Las Fallas & Easter Fiestas

Las Fallas Fiesta in Gandia! “Las Fallas” is one of the biggest fiestas of the year in the Valencia region – it’s the one that everyone has seen pictures about, where the different districts of each town build huge wood and papier-mâché effigies about local events and then they all get burnt to the ground on the night of March 19th – St. Joseph’s day. The fiesta is a huge attraction for tourists, both Spanish and foreign, and we were delighted to welcome Sandy and her husband David back to us for a second year to enjoy the preparations and festivities.  They chose to stay in our self-catering apartment again as they found last year that it suited them perfectly.  They combined their accommodation there with taking breakfast and dinner in the dining terrace with the other guests, so had the advantages of both.  As far as Valencian residents are concerned, Fallas marks the end of the old season – essentially winter – and the beginning of the spring and all things new.  It always culminates on the same date, March 19th, and so also marks the beginning of the build-up to the most important time of year of all…

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Pet Friendly Holidays in Spain

Pet Friendly Holidays

Last week we were visited by Helena and Stuart, who wanted to spend some time in the spring sunshine on their Pet Friendly Holidays in Spain. They were attracted not only by the chance to have some warmer temperatures than where they live in France, but also by the fact that they were able to bring their lovely dog Angelo along with them to enjoy our pet friendly accommodation. They also decided to have a bit of a reunion with a good friend of theirs from their native Scotland – Maggie – who flew out the following day to join them here. Helena, Stuart and Angelo arrived on the Sunday afternoon by car from France and soon settled in to their room. Angelo made friends with our dogs in no time and before long they were all playing happily in the garden like one extended family. Angelo even grew accustomed to our cats very quickly and learned that a slow approach is needed if you want to make real friends with them! After dinner that night, they were all more than happy to retire for an early night and a well-earned rest after their long journey. The next day was…

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Bed and Breakfast between Barcelona and Granada

Situated on the outskirts of Gandia about halfway down the Mediterranean coast, our bed and breakfast is close to motorway access points from both the north and the south, and are conveniently situated for travellers looking to break their journey.  Many of our guests stay with us for a night or two on the way from Barcelona to Granada or Malaga for example – possibly en route to or from holiday homes or just travelling through the country on a tour of Spain. We were recently pleased to welcome several such guests who found us a convenient stopping-off point to spend a short time and have a rest from travelling.  Irma and Andre (originally from South Africa but now living in Switzerland) visited us for a couple of nights, taking the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the area in general.  They have in mind that they might want to relocate at some point in the future but are not exactly sure what the various regions of Spain have to offer so stayed with us to see how we had settled in the country and how they liked this area in particular.  They were very pleasantly surprised at how much they…

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Property Hunting on the Costa Blanca

House Hunters become House Purchasers! We were delighted to receive a booking from property hunters Andrew and Sandra, who wanted to stay with us for a couple of weeks, starting shortly after Christmas. They had stayed with us in September – property hunting, during which time they had found the house they wanted to buy, and now the purpose of their visit was to move the purchasing process forward and to establish exactly what work they would want to have done in the house – and obtain quotes, make contacts with tradesmen and of course check out the local DIY stores for future reference! Andrew and Sandra are buying a Spanish property at a really great time. They are able to make the most of the advantageous exchange rate at the moment, as well as benefitting from the vastly reduced prices of property here on the Costa Blanca. Many people are realising that this great combination is a huge advantage right now, with the result that we have seen a noticeable increase in the number of property hunters – and indeed buyers – compared to the last few years since the financial crisis of 2008. Sandra and Andrew are buying…

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Autumn Sunshine Activity Holidays

Autumn Sunshine Activity Holidays! The heat of summer may be over, but the weather continues to be beautiful, with lots of sunshine and very mild temperatures. It is at this time of year – and also of course in the spring – when there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy all the other delights of this part of the Costa Blanca than just the summer seaside attractions. Lucy and Ashley recently returned to us for their third visit, and they take great pleasure in participating in outdoor pastimes and sports – something which this area of the Costa Blanca offers the fringe season visitor in abundance. They stayed with us for just over a week in our self-catering apartment and made the most of their time getting out and about doing lots of different activities as well as some conventional sightseeing in Valencia city itself. Because temperatures have remained so mild, it is still very pleasant to swim in the sea so Lucy & Ashley decided one day to combine two of their interests into one all-day experience. They had made arrangements to go horse riding at stables near the beach, and so went for an escorted ride along the…

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Casa Rural 2014 Summer of Diversity

Pet Friendly Accommodation

Casa Rural 2014 Summer of Diversity 2014 has been a long and busy season for us at Villa Florencia Casa Rural, with a wide variety of guests from countries all over Europe and beyond. We were happy to welcome so many new visitors, but delighted that a large number of guests returned to us who had been here before. Not only has our Bed and Breakfast accommodation been as popular as ever, but bookings for our self-catering apartment have been at a very high level, with guests checking in there almost continuously throughout the year. The first bookings of 2014 were for visitors coming for the attractions and activities that are best enjoyed in this part of the Costa Blanca in the cooler months of the year – hillwalking, mountain biking, rock climbing, etc. In addition, “Las Fallas” is the first annual fiesta in the local calendar, and this year we had guests visit us especially for the celebrations. They had been to the area before and enjoyed the fiesta in previous years, but this was the first time they had stayed with us – and they clearly enjoyed the experience as they have already booked again for 2015! More…

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