We were delighted to receive a booking from Geoff and Joan who wanted to come and stay with us for a long weekend in order to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. They have owned property for about 15 years here in Spain – further down the coast at the southern end of the Costa Blanca – and have lived permanently here for the last four years.
They have already explored many parts of the country, but had not yet visited Valencia city or this section of the Costa Blanca, and were looking for a peaceful venue for a few nights, but within easy reach of Valencia and the rest of this part of the coast. They soon settled in and for the first afternoon enjoyed the beautiful weather in the gardens, before later on joining us for our evening meal service. They were staying for a total of four nights, so were keen to get any advice we could offer regarding scenic drives, local places of interest, and of course the easiest way to visit Valencia city itself.
They spent the next day touring the area, spending time in Gandia town and the beach area, before returning to the villa in time for some more relaxation and evening meal with us again. They decided that this was an easy and convenient option after a day’s sightseeing and soon put in a standing request for meal on each of the remaining nights of their visit! Over dinner they said how impressed they were with not only the scenic beauty of the La Safor region with its mountains and valleys so close to the sea, but also loved the award-winning beaches in the Gandía area. They own a boat here in Spain, so were also particularly interested in the many boats moored in the marina at Playa de Gandía – the Yacht Club there is located at the southern end of Gandía’s beach.
Sunday was another day spent discovering yet more worthwhile places nearby – among them the inland town of Xativa and also the monastery at Simat, which has been the subject of some beautiful restoration work in recent times. Until visiting us, they (in common with most people) had never heard of it, but were glad they took the time to have a look round. The weather was still absolutely beautiful, so they were able to relax in the gardens here again, before enjoying some well-earned Cava to celebrate the day of their anniversary and another dinner with us here.
They had decided to take the train for their visit to Valencia city on Monday, so drove to Xeraco station to take advantage of the ample free car parking there – one stop up the line towards Valencia and no town traffic in Gandia to hold them up! They spent the whole day in the city, looking around places of interest and also taking the tourist bus to get a quick idea of the most worthwhile sights. An early visit to the tourist information office proved worthwhile, as they were able to take advantage of special offers only available there for reduced prices on the tourist bus as well as entrance costs to the Bio Park – an innovative and new animal park in the city. They had a really great day and were delighted with what the city had to offer, so only returned to us later than they had planned, but enjoyed a relaxed evening meal with us while they told us of their impressions of the city.
Tuesday morning was time for them to leave, but they were not rushing to return home particularly early in the day, so planned on spending time down at the playa again to have lunch there, before setting off on their relatively short journey home. They had enjoyed their time with us very much, and were pleasantly surprised with what the La Safor region had to offer, saying their visit proved you did not necessarily have to go far from home to feel the benefit of a weekend away. It was an absolute pleasure to have them visit our Casa Rural, and we hope they will return to us at some point in the future to see even more of the beauty of our local area.