Den Engel Restaurant Playa Flamenca – During the family holiday in the summer myself and my stepson David took a trip down to Playa Flamenca where we wanted to try out the well known lobster restaurant Den Engel. The restaurant itself is in a great spot on the seafront between Playa Flamenca’s 2 beaches and you an sit and watch the sea while enjoying a fine lobster meal. Believe it or not I have never had lobster before and was long overdue for this renowned delicacy. I must say however that though I enjoyed it for the experience, it is not something that I would worry about having again. Its all a bit too much of an effort for me, give me a decent prawn any day, and I’m not sure it was worth the money really although Dave treated me for my birthday, so it was free for me! The apartments above the commercial centre must enjoy some pretty fabulous views, well worth considering if you are planning a trip to Playa Flamenca.
December 13, 2011
November 14, 2011
Novelda Spain
Novelda Spain: A town situated between Elda and Aspe in the Alicante province of Valencia, Spain, Novelda is an important area for the production of marble, with many factories on the approaches to the town. A historic town, Novelda was settled by Greeks and Romans long before the Moors arrived to control the area. Its best known monument is the Santa Maria Magdalena monastery (which may remind you of the famous Sagrada Familia in Barcelona), it was designed by a protégé of Gaudi during the 19th century. Also worth a look in Novelda is the Arabic castle of Mola and the Museum of Moderista. Today Novelda has a population of over 27,000 and is a mostly industrial town. Novelda Map.
November 1, 2011
Monforte del Cid Alicante
Monforte del Cid Alicante – Originally called Nompot in the 13th century, the town of Monforte del Cid is situated in the Alicante province of Spain. The town was awarded to his son by King Alfonso in 1328 along with a number of other villages, and by 1355 it was already being referred to as Monfort, later being changed to Monforte in 1708, the Del Cid part of the name was added in 1916 by Royal Decree. Monforte del Cid is well known for its grapes, especially dessert grapes and its economy has depended on grapes for many centuries. If you visit Monforte del Cid be sure to look at the 15th century Gothic parish church.
August 26, 2011
La Mata Costa Blanca
La Mata Costa Blanca – A small town and coastal resort located between Torrevieja and Guardamar del Segura, La Mata has become increasingly popular in recent years, as a holiday destination. Long popular with the Spanish themselves, La Mata has now been discovered by International tourists, and has also attracted those seeking to buy holiday homes in the sun. Backed by a large salt lake and natural park (The Parque Natural de La Mata y Torrevieja), La Mata has some fine sandy beaches and an attractive coastline, in the town are a good range of shops, together with cafes, bars and restaurants. La Mata enjoys sunny weather conditions most of the year making it a truly all year round resort, it is easily reached from the N-332 and is just a couple of miles from the town of Torrevieja.
August 22, 2011
Ciudad Quesada Spain
Entrance to Ciudad Quesada
Ciudad Quesada Spain – A unique and interesting place located inland of Torrevieja, on the Costa Blanca, Spain is the new city of Ciudad Quesada, built since the 1970’s and the product of a dream by a man named Justo Quesada Samper. As a child this extraordinary man dreamt of a city where people could live together in peace and harmony and enjoy life to the full, with everything to hand and available. As the city started to grow it developed around the holiday home plan and many International citizens began buying properties in the city making it a truly Cosmopolitan area. Now the city of Quesada (as it is more commonly known) is fully complete and has its own Town Hall, medical centre, shops, bars, restaurants, social club, eighteen hole golf course and aqua water park, plus much more. Mostly built upon a hillside, Ciudad Quesada offers some spectacular views over Rojales, the nearby salt lakes and on to the azure blue Mediterranean Sea. Quesada benefits from sunny weather all year round, so has became a popular holiday resort, with hundreds of detached villas with pools available for rent. You can reach Ciudad Quesada using the CV-905 from Torrevieja or the handy AP-7 motorway which connects the city with both Murcia and Alicante airports.
August 9, 2011
Campoverde Spain
El Pinar de Campoverde
Campoverde Spain – An attractive little village located inland of Pilar de la Horadada on the Costa Blanca, El Pinar de Campoverde (normally just referred to as “Campoverde”) has mostly developed due to the demand for holiday homes in the sun. Campoverde is especially renowned for its detached villas many of which stand on good sized plots and despite their inland position, still have sea views due to their being build on a hillside. This sizeable development of villas attracted the building of a new golf course for the area, and this has now taken shape in the form of the Lo Romero golf course, fast becoming one of the most popular courses in the area. Due to its inland position the villas of Campoverde were generally a little more affordable than similar properties built on the coast, this and its situation close to golf have added to its attractiveness. While inland, Campoverde is still within easy reach of the beaches of the Costa Blanca and Costa Calida, with also plenty of other golf courses nearby.
August 3, 2011
Orihuela Costa Resorts Cabo Roig and Playa Flamenca
Orihuela Costa Coastline Near Playa Flamenca
Orihuela Costa Resorts Cabo Roig and Playa Flamenca – There are many of you who probably never have heard of the Orihuela Costa, while there are other who take their holidays there every year. For those of you who don’t know where it is, I will explain. In the southern area of the Costa Blanca region, within the province of Alicante, the Orihuela Costa is a section of coast which belongs to the inland town of Orihuela (as is the habit in Spain of providing inland towns with a section of coast that they administer). Now this developed later than other better known areas of the Costa Blanca, such as Benidorm, which started much earlier, in fact the Orihuela Costa has mostly developed over the last 20 years or so, Playa Flamenca was begun in the early 1970’s by Dutch property developers, and is a recent resort with little history. On the reverse of this, Cabo Roig has some history, and its ancient watchtower displays evidence of this in the most powerful way, as it has existed for many centuries, in fact way back when pirates sailed these seas. Both resorts have become popular as holiday home locations and many Brits and Irish have settled permanently there (together with Germans and Scandinavians among others). I will be writing more about these resorts shortly.
August 1, 2011
Elche Huerto del Cura
The Imperial Palm - Huerto del Cura Elche
Elche Huerto del Cura: One of my favourite places to visit in the Costa Blanca city of Elche, is the Hurto del Cura or Priest’s Garden, this hidden gem is especially attractive on a hot summers day as the hundreds of palm trees there provide some welcome shade from the scorching sun.
Surrounded by busy city streets, this is a strangely tranquil place, the stone walls encircling it, blocking out much of the city noise. Inside you will find hundreds of species of palm trees of varying sizes, culminating in the huge eight armed Imperial Palm, the pride of the garden, which is some 170 years old and is supported by metal straps which prevent it from collapsing under its huge eight tons of weight. Pretty little lily padded ponds trickle with water and an amazing cactus garden with some immense specimens adds to the pleasure.
Pop into the little shop an you can purchase your own date palm to take home, maybe one day you will get some dates of your own, in the mean time purchase some dates which have been cultivated on-site, delicious. From the Huerto del Cura you can easily walk to many of the other attractions of Elche, so it is a great place to break up a days visit, cool down and chill out for a while, before continuing your visit. This fine garden of course celebrates the history of the palm tree in Elche, and surrounding the city you will certainly not miss the huge palm forest which dates back to the times of the ancient Phoenicians who settled here over two thousand years ago.
San Fulgencio Costa Blanca
San Fulgencio Church
San Fulgencio Costa Blanca – One of the traditional village of the Vega Baja district of the Costa Blanca, San Fulgencio began life during the early 18th century when it was built on reclaimed land, taken from the marshes of the River Segura.
Surviving on agriculture since these early times, it has become popular as a tourist destination with many holiday homes being built nearby on the ever growing La Marina urbanization.
The village centre still has the look of the typical Spanish village of the region, with a tree shaded village square bounded by its town hall and parochial church. The village square is the centre of life in the village, and the village elders gather there to chat about what’s going on in the village and the world in general.
While San Fulgencio is an inland village, it is quite close to local beaches such as Guardamar del Segura and La Marina, and attracts tourist who want a bit of peace and quiet while still being able to access the busy beach areas.
July 29, 2011
Cabo Roig Summer 2011
Cabo Roig Summer 2011 – Well summer is here once again, together with the hot sunny weather and of course droves of holidaymakers, all making a lot of noise and crowding out the bars, beaches and shops. I guess I shouldn’t complain, especially as I am in the holiday rental business, but I will be glad when October arrives and all the madness ends for another year. Gill has been trying out her underwater metal detector both on Cabo Roig beach and on the Mar Menor, the latter being more successful due to the shallower and calmer water, she has found some gold, so hopefully make a few bob.
July 22, 2011
La Marina Beach
La Marina Beach
La Marina Beach – One of the finest beaches to be found on the Costa Blanca coastline of Spain, the beach at La Marina is long, wide and sandy, it attracts visitors from all over the region, and even though plenty of people visit all year round, you can always find a space to plonk your towel even in the summer months. The beach at La Marina is a little way from the town and is signposted from the road which runs through the old town (not the newer urbanizations which are some distance away). The beach can get pretty windy, as is typical of this part of the coast, and in windy weather you will often find kitesurfers performing skilful feats off the beach. Kite flyers also get good conditions and can often be seen there. If you are staying in the area and in a self-catering rental property, you will most likely be in the newer urbanization of La Marina, so to reach the beach you will need a car. Don’t let this put you off though, as a visit to La Marina beach is well worth the effort.
July 21, 2011
Los Montesinos Spain
Los Montesinos Town Square
Los Montesinos Spain – Another of the popular towns of the southern Costa Blanca, Los Montesinos is not actually on the coast, but slightly inland to the north of Torrevieja’s famous salt lake, where huge quantities of salt have been produced for centuries. A desirable spot for the purchase of holiday homes and even for relocating, Los Montesinos has attracted a large number of International residents, who mix nicely with the traditional Spanish inhabitants. A number of large urbanizations have sprung up around Los Montesinos in the last twenty years or so, and this has given the town a more contemporary feel. The main attraction for Brits and other Northern Europeans, is of course the sunny weather, which stays fine even when Britain is gripped by winter. The appeal is obvious to all who visit and it is not surprising that many have chosen to make Los Montesinos their home.
July 19, 2011
Torre de la Horadada Spain
Torre de la Horadada Marina and Tower
Torre de la Horadada Spain: Perhaps one of the lesser known of the Costa Blanca’s seaside resorts, Torre de la Horadada is also one of the prettiest of the southern resorts, with attractive coastline and seafront walks, a charismatic watch tower dating from the time when pirates sailed these seas, numerous sandy beaches, sunny weather and a delightful marina with plenty of mooring space.
Despite the age of its tower, Torre de la Horadada has mostly developed during recent times, with the demand for coastal holiday homes growing and it really acts as the coastal arm of nearby Pilar de la Horadada, which as a town, falls a little short of the coast.
Very close to the border of Alicante and Murcia, Torre de la Horadada together with Pilar de la Horadada and El Mojon is one of the Costa Blanca’s southernmost resorts, head any further south and you will find yourself on the Costa Calida and the resorts of the Mar Menor, a little further and you will reach the city of Cartagena with its ancient Roman and Carthaginian ruins.
So if you are visiting the southern Costa Blanca region, don’t miss out on the charming little resort of Torre de la Horadada.
July 15, 2011
Mil Palmeras Beach
Mil Palmeras Beach
Mil Palmeras Beach – One of the best beaches along the Orihuela Costa coastline, Mil Palmeras beach has nice sand and is lapped by the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Popular with visitors to Mil Palmeras itself but also to those staying in neighbouring areas, it is easily accessible from the N-332 coast road between Dehesa de Campoamor and Pilar de la Horadada, follow signs for Riomar.
A popular spot for beach parties and barbeques, the beach at Mil Palmeras has plenty of room for visitors, with most choosing to set up right beside the sea.
The ideal place to head when the weather is sunny (which it normally is here) Mil Palmeras beach should be on the top of your best beaches list when holidaying in this area.