Chillin in Chella
We stayed in this amazing 5 bedroom villa owned by a local family. Once again we travelled with the awesome Parker family following the super time we had all had the previous year.
Laurent and his family are hoping to move into the villa as their family home at some point so if you get the chance to book and stay here do it! They keep shifting the listings for it but seem to have it on mainly Spanish sites at the minute (Casa Rurales - I think).
While the villa was amazing, located 1.5 miles from the town of Chella, the area around us was also fantastic. We were located about an hour south of Valencia, about 90 minutes inland from the coast. Being relatively tourist free the local supermarkets and restaurants were amazingly cheap. We often all ate out (4 adults, 4 kids) for less than 75 euros including a few beers. In fact I'm sure our most expensive meal out was in the beautiful city of Xativa in the wonderful Il Padrino Due Italian restaurant and that was only about 135 euros.
Below I will include some photos in a gallery from the must visit places in the vicinity like -
The coast at Gandia, Valencia and it's Aquarium, Los Charcos mountain pools (beautiful and refreshing but cold), Navarres, Quesa, Bolbaite, Xativa castle and the old town. I'm sure in our two weeks we barely scratched the surface of the region but for a superb, tourist free experience you must visit. I know we will return.
Laurent and his family are hoping to move into the villa as their family home at some point so if you get the chance to book and stay here do it! They keep shifting the listings for it but seem to have it on mainly Spanish sites at the minute (Casa Rurales - I think).
While the villa was amazing, located 1.5 miles from the town of Chella, the area around us was also fantastic. We were located about an hour south of Valencia, about 90 minutes inland from the coast. Being relatively tourist free the local supermarkets and restaurants were amazingly cheap. We often all ate out (4 adults, 4 kids) for less than 75 euros including a few beers. In fact I'm sure our most expensive meal out was in the beautiful city of Xativa in the wonderful Il Padrino Due Italian restaurant and that was only about 135 euros.
Below I will include some photos in a gallery from the must visit places in the vicinity like -
The coast at Gandia, Valencia and it's Aquarium, Los Charcos mountain pools (beautiful and refreshing but cold), Navarres, Quesa, Bolbaite, Xativa castle and the old town. I'm sure in our two weeks we barely scratched the surface of the region but for a superb, tourist free experience you must visit. I know we will return.
We found spending time in a village away from the tourist crowds so refreshing. Everything was more relaxed, the restaurants were cheap and friendly, the places were a lot less crowded and the whole holiday was simply more relaxed.
The supermarket in Chella was fabulous. Everything you needed was available nearby, and the prices were so much lower. It certainly makes travelling easy when there is a local supermarket.
Though our Spanish isn't quite up to scratch we did find that one of the real plus points of this type of holiday was that there was little choice but to have a go! Without a shadow of a doubt our 'spanglish' was tested so we had to try that little bit harder to communicate. The benefit of this is that the local people appreciated the effort being made, particularly by the children, and this meant friendly welcomes were always received. Though at times you do have to hold up your hands and accept you cannot get the message across.
This part of Spain was very beautiful, the countryside was covered in olive groves and other farming small holdings. All of the little towns and villages in the valley are pretty in their own ways, small castles, bridges over streams, pools, white buildings - it was such a nice area to visit.
The supermarket in Chella was fabulous. Everything you needed was available nearby, and the prices were so much lower. It certainly makes travelling easy when there is a local supermarket.
Though our Spanish isn't quite up to scratch we did find that one of the real plus points of this type of holiday was that there was little choice but to have a go! Without a shadow of a doubt our 'spanglish' was tested so we had to try that little bit harder to communicate. The benefit of this is that the local people appreciated the effort being made, particularly by the children, and this meant friendly welcomes were always received. Though at times you do have to hold up your hands and accept you cannot get the message across.
This part of Spain was very beautiful, the countryside was covered in olive groves and other farming small holdings. All of the little towns and villages in the valley are pretty in their own ways, small castles, bridges over streams, pools, white buildings - it was such a nice area to visit.