Where's ERNIE?????

It may just have been the Rioja but doesn't one of our guests look incredibly like the other half of a sadly-missed great british double act?

Viva Espana!!

Six of us had a treat on Sunday and lunched at a famous local restaurant - Viva Espana.

An especially ordered vegetarian paella was served following amazing vegetarian tapas and gazpacho. The house wine was an excellent Rioja and was enjoyed by all.

Following the meal we were treated to traditional flamenco and gypsy dancing - the photos follow......

A licence to fly microlights

Another of our guests, Paul from Kent, stayed with us last week while he trained for and passed his qualifications to fly microlight aircraft.

He is building a machine at home in the UK and had become a bit fed up with the unreliable weather which was making life very difficult training to be a pilot. Often lessons would be booked but most of the day would be spent sitting around waiting for suitable weather.

Not so here in Montichelvo!

Paul was with us for just over a week and was rewarded with perfect flying conditions EVERY DAY! Together with stunning scenery (especially from the air) he had a great time and went home with the required licence - WELL DONE PAUL!

The flying school where Paul trained is about 4kms away from us and is English run. Link is on our website

Pilota

Well, its been a busy week!

Some guests accompanied us to a game of street Pilota in Genoves, which is about 20 minutes from Montichelvo. Pilota is an ancient game, a little like tennis (apparently tennis was developed from it). There are, however, three players per side and each player has their hands meticulously prepared as they are used as "rackets". Each hand is fitted with strong leather thimbles, metal supporting plates and bandage for padding, and then bound with tape to keep them all together!



There is no net as the object is to get the ball to the opposite end of the court (hopefully avoiding balconies, drainpipes and spectators etc). The ball is just larger than a squash ball and has a hard core and smooth leather shell. It hurts to get in the way of it as spectators often do! Spectators crowd at each end of the "court" which is a green painted village street, whilst others line the edge of the court, which does seem an extremely dangerous place to be!

Again....photos give an insight to the event.




And some excitement for me was that Spanish TV carried an interview with yours truly about why I liked the sport....all in Spanish too!

Village Paella!!!

Last evening saw the annual Montichelvo village paella. The massive paella, accompanied by water and sangria served approximately 400 villagers and guests!



The event was ticket only and cost each individual 3euros 50cents, approximately £2.30, so you can't say fairer than that!

The meal was served at around 10pm, outdoors of course with the benefit of reliable dry and warm weather, and the event concluded with dancing to live music. I can safely say that a good time was had by all!

A visit to the Borja's Palace

This week, a visit by some of our guests took place to the family home of the infamous Borja family. The Palace is in Gandia which is about 20 minutes away from our house in Montichelvo.



The guided tour of the Palace is all in Spanish, but, the young lady giving the tour was keen to practice her English so translated throughout. It seems that nothing is too much trouble in these parts!

The Palace is an amazing building having been restored during the last century or so and has maintained many of it's fascinating original features. Rather than bore you with a history lesson these pictures will provide a brief insight......





A private chapel built in the style of a burial casket!

Exploring an old railway track

Cheryl and Paul, together with their daughters Holly and Dayle, from the UK are staying with us this week and whilst enjoying a vegetarian paella on our roof terrace last night decided to venture out on our popular excursion to explore an old disused railway track.



So with cold drinks on board we set off this morning to show them this amazing place. The railway was constructed by British engineers in Victorian times and was dismantled in the 1960s. The track follows the winding River Serpis from Villalonga to Llorcha, a distance of about 15kms. The scenery along its route is STUNNING!



We carefully picked our way along the track in our 4x4 wondering at the views in every direction. At several points we stopped to look more closely at the surroundings and took a break to cool off at the river's edge.



At one point the track is interrupted by the absence of a bridge to cross the river so we had to negotiate a rough track down to the river to cross it by a derelict hydro-electric station, before climbing the other side to rejoin the route of the track. Crossing old arched bridges and travelling through tunnels along the way.

At the end of the track we were rewarded with the incredible view of a ruined castle precariously perched high on a hill at LLorcha.



Then it was, via a scenic mountain road and lunch in Castello de Rugat, back to our house in Montichelvo to relax and swim in the community swimming pool before attending an open air band concert in the evening. "Real Spain" is an amazing place!

Wish you were here.......part 1

Welcome to Casa Blanca Rural - Bed & breakfast in REAL SPAIN!

On here we will bring you details of day to day life in very Spanish village inland from the coast of the Costas Blanca and Del Azahar.

Weather is fantastic, food is great, scenery is amazing......wish you were here!