living a great life in Spain

Summer crashes in like the waves on the beach. Always welcome and always different fro the last one.

My little dog is settled into her new life wth us now and it feels as though she has always been part of this family

Since having her I have become more aware of the problems facing rescue dogs here on the Costa Blanca and have met some wonderful people (and dogs) trying to make life better for them.

I sometimes take Trufa and her sidekick Roger (with a French accent...) to meet the other dogs who are looking for homes and to have  a play  - wish I could take them all home

School is out and my Grandson's sport of choice is free diving. He has completed his first course and is now hooked. Great way of spending the summer, together with lots of friends around and visitors from UK that should keep him occupied.

Many of our clients are now repeats and as each year goes by we have more Scananavian, Dutch, French clients than English. I love that others come here for a few weeks but that we live here!! So lucky

The beach bars are all buzzing and the sky is blue. I am writing in the morning when all is quiet and cool, bliss.  Once everyone is up and around the summer fun will begin again and the pool will be full of holidaymakers, the beaches will be crammed and all will be lovely in beautiful Javea

 

 

 

 

 

I am having a great time back in Blighty. Spending the winter here again in a pretty cottage with my new puppy as my spaniel sadly died in September.

There is always so much to do, well, its a holiday after all, so I spend my time doggy walking in woods and parks, lunching in old English pubs, seeing friends and family and generally enjoying life.

Tonight I am off to the local swimming pool OUTSIDE !  Cant quite beleive it but it seemed a good idea at the time I first heard about it when at a local Pilates class.....

There is a real buzz here this winter, feels like the recession is on its way out, good job too. It is the same back home in Javea, obviously not all plain sailing yet but for every bar which closes on the Arenal - a better one opens its doors so that our shiny new promenade is becoming quite upmarket.

Our Mayor is great too, he actually listens to the community and is making great strides in improvements across the board so we are very grateful.

Speaking of grateful, I went to a meditation evening recently which reminded me we all have plenty to be grateful for, it was well attended by a proper mixed bag of people, always makes things more enjoyable I think

My little dog is getting used to being left for a few hours now, she has had such a steep learning curve bless her. Straight from the pound as a rescue dog we are her first real home. 

She enjoyed the trip across France (I think...) and I was able to take her our to dinner each evening as France has a welcoming  dog policy . Not so in UK, I was asked to remove her from the aiport at Luton !! If you ask me that is Doggist. What did they think she was going to do for goodness sake? I have a good mind to make her a shirt bearing the slogan '' help dog'' and baffling the uniform wearers with science. Good idea do you think?

 

Bookings are going well for our holiday villas, it is always busy this time of year

http://somethingspanish.co.uk

 

 

Here comes the gipsy in me again, it seems as though as soon as the weather changes I start getting wunderlust. Cant understand it, Javea is a great place to live yet once again Im off  at first hint of rain! It isnt as though I am going somewhere hot and exotic, oh no, I'm off to England for three months. No good coming back too sooon, if I could afford it I would stay away until just before the first chiringuito is about to open then dash back for all the fun of summer. Work has started on the Arenal esplanade so it will all look bright and shiny in the Spring. I have spent many winters here in the past and it has been fun but nowadays I like to ring the changes and driving through France is always a pleasure, especially going through the Pyrenees or across the Millau bridge.I love  stopping at little B&B's on the way and always meet interesting people to say nothing of enjoying my daughters company as she flies out to accompany me ( a sort of Thelma and Louise without the bad bits) Between the two of us we keep the family cocker spaniel amused on the long journey as it takes us 5 days to get to the cottage I rent in UK. I know lots of people do the same journey in little more than 24 hours but thats not our style. So all in all  I am very excited as its HOLIDAY TIME !!!

So summer has finally ended, what a great summer it was too. Wall to wall sunshine right up to the end of October when this photo was taken of Moraira beach.  I am so happy to live in such a beautiful area. This year has been a bumper one for villa rentals with lots of European and Scandanavian clients as well as English. I have been making use of Google Translate a lot which is fine and dandy until the cleints are here and need assistance! Still, nothing like an excuse for an impromptu game of charades............Now it is all over I have been taking advantage and spent last weekend with friends in Valencia. Next week I am off to England with my dog, driving through France and collecting my daughter en route for a girly trip. I love spending winter in England, cosy pubs, London,country cottage and long doggy walks, to say nothing of time with friends and family. Whats not to love?

Wow ! The Arenal in Javea is buzzing this morning. Not only is the Moroc Challenge grouped up ready for the off (Javea is their first starting point) but there was a big group of keep fitters this morning, flat packing has arrived for the first of the Chiringuitos (Mint) and La Siesta is open. It feels like summer, lots of people everywhere, having fun, flying kites, cycling, sitting in the bars in the sunshine.I love my town!See my website www.somethingspanish.co.uk for villas to stay in for your holiday if you are not lucky enough to be here already.

 

I am having a ball with my grandson this morning, shhhh dont tell Mummy but we have been shopping.Using his big blue eyes he bought two lovely roses with all the trimmings for 5 euros. Not just any 5 euros but the 5 euros from the Tooth Fairy so I am pretty impressed he was willing to spend it ! Off out with his kite now which is a bit frustrating as there is not much wind today, hey ho. Tomorrow is lunch out with Grandad and Mummy. Had a good afternoon yesterday with my photographer, we managed to get two villas re photographed, so important but so time consuming. He does a great job though so I am grateful for his help. My friend and business partner is due back in Spain soon, then we will be running around checking villas and doing directions and such like for the new ones. Still, my winter big break had to come to an end! Looking forward to a busy and fun season with lots of clients enjoying the town I love.

I have some great friends, mostly fairly mad but a couple who are not quite so mad too just for balance. My closest friend works with me which is brilliant for me as I love her company.

We have a great time which sounds odd because work in the high summer involves getting the villas ready for the cleaners and running around with a car load of laundry!

The rest of my time is spent taking bookings, emailing and calling clients  and liasing with owners of the villas. My friend spends hers organising the cleaning schedule which is a minefield and tricky to administer, collating info and emailing data bases with our website details and listening to me rabbit on.

I have just recently contracted a new villa  http://www.somethingspanish.co.uk/holidayrentals/details.php?id=151   just a stones throw from the beach which I am hoping to fill in time for summer.

I love my job

I have brilliant colleagues I work with too, people I can have fun with as well as do business, www.javeaamigos.com  for instance where all sorts of info on Spain can be found so next time I might talk about the fiends......................

Heres the link to the run Fresh Sarra did this weekend, looks brilliant. I love Cassiobury Park, so beautiful. When I am in England in the winter Sarra and I often take the dogs there walking, all across the park and along the canal. Sarra makes wonderful food too so after our walk we sometimes go back to hers for a treat, raw chocolate cheessecake for example YUM YUM

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/72241954

Here in Javea the sun is still shining and I have been busy home making all day, washing curtains and baking, this morning I went for a walk to the local shop and had a sit on the wall to watch the sea for a while and Spring is really in the air.

I have been busy with bookings again today,mostly French. That will be fun when they are here, I dont speak French at all and have been using Google to translate for the bookings..............he he

Tomorrow I am going to the beach with my family, taking the football for a kickabout before coming home for lunch and a lazy afternoon and hopefully more bookings..  

 

 

Javea is in a bubble and I love it. Whilst the outside world worries about the financial crisis new shops,bars and restaurants of high quality are springing up.

My holiday bookings are way up on the last few years and you can almost smell opportunity in the air.

I have just come back from lunch with one of my villa owners who has sold her villa ro return to Great Britain for her retirement to be closer to family and friends, we had a lovely time on the Arenal where the restaurant of our choice was bustling with people of many  nationalities.

This morning I visited clients at a villa I have near Javea Golf Course, their three children were happily playing in the garden in the sunshine as we took time for a coffee and a chat. It is part of the business I love, this time of year I have the time but in August it can be a bit difficult to spend any time with clients socially as it is manic! 

I will be advertising soon for more cleaners, the most important people in the job as first impressions are so important in holiday villas and then I will really feel as thought the holiday season has started.

With that in mind I think I will take a book down to the rocky beach tomoorw and relax before it all starts happening !

 

It is hard to beleive that winter is still with us when the sun is in the clear blue sky day after day but if my guest bookings are any indication summer is well on the way. I have been liasing with prospective guests all weekend and it is clear that crisis or no crisis, holidays are on their minds.

Just as well as it is said that holidays are one of the most valuable tools we have for our wellbeing. A time to relax and explore both the shoreline and our inner selves since we mostly do not have time in our every day lives for this luxury.

Just imagine if there were a government benefit for holidays how many people might not need to take time off sick !

The build up  and expectation alone can spark us into a happier frame of mind so all in all I beleive the happiness a holiday can bring starts with looking at all the glossy photos, choosing a destination to on through the holiday itself and beyond to the memories and sense of wellbeing a good holiday can bring. 

In the holiday frame of mind even a delay at the airport can fail to ignite us to anger, I hear the Iris recognition machines are to be phased out as a failure so will be unlikely to hold us up anymore meaning we will need to turn to lost baggage and bad weather before we end up reading enless magazines over bad cups of tea awaiting the announcement of our delayed flight!