who stayed with us for one night only at the end of a property hunting trip to Spain – but that was enough to convince him that this was the part of the country that would be right to look for a home in a serious way. He found a couple of properties that he liked during that visit, so now he returned to us, but this time with his partner Paul, in order to look again at some of the houses he had already viewed before, as well as to look at some others for the first time. They had in fact been staying in a hotel in the centre of Gandia for a couple of nights before coming to us in order to get a proper feel for the town they were thinking of making their home. This period spent in the town itself only helped to confirm in their minds that Gandia is indeed the vibrant place they had thought, with plenty of heart and soul to it and well able to supply everything they would want for…

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Guided Mountain Biking in Spain

David (guide) Mario, Alain & Scott – Mountain Biking in Spain Scott, Alain and Mario from Montreal in Canada arrived on Sunday evening to stay with us for six nights and the purpose of their visit was to spend their time here mountain biking in Spain, in the beautiful mountains and countryside of the La Safor region. Scott and Alain had visited the area before, and although they had hired bikes then, they had not taken advantage of the guided mountain bike service that is available. This time they decided to do just that, and be shown new routes that they would otherwise not have discovered for themselves. After their evening arrival from Canada, they dined with us that night before getting some well-earned rest and attempting to adjust their body clocks to European time. The following morning though, on the Monday, they were eager to get on the road and set off with Dave Warrington from Mountain Biking Valencia on a route of some 30kms in the mountains of the La Safor region, starting from Pla de Corrals. They took a packed lunch with them and had a great time, returning to us in the early evening in time…

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Cross Country – XC Mountain Biking in Spain

Cross Country XC Mountain Biking in Spain Today’s cross country XC mountain biking route,…We started the route in a high valley in the mountains behind my home,.. a 10 minute drive by car.  The first couple of kilometres were a gentle pedal and this was followed by the first major ascent of the day, a 4km gruelling climb up to the next plateau. The past couple of month this specific climb has become a bit of a personal demon for me,… a number of factors (new bike, trail running, lack of training, early mornings) have contributed to my struggle against the mountain, but not today! For the first time in months I conquered the climb in one go, and still felt good once I got to the top. A very good omen for the remainder of the day, given that there was some 70km, still to go. The next 6km of the route was a beautiful high mountain riding, undulating tracks through pine forests and orchards, and this brought us to the first village & coffee stop for the day. Refreshed and re-hydrated, we set off to cross the Valle de Albaida, 20km of good pedalling on off-road tracks, interspersed with…

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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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Walking Holidays Spain (and a little property hunting too!)

Some time ago we received a reservation from David and Miranda for a three night stay here in November and so we were pleased to welcome them when they arrived this week, having stayed their first night in Valencia. They had originally booked their trip to us with the intention of considering the area for a possible house purchase, although now their emphasis had changed somewhat. Although still thinking about maybe purchasing a property in the future, they were now more interested in having a walking holiday in Spain. They had already realised what a beautiful part of the country this is and how many opportunities there are for walks and hiking along well marked routes in the area, so they decided to combine their interest in the outdoors with a little time spent viewing properties as well. After arriving early on Friday afternoon, they settled in to their room and soon set off on a short walk through the orange groves here to the rear of Villa Florencia. They walked up to the tree line of the hills behind us and came back tremendously impressed with the views stretching right across the valley. This part of the Costa Blanca…

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Pet Friendly Accommodation

We were pleased to welcome an Italian family who came to stay with us for a few days last week, Christian and Paola with their daughter Elena and their two beautifully behaved black setters – Maggie and Martha. They soon settled in, and Maggie and Marta became part of the menagerie here at Villa Florencia! It was the first time they had visited us, and they were doing a trip all around Spain but decided to make us their base for their time on the Costa Blanca. Maggie and Marta felt at home very quickly indeed, and when the weather was too hot for them in the garden they had no hesitation in taking themselves up to their room and staying there in the cool! Most of the time, however, they preferred to keep close to their owners and accompanied them on trips to Gandia and local village restaurants, as well as on a whole day excursion which took in the Albufera wetlands, a paella lunch at El Palmar, as well as a boat trip on the lagoon and a quick visit to the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia City! Well-travelled dogs indeed and perfectly behaved all the…

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