Autumn Sunshine Holidays in 2013
We have been delighted to welcome a steady succession of guests this year who have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather we have been experiencing here on the Costa Blanca. The summer this year has been a very long-lasting one with daytime temperatures in October in the high twenties or occasionally even the low thirties. Night temperatures are of course lower now, which means that the swimming pool is only usable by the more hardy of our guests, but there is still a great opportunity for getting a late tan and storing up some sunshine before having to endure the winter months ahead in northern Europe.
There is still plenty to do here during such lovely warm days, and of course the sea temperature is still holding up well for those guests who are beach enthusiasts. And once the novelty of sitting and enjoying the sunshine at this time of year has worn off a bit, the slightly cooler temperatures mean that our guests can take part in outdoor activities which might be uncomfortable during the really hot months of the summer.
Sue and Gareth for example came for a few days relaxation in the sun on a Autumn Sunshine Holidays, but decided they wanted to explore the immediate area around Gandia, so they hired mountain bikes for a couple of days. They are quite accustomed to riding bikes around where they live in London, but thoroughly enjoyed the experience in our beautiful green valley. They spent one day cycling around to the monastery of Sant Jeroni and having lunch at a local bar, and another day was spent exploring Gandia town itself. They cycled to the historic part of the main town, and then headed off to Playa de Gandia to enjoy the beach and have lunch in a seafront café before heading home to the casa rural here for some time round the pool and then evening meal.
Tony and Angela were another couple who visited us in search of some late summer sunshine on a Autumn Sunshine Holidays, and they also had a great time relaxing and getting to know some of the towns and villages in the vicinity. One day, they also took the opportunity to go to Valencia city using the cheap and convenient train service and spent the day there seeing the sights from the open-top tourist bus. They went on both available routes, and took in all the sights in the historic centre, as well as seeing the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias), the innovative Bio Park – a zoo without visible barriers between the visitor and the animals – and the restored port and beach areas.
Other recent guests came to us from Holland and Belgium as well as the UK, and many were combining the opportunity of some autumn sunshine with a property hunting expedition, making some preliminary enquiries about homes for sale in the area at the same time as having a welcome break in the warmth of the Costa Blanca. Even October here can be a really lovely month, as so many of our guests have found out. It has been great to be able to welcome so many this year, who have – often at the last minute – decided to take the chance to soak up a bit of autumn warmth and sunshine. Long may the settled weather last!