I’m starting to feel the rain is following us. After a couple of days of sun the forecast for the next few days was not very good so we headed another 100 miles south. We thought we would do a bit of sightseeing so headed to Valencia.
This has to be my favourite city so far. The old town is full of narrow streets and old buildings with stunning architect whilst at the other end of town the new buildings have an almost futuristic feel to them. They also have the biggest trees I have ever seen.
We walked from the Old town to the City of Arts and Sciences along The Turia river bed gardens. This stretches for almost 9 kilometres through Valencia city. The original river was diverted after a flood in 1957 and the former river bed is now a great place for walking or cycling.
We stayed at Col Vert Campsite which is about 20 minutes by bus to the centre of the town. The campsite was nice but it was very noisy due to being right next to a busy road.
From here we headed to Jávea to spend a few days staying with friends who live near the Parc Natural del Montgó. The Montgó Mountain looks like an elephants head and trunk, there is even a cave where the elephants eye would be. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
We headed out to dinner in the mother of all downpours. Never seen rain like it. Had a lovely dinner at La Fontanna in Jávea itself. Next day, once the rain had cleared a little bit, Lisa and Rob took us for a tour to see the stunning views overlooking the Mediterranean from Cap de Sant Antoni. On a clear day you can see Ibiza. We had a leisurely lunch in a charming family run restaurant in Port Xàbia-Montgó itself.
From here we headed to Benidorm. Some friends, Kim and Danny, were flying out for the weekend to celebrate Danny’s birthday. We booked into Camping Villasol for a week. This is the longest we have stayed anywhere so far on this trip, so we decided to treat it as a little holiday.
The campsite was very nice, there was a restaurant, bar, indoor heated pool, outdoor pool and a supermarket. There were also a few other English people here who normally stay for the whole winter.
The weather was still a bit ‘iffy’, and on the 2nd night there was the most incredible storm. The sky lit up with lightning and rolling thunder. We were even bombarded with hailstones! The next few days were lovely and sunny during the day but the wind was blustery and cold. It didn’t stop us having fun though.
We walked up the the old town where the views were stunning, there it felt very different to the hustle and bustle of the promenade.
Kim and Danny arrived on Thursday, bringing the sunshine with them. It was lovely to catch up, especially as we were celebrating Danny’s birthday. We cycled to Altea just up the coast, found a lovely little café that served the nicest apple pie. We were on our normal cycles with Kim and Danny on hired bikes with electric assist. They shot off at a rate of knots to get back to the hire office before it shut. We took our time riding back to Benidorm and met up with them later for dinner.
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. Eating out out in restaurants, dipping our toes in the med as we wandered along the beach and stopping for coffee and drinks at the beach side cafes. Enjoying the warmth of the winter sun. Being entertained by live music.
These two days passed really quickly and all too soon they had to go home. We stayed one more day then it was time for us to resume our journey South.
Peñiscola to Valencia
Mileage – 101
Route AP-7
Col Vert Campsite €16 a night
Valencia to Jávea
Mileage – 72
Route AP-7
Stayed with Friends – Free
Jávea to Benidorm
Mileage – 30
Route AP-7
Camping Villasol €20 a night
