Bed and Breakfast Blog - Page 24 of 24 - Villa Florencia Casa Rural Gandia

Spain Driving Holidays

Costa Blanca Driving Holidays. Many of our guests like to take a trip down the coast and to include a mixture of sights and sounds along the way. A favourite route takes them through Denia and Calpe, and then on to the picturesque resort of Altea. This has often been called ‘the artists capital of the Costa Blanca’, as the narrow streets of the old town are lined with the workshops and galleries of the artists and potters who have made their home there. You can buy their produce at evening markets in the main square of the town in the summer months as a souvenir of your visit. Altea is in fact only a short distance – about 7 kilometres – from the lively and well-known holiday centre of Benidorm, but could not be more different. Altea has a picturesque feel about it, with a famous church distinguished by its blue and white domes, and 2 harbours – the old fishing one and a newer sports harbour on the side of the town nearer Calpe. Bars and restaurants offer a good choice of places where you can enjoy yourself and have a nice meal, and Altea also has its…

Ramblers take on Costa Blanca Mountains

Out latest guests from Germany on the Spanish walking Holiday in the Lasafor Mountains, around Gandia. A group of friends from near Munich arrived in the early hours of Tuesday night/Wednesday morning to stay with us for 4 nights and to use Villa Florencia as a base for hill walking and hiking expeditions. They had chosen to come to this part of Spain, rather than the Sierra Nevada for their walking, because it is a less touristy area and one that they felt might be worth exploring. Wednesday morning found them eager to depart for the mountains nearby, and they went to the La Drova and Barx area only a few kilometres away. They spent the day following two hiking trails, one of which took them up Monduver – the highest mountain in the La Safor range – and provided them with spectacular views of the area. They went further afield on Thursday and spent the day in the Jalon valley to the south of here – still only about 40 minutes drive away though. Again, they followed recommended hiking routes, had a great time and enjoyed the superb scenery of the region. Friday was a different story – they…

Monastery Route

The “Monasteries Route” – or “Ruta dels Monestirs” as it is called locally – provides an itinerary which passes through the central areas of Valencia, linking five ancient convents or monasteries. It can be done easily by road with direct access to the monasteries, or equally well on foot using the GR-236 hiking path, which follows medieval mountain paths (the Pas del Pobre), authentic old tracks, and old railway lines. Along its 90km length from Gandía to Alzira we pass through a wide range of villages, valleys, rivers and mountains. The Monestir de Sant Jeroni near Alfauir was built by Alfons el Vell (Duke of Gandía) in order to take in the Jeroni monks of Javea in 1388. A particularly outstanding feature is the gothic style cloisters, and also well worth visiting are the Romantic style gardens which were constructed by the Trénor family, who are still the current owners. The Convent del Corpus Christi near Llutxent dates from 1422 when Dominican monks began its construction, and in fact the first Valencian university was housed here. Right by the monastery you will find the Corpus Christi Church, built in a mediterranean gothic style, and which was declared a national monument…

A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT Marchuquera is an area that lies to the west of the town of Gandia, stretching to the municipal boundaries of Ador and Palma de Gandia, with the mountainous areas of Sierra Falconera in its centre and Sierra Grossa to the west. Its total land area is approximately 750 hectares, or 12.21% of the total area of the municipality of Gandia. Crossing through Marchuquera is the road that lies to the west of Gandia and which leads to Simat via La Drova and Barx across the Coll dels Caragols. It is here that we can appreciate the scale of the mountains that enclose our wonderful valley. From any point in Marchuquera you can see the guardian of the valley – the mountain of Monduver – rising up in the distance like an 840 metre high giant which seems to watch over our lives from above. Nature has ensured that Marchuquera is divided up into two distinct parts with the mountain of Falconera in the middle, which exactly separates Marchuquera Alta and Marchuquera Baixa with the road called Raco de Tomba. The climate here, combined with the protection given by the mountains and the gentle prevailing breezes,…

La Drova

La Drova is situated at the base of Mt. Monduver (841m). If you climb to the top there is a panoramic view of the La Safor region, and on a clear day it is possible to see the island of Ibiza. The area is mountainous with numerous walks of all degrees of difficulty, but well worth the effort for the views alone. This natural environment is a refuge for a variety of flora and fauna. There are two dozen different herbs to be found growing wild on the slopes, many specialty trees and rare orchids. The skies are dominated by the stately Royal Eagle – you will find it gliding above the crags seeking prey. Within the forest, woodpeckers and nightingales live together with weasels, badgers and an animal that has returned to the forest after centuries, the boar. The calls most prevalent at night are those of the fox, the little owl, barn owl and common owl. La Drova and Barx have spring water sites, which make excellent stopping points for replenishing bottles when walking or cycling. Restaurant Parpallo in La Drova village is famous throughout the area for their paellas. 10 mins from the large town of Gandia…