After two good rides on Sunday and Monday, Danny and Britt took a rest from cycling and spent a quiet morning sitting by the pool while Derek and I caught up with a few chores.  We headed down to the marina at Denia for lunch.  After doing some online research, Derek had decided that a restaurant overlooking the harbour called REPUBLIC  looked a good choice and he was right!  We got a waterside table outside and they had a special 4 course menu for €9.95.

It was all absolutely delicious and included sorbet between courses and dessert wine at the end of the meal.  For the four of us with bread and aioli, wine, water, coffee and a tip, it came to €80.  Pretty much perfection!

The evening had its highlights too – a Skype session with Nan, John and Chris.  We all gathered round the computer and had a good catch up.  Photos of the pool at the villa were requested so we took some this morning plus a few more pics of the intrepid cyclists returned from the Wednesday morning ride. It rained for 10 minutes in the afternoon – such a rare event that we took photos.

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At last, a bit of youth and glamour for the blog as Danny and Britt arrive for a six day stay.

We spent yesterday afternoon driving up and down the AP7 – we dropped Julia and Martyn at Alicante airport at the end of a really enjoyable week’s visit.  Then we headed back up past Benidorm to Albir where we managed to find  Ciclo Costa Blanca and pick up the bikes we had arranged to hire for Danny and Britt.  Then it was a return to Alicante airport to meet the BA flight (delayed – gits!) and finally back up the autopista arriving home at about 9pm.

Their first Spanish bike ride was a 15 miler – not too hilly apart from the climb up to the house at the end.  Only one grazed knee and still smiling!

Martyn has a proper camera so our photo count has gone up this week.

The slideshow below  has some views we liked:

A full moon on Friday night
Derek in the dining room
The river bed completely dry – spotted while out on the bike
Terra cotta tiled roofs and swimming pools seen from above – lovely colours
Derek driving – taken by Martyn in the back of the car
A peloton of cyclists – a really common sight
Metal sculptures at La Piscina – what an eccentric restaurant!
Parrots at the cafe in Denia  – lunch to the sound of them squawking (plus 50s music!)
A very smart boat  on the quayside in Denia
Denia Castle
La Marina
Shadows

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We drove an hour north on a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon past Benidorm and Alicante to meet Ju and Martyn at Alicante airport – they were a little delayed so by the time we got back to the villa, the sun had nearly gone and it was time for supper.

The weather was a bit cloudy early in the week but we had some nice walks (including down to the area which caught fire) as well as lunches out at La Piscina in Parcent and a beachfront cafe down in Denia.  Both lunches were an all inclusive price of about 10 euros each and very good value with nibbles, bread and aioli, giant salad starters, meat or fish for main, dessert and coffee, even wine and liqueurs!

As forecast, the sun returned on Wednesday when we had a really nice walk on the beach and around the marina area of Denia.  With feet hot from walking, we dipped our toes into the pool when we got back to cool them down.

We’ve done a lot of sitting about chatting, drinking tea and eating cake – we’ve also followed the Winter Olympics, especially the curling.

Nature notes: The wisteria is starting to flower outside the kitchen and I shared the shower with a tiny baby gecko yesterday.  We saw processional caterpillars with potentially toxic spines on the path on the hillside and Julia spotted red squirrels in the garden.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Lovely day – sunny – warm – calm.

With guests arriving tomorrow for 2 weeks I wanted a good ride so set off to for a bit of a climb. My target was the Coll de Rates – about 5 miles from here to Parcent and then the climb begins.

On and on it seemed to go – although actually only 6.8K. Not too steep but just a steady climb. Such a great feeling when you reach the top and even better when you find the BMC Pro racing team there as well.

Leaving the top you think it’s going to be downhill – but no – another 10 miles of undulating road  – up, down hairpins, switchbacks. It was not until 25 miles into the ride the pressure eased and then it was a rapid descent to the plain and back to Benidoleig.

And then it was not over – back up the mountain for the 6th time – my legs are shot but determined not to stop – just about made it!

Not enough food and drink today! It was a three hour hot ride – short sleeved summer riding. Just brilliant.

Hope the photos do it justice but I doubt it!!

Gay and  Bob drove over from Cocentaina today – we had lunch and a good catch up.  The weather was mild and sunny but got a bit windy as the afternoon went on  so the photos show us moving around the villa in between courses – starters and mains indoors, dessert on the balcony and tea and coffee on the patio.

They were very kind and brought a bottle of bubbly, some lovely chocolate truffles and a really useful book about Spanish food and wine shopping which I have read through and will be taking with me to the supermarket.

A lovely day.  We finished off by catching up with the Winter Olympics on the telly.

Helicopter flying overhead this morning as soon as it was light – it seems the woodland on the mountainside is on fire – well, we can see some smoke.  The helicopter flies down onto the valley floor, picks up water in a red bucket from some kind of reservoir, flies up to the mountainside and releases the water!  It does this over and over again – until lunchtime in fact.  There is also a light aircraft making an occasional bigger drop of water, there are firemen on the

ground and a second helicopter checking things out too.

Our landlord Carl phones to check we’re ok and to warn us that evacuation is a possibility, especially if this happened again at night as the helicopter can only fly in the light.

It’s all fascinating to watch and is hopefully under control now.

A really nice quiet weekend – a bit of supermarket shopping, a bike ride for Derek but mostly watching The Winter Olympics and The Six Nations on the telly.  Good results for England in the rugby and for Spurs at Everton plus we’re really enjoying the events at Sochi – a whole new world of snowboarding and skiing and such good coverage from the BBC.

The log burner is alight in the lounge, we’re having swordfish for supper for the second time this week (€4 for two big slices) and while Derek finishes watching Italy v France, I’ve had a stroll round the garden taking some more photos.  Even though there aren’t many flowers at this time of year, what I think are called the ‘structural’ plants are fantastic – all drought resistant types.  Julian the gardener came round yesterday and showed us how to top up the pool – the evaporation rate is high even in winter especially if it’s windy.

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Off to the market on a bright, sunny but very windy morning – Oliva is about 20 minutes drive up the N322.  We saw bags of oranges for sale by the side of the road as we whizzed along but that wasn’t all – a young lady every few hundred yards in high heels and nightclub attire.  Derek thought they were waiting for a bus – I don’t think so!  All a bit strange on a main road at 11am on a Friday morning!

The market itself was mostly cheap tat but local produce was sold at one end so we managed to buy fruit and veg including a kilo of strawberries for €2.50 and 2 kilos of oranges for €1.  Plenty of vitamin C there.  It wasn’t a foodie market with bread, cheese, cakes, meat etc like in France so I didn’t really get anything for lunch – we ended up having scrambled egg and beans on toast.

We had a walk down to the town this afternoon – all very pleasant but of course it’s all uphill on the way back.  Made a pork stew for supper with lots of Spanish ingredients – peppers, olives, tomatoes etc. plus the peas, broad beans and dwarf beans from the market.  It was yummy.

We’re planning a quiet weekend – the first week here has flown by.

Another sunny day in Benidoleig and quite a bit warmer too. After breakfast we catch up with emails, adjust some copy and update a few sites. We have a couple of bigger tasks in the queue but the local roads beckoned so I set off to do the same ride I did on Sunday without getting lost! For the first time I ventured out without a jacket – just bib shorts, an under armour and a short sleeved short.  Would this be a big mistake? It was breezy and sometimes this can be chilly, particularly as you climb into the hills.

The first 5 miles on the coastal plain were lovely and fears of the cold proved unfounded. In  fact as I started to climb, I began to think I didn’t need an under shirt. The ride was just lovely and the second half allows a bit of speed as you descend back to the coast. Orange groves and almond blossom flashed by and I quickly arrived back at the foot of our mountain. A short, but VERY steep climb awaits the end of all rides.  This is my third time up it and it doesn’t get any easier – yet.

Back at the villa, Barb has been cooking – chicken curry, vegetable curry and a new muesli mix as we have eaten our supply from Waitrose. Lunch is chorizo rolls with red pepper – very Spanish.

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We then load the bikes into the Volvo and head to Denia, to the start of the ‘Green Route’ –  an old railway line that has been converted to a cycling and walking trail. Again, we are surrounded by citrus groves and almond blossom which is at its peak in February. The 6k cycle way heads along the coast to Vergel – there aren’t many others using it and it’s wonderfully warm.  We are cycling in shirt sleeves and Barb thinks we are in some kind of Saga advert!!

Back at the start after  the 12k round trip we soak up the sun in the picnic area and then head back to the villa for tea and cake – it’s a hard life!!