We welcome our first guests of the year to Partida de la Mar
It is so beautiful! Here I am, in Partida de la Mar, Almassera, Valencia, this January evening; preparing the house for our first guests of the year. Our local Representative, Silvia is collecting them from the airport as we speak. And it´s so beautiful! We have lit the fire in the sitting area and picked from the kitchen garden some fresh greens and salad for their tea and I cannot stop photographing the sunset, in an attempt to capture [...]
Will life crown you as a king or leave you with a broad bean?
The Spanish have an old tradition whereby each guest, during the ´Three Kings´´festivities, celebrated on January 6th, enjoys a portion of a sweet, creamy pastry, called the ´Roscón de Reyes´. As you bite into your portion you are wary of what you will find. Will it be a miniature king or a broad bean? If you receive the king you can be sure of a successful year ahead; as king of kings. Life will treat you well. However , [...]
My New Year
Happy New Year to you all. My New Year finds me resolved to becoming more healthy and making the most of my new life style; enjoying developing more Rustic Escape properties for our guests and sharing with them my love of nature and the agricultural, culinary and social history of our unique locations. Here you can see me on New Years day starting my diet! I am resolved to take advantage of the lovely fresh produce we have in [...]
New Year in sunny Valencia
Here we are in the sun ; the Rustic Escapes´ team ; planning a New Year personal training escape for some guests. They want to come away from cold old Britain and enjoy a week of ´fun in the sun´ with our personal trainer, Katie, sitting on the right. We are preparing for a run along the beach, a cycle ride up into the hills and a walk across the lovely agricultural plains or ´huerta´of Valencia ; returning home [...]
CHRISTMAS IS COMING!
On the 8th December the Christmas decorations officially go up here in Spain. The whole of Spain celebrates ´The Immaculate Conception’ which , of course, is the very essence of Christmas; celebrating the birth of little Jesus; a time for us all to remember the importance of the purity and simplicity of friendship and family. I love Christmas! We went into Valencia to see the lights and I am excited to be able to report that Valencia is looking [...]
The Come & Cook in Valencia Escape takes off!
Rustic Escapes listen to our guests! It´s only a couple of months since one of our guests suggested we offer a cookery escape here in Valencia. Her family enjoyed our paella workshop so much that she asked whether we could teach her to cook other traditional valencian recipes. Team Rustic put our heads together and began to contact local chefs , farrmers and people who enjoy cooking in their homes to develop an escape especially for foodies. And we [...]
The veg still keeps coming!
The veg still keeps coming! We had guests at Partida de la Mar in Almassera early this week. I was thrilled they were able to ´pick their own´in the kitchen garden and enjoy a supper made entirely from our Rustic Escapes ´huerta´; baked aubergines, with tomato and basil stuffing; spring greens with little onions and chilli peppers, sauteed gently with lovely local olive oil and roasted red and green peppers, simply placed in the Aga, no oil, just cooked [...]
The oranges are ready!
I enjoyed a fabulous drive through the sunny countryside yesterday, when I went to visit our Local Expert farmer´s orange trees in Rincón del Toro, to the south of the city. The orange trees of Valencia are now full of bright, golden orbs; juicy succulent oranges! Our farmer has actually sold all of his crop already; they pick them while they are green, before they ripen; ready to ship up north to provide a burst of Valencian sunshine to [...]