We have a villa - Villa No name yet, Partida Xironets, Calle 10B no 3, Els Poblets 03770, Costa Blanca, Spain!

Local Church, Els Poblets - Wedding anyone?

This is a quick entry as we loose the 24/7 internet lunchtime today (Wed 01 May) HAPPY MAY DAY and we are very likely to move to the Villa tomorrow.

Cafe' Andreau - by the river (sort of river)

Yesterday was one of the most exhausting days of our lives... starting early and finishing with a set of keys. Fernando the fixer was truly amazing in a world where people still do things face to face and it is not what you know but who you know. God knows what just went on - we have no idea!

Wild flowers on the beach - just like S Africa in spring :)

What do you do with a villa with nothing of yours and/or anything of any real value in it when you are not planning to return until later in the year (after the main holiday season) and it's costing you real money every month... the man Fernando the fixer... He say "you must rent it out... of course... the going rate for this villa... with a pool... for the 6 weeks holiday is over 1000 Euro a week "... 1000 E week!!!

View from the beach inland (best view :)

So imagine getting 10 Wright Lane ready to rent after its been standing empty for months full of lots of kit and even more junk and you can get a feel for what life will be like in the sun for us for the next couple of weeks... washing, cleaning (all those bloody toilets again), painting, buying (beds, pans), building (car port), gardening, wood hunting and learning (pool maintenance etc)... 'what does this switch do?... what is this key for?'

Els Poblets beach - 500m from Villa 'no name yet'

Further blog update possible (lots more photos etc) if time, but should have some email access... if not see you all at the end of May when we will be looking forward to a holiday in our little (one bedroom, one bathroom :) flat. Some people never learn. As you can imagine it going to take time to find out what it all means for us - but that is the point - it's the journey that defines you and make life worth living.

Villa from across the park... you'll love the park!

Happy Birthday to John, Reece, Kaitlin, Dave, Taryn, Anth and Juile - wow!

Love to all, take care

Jane (rubber gloves on!) and Den (what the hell is that for?)

PS Taryn, would you like the 'Clown' picture as a birthday present :) ?

"Lies, damned lies, and statistics." 320 days of sunshine my ….

Fellow campers... Barry & Carol 

Not a lot of news and not a lot of action at the moment…

We are already well integrated into Spanish life… eating at 7 – 8pm, drinking too much employing a Romanian gardener, a quote from ‘Barry the builder’, buying German bread from Lidil (they just can’t make bread can they!)… blaming Franko for the trains and just about everything else (just google him Taryn… ‘General Franko, Spain’ ; ) and worrying about the record level of unemployment (27%) as they say in the expat community “TIS… This is Spain…”

Joking apart… The unemployment situation is no joke for them or us.

Brit abroad... puts a toe in the water

Apart from some concern over the 320 days… It has rained for the last couple of days and doing some detailed analysis it now seems possible that some days may count as both wet and sunny bringing the number down to around 300 totally sunny days! This could be a deal breaker unless our estate agent Fernando can do something about it. He has already ferried us to the bank, police station, tax office and God know where else and provided a mobile phone and two bikes for us to use and to get the deal done. Estate agents really earn their money (5%) over here.

Els Poblets

Apart from the house buying hoops we have been going through we have not been feeling that good. Jane developed what can only be described as a bad head cold / flu and me following with more of a conventional cold a few days later while Jane is left with a hacking cough. We can’t remember the last time either of us had a cold  so it is a bit of a shock but it all part of travelling and you are unlikely to feel sorry for us.

A you would expect we are not doing a lot of travelling at the moment so bit of a recap some more detail / photos… House buying is not for the faint hearted and in a foreign country with an alien system in a foreign language, buying from someone with a third language is going to give you a few sleepless nights.

Jane hits Denia

The area south of Valencia is beautiful. It has a bit of everything and is the kind of area that it is easy to imagine yourself spending some time in. So we camped up… contacted a few estate agents and looked around the area of Denia. It is a cosmopolitan town but more touristy than we wanted for a home… and we really like the area where the camp site is - a bit out of the town. We settled for the local estate agent - whose whole family live in the same street that his office is in so has more to loose if he does not give a good service. We looked at lots of villas that we could not really afford in the area we liked most. We found a villa that was obviously a real home – lived in all year round etc. It had lots of ‘extras’ like central heating, fruit trees, a fish pond and was in the village of Els Poblets. In the centre, an area that can’t be further developed. In Els Poblets there are 10 bars, 12 restaurants a few shops and a couple of banks. People live here all year… Swiss, German, French and Spanish all around although as you would expect many of them like us will have periods away / back home. The Swiss guy who owned the villa (Alfredo) is a retired IT engineer who had already moved to Denia. Even though he spoke only a little English we all got on really well. We think he really likes us. We made him an offer, considerably lower than the asking price, all face to face (that was a bit scary) at our second viewing and Alfredo said if we upped that offer by 5000 Euros it was a deal!! much to the surprise of the agent who said  “bloody hell – I don’t think he has understood”.

'Alfred' style Nispero cake... note its a historical reference

There was some confusion as to whether Alfredo actually understood the offer that was on the table but he did J and we bit his hand off… and then shook it… quickly, before he could change his mind. The market is depressed and this property had already been reduced and nearly sold twice but we think we got a lot of villa for the money. The villa includes everything that they, Alfredo and his wife (doctor), did not want or could not fit into their new apartment in Denia. So we think it means we have effectively bought a furnished villa. Not everything is to our taste but a great start... lots of green : ( There are things that we must do and lots that we want to do…the light green toilet fittings must go, and we can’t get our motorhome under the car port (sun shade) but no major costs – we hope.

New bird in Den's life?  'Mullida'  (Fluffy)... the dove from above

We want to learn Spanish, don’t need English TV and can live without knowing if it raining back in the UK… but we have a sneaky suspicion that most of the 800,000 will have said that at some stage!

You can see some more pictures and plans at the following location. It is Alfredo’s (the Swiss owner) web site so in German and note some of the picture are when he moved in 15 years ago.

https://picasaweb.google.com/sialwe/Xironets10b?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKLi3qPe4Z76eQ&feat=directlink

Have fun in the UK sun : )

Den and Jane X

Sun, Sea, Café life style and 320 days of sun a year…

We are still camped at the Odissea camp site about 9 miles north of Denia in the process of buying a Villa.

We were here originally for 3 days but to be honest there are so many beautiful properties on sale at very interesting prices it was always going to be difficult not to find something we both really, really, really liked. OK, we have considered the Costa Blanca coastal area of Spain a couple of times before simply because it has the best climate in Europe... assuming you like the sun. One thing that has put us off in the past is the number of northern Europeans living here (800,000 British residents) and the acres of apartments, villas and beach / holiday type property that tends to be soulless and lifeless out of season. We had sort of seen ourselves as 'better than that' living in a little Italain town… but the advantages of Spain for us revolve around the fact that we are actually no different to the other 800,000 Brits and hundreds of thousands of other northern European residents and visitors to the area. Like them we love the weather and the lifestyle. Once in your own home, in a small(ish) village you can pick and choose what you take from what else is on offer (and there is a lot) to build the everyday experience that you are looking for. So the best way to look at it is to imagine we are buying a house in Kesgrave... but in Spain.

'Shut up and show us some photo's...'

Entrance gate and car shade area (need to raise for RV Anth!)

Jane looking into the conservatory / front

 

Back garden... small, but lemons, oranges and palm trees

Jane makes plans for the upstairs (apartment)... breakfast area?

Jane, Alfredo (Swiss owner) and huge lemon on 3rd level sun terrace

View Els Poblets (our little town) from the 3rd level... looking towards Monte Pego

View to the beach... less than 1/2 mile, 10 mins walk

That beach... Platya Almadrava. It may get a bit more crowded in the summer?

Arizona bar (on the beach) especially lined up for Julie and David's visit!

Opps!... back to villa inside, harder to visualise but lounge (Spanish wood burner) into kitchen 

Conservatory with indoor BBQ? (don't ask)... looking out to the pool 

Main square of Els Poblets... coffee and cake 1.80 Euro each (£1.50)

We could go on (3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, garage, fully furnished)  BUT we haven't bought it yet and the money markets are not good for an exchange transfer (internet, and a bit scary given the sums involved)... and to top that it has actually just clouded over here today... the 1st day in two weeks in Denia :( Jane's has just said that it is time to move on... she not going anywhere that the sun doesn't shine everyday.

More next time... what there is to do here in the area and how we think things may possibly work for us.

Take care

Naturally we would love you to come and visit if and when. NB We will still be back in the UK end of May as planned whatever the final outcome.

Good Luck with the new job Chris - sure that you will do just great!

Den and Jane X

Sunny Spain lives up to its billing... Barcelona and Valencia

                    Barcelona... Gaudi or gaudy?     Will the Sagrada Familia catherdral ever be finished ?

Our first stop in Spain was at Mattaro and a great camp site aptly named Camping Barcelona. The site fee included a free shuttle bus into Barcelona about 30 mins away. This vibrant Catalan capital is a focus for millions of tourist like us and from that perspective was pretty much as expected... wall to wall people and gaudy Gaudi at every turn. Easter meant that there were even more people than normal including a lot of Americans... or do they just stand out more?

Barcelona is a fantastic city and walking around it for over 10 miles we got to see a lot of the outside attractions and loved every minute of it. After the UK winter the weather here seems too good to venture inside the museums so it was a walking tour.

La Rambla -  no sign of the recession here

Not sure if I (Den) personally get the Gaudi adoration thing going on here. For me it is an uncomfortable mix of infrastructural
architecture, defining structural requirements and religion - well for the glorification of God anyway. It's different, thought provoking, colourful and organic in form but the end result often has a childlike, over indulgent look and feel. I am all for bending the rules (any rule) but this seemed more an attempt to extrapolate the unwritten natural laws... which unfortunately, in my opinion, is only be done successfully by God or Disney and I am not a big fan of either ;)

L'Eixample fountains 

As much as Gaudi and the city planners have tried, Barcelona does not have that organic feel of truly great cities, battered by time, greed and the often pointless human endeavor over generations... is it all too perfect and pretty? I even had a nagging suspicion that the world famous La Rambla - some serious paseo (to walk) and people watching - is only there because the city planners had limited options when they sunk the main metro line shaft under the city... just feel those vibrations man!. More La Rumble than La Rambla.

We wear these even when no sun - just for you!

Now Valencia that's a real Spanish city - mad drivers, noisy, less obvious tourists, where even the best attempts of the city planners - beautiful squares, palms and the most fantastic Post Office building - can't hide the grit and confusion of a place where people continue to do what they having been doing forever. Ripping off the visitors... not true, we loved Valencia, it is a beautiful city to amble around in, drink coffee and eat Paella.

I was supposed to include a picture of us walking in shorts and T-shirts on the lovely sandy beach at Peniscola (yes you guessed it - knob joke coming up) but 'we' forgot my camera. I lied about the knob joke. The twin beaches of Peniscola and Benicarlo exactly halfway between Barcelona and Valencia made the perfect antidote for the two city stops.

Valencia old town wall / gate

In Valencia we stayed at a site right in the centre - 10 mins walk into town. OK it was close to a motorway slip road but the continuous drone lulls you to sleep after a while, assuming the fear of driving in the city has exhausted you to the point of collapse anyway :)

Valencia for us marked the critical point that occurs in any longish journey in a motorhome. 

That feeling when you know that you have done the heavy driving and you can begin to stop 

more, explore, relax and think “this would be a good place to live”. For us this feeling translates into a fruit buying binge.

Oranges everywhere... and the fragrance :)

Ever wondered how you keep 3kg of strawberries, 5kg of oranges, 6kg of water melon and a papaya in addition to the normal bags of bananas, apples and pears in tiny (hot) space with a fridge the size of a postage stamp… Yes, we are vegetarian but I personally will kill to avoid eating another piece of water melon and Jane has started flying around at night and roosting upside down in trees? (NB fruit bat reference – nothing to do with her revisited wine addiction)

Plazza de La Vergen, Valencia

Piece of strawberry flan anybody? While we are on the subject, to watch Jane cook cakes, flans and ‘normal’ meals in a cube that you reach out and touch all 6 surfaces without moving  (our kitchen) is a wonder to behold. For most people the motorhome oven remains unused as it’s BBQ’s, pizza etc or the local (cheap) bars and restaurants’.

Valencia is the home of paella so the oven had a holiday while we did paella verduras (vegetable :) in the Plazza de La Vergen (Virgin ;). Unlike the culinary experience in many tourist locations in big cities - they know you are never coming back - this meal was rather good. So we had a glass of wine and watched the children play, the police answer questions, the lovers cuddle and the pigeons clean up as the light faded and another day slid by. 

Did I mention that we were feeling relaxed?

Paella verduras in Plazza de La Vergen, Valencia

For the record;

French / Spanish border at Perpigana,  Figueres, Barcelona, Peniscola, Valencia

Next post is Denia where we have been looking at Villa’s - as you do after any “this would be a good place to live” feeling.

Hope you are all well… Rapid recovery Norm and Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday Kelsey and Chris (congratulations on the new job - good luck :) and Hi Sophie.

Cheers,   Den and Jane X

PS The next blog will include pictures and details... of the villa we are interested in buying in Els Poblets, near Denia on the sunny Costa Blanca... Sun, deep blue sky and 31C in the motorhome today! 

Ah... The open road! Home may be where the heart is but there is something to be said for taking it with you and heading South. Add lots of cold winter days and that crippling East wind and I bet your suitcase is packed already?

Millau, France

The only real problem in heading for the southern sun in a motorhome when it's cold and snowy at home is that everything is freezing including the ferry and at least half of France! Travelling on the non toll roads is a bit slower but you get to see more of the country assuming that it is warm enough to warrant getting out of the cab.

Grand Viaduct Di Millau (one section of it)

We have travelled a fair bit of France already but to be honest we have yet to see it in it's full glory - the wine is good though. We are looking forward to a summer trip when it is inviting enough to stay rather than just transit through to somewhere else.
Only on the third day was it warm enough 15 - 20C to begin to explore. However, being the Easter Bank holiday it did rain a little just to make us feel at home. We found ourselves in Millau a typically French motorhome friendly town. Millau is a pretty place about 100 miles from the Med coast with one of the world most amazing bridges spanning it's valley... 7 sections, 326m high with the huge towers often sticking through the low cloud. This stylish structure was designed by an Englishman (yes!) and built by a Frenchman...

Good Friday - Tapas and bad hair day :-) 

Millau is famous for glove making and we saw some being made and some fantastic examples but at £80+ it will come as no surprise that we didn't buy any or that the industry has suffered at the hands of cheap imports.

One observation (for Mitch) - FREE WiFi? - like most free things in life it is seldom free and if it is - it tends not to work Many town have 'free' WiFi zones often near the Tourist Information office but once again this is often more PR than IT. Millau was no exception! However most pay camping sites had WiFi pay options normally E2 - 5 per day and some have a 10 min FREE trial period, long enough to check your emails?

Divine intervention in Narbonne... or sunshine?

With the weather getting warmer we camped in Narbonne just about on the Med coast. Everything here was automated with lots of push buttons and credit card payments. These machines always makes us a bit nervous since the time we had to extract our card from the grips of a faulty machine with a pair of long nosed pliers. In this case it was a blessing as being Easter Sunday there was no one around. A short,  sunny walk along the river into the old centre of Narbonne and some running repairs (a bit of soldering) to the radio and the day was done... It rained... and we headed south, as it is written, Rule One in 'Jane's Book of Motorhoming'!

Narbonne old town

We will be in Spain for the next posting.

Our route through France;

Cleres,     Porcacin Sur Sioule,
Millau (2nights),    Narbonne

Den and Jane X    Take care :-)