Residencial Euroliva Golf

Quiet little town... which I enjoyed

by mollymoo0oo0

"A little info..."

Oliva is a quiet little town, situated in the Communidad de Valencia region of Spain. It is about 45 minutes drive south from the city of Valencia, and is on the coast.

John and I spent 10 days here with a friend who lives and works in the town. It was October, out of season, and very peaceful. There are a few shops - including some good bookshops, and a great market on Fridays which I look forward to visiting again one day.

"What we did there..."

During our 10 days in the town, we managed to...

- see the orange trees blossoming, almost ready to pick
- visit the beach in all kinds of weather, seeing the fish that nibble gently at your legs, getting sandblasted thanks to the wind, and making a turtle and big fish in the sand
- discover some new tapas, which is always yummy!
- experience the local friday market, including the bargain 1 euro clothes stalls, and the foods (huuuuge aubergines, multicoloured mushrooms, and olives stuffed with almonds....)
- see a couple of fiesta celebrations through the streets, including one with music, dance and people wearing giant papier mâchē heads
- watch some local 5-a-side football practice and rugby practice in Gandia and hang out with the teams afterwards for tapas and copas
- see lots of bats, which are the symbol of the Valencian football team
- visit local town Denia for an annual ´alternative´ fair, including a friend´s solar power stand and lots of nice foods and eco-friendly things. I would like to go back to this town to spend a little more time...
- end our visit with a barbecue feast of fresh local fish and seafood, cooked in true NZ style!

"Another visit..."

We returned to Oliva during Semana Santa, Holy Week at Easter. It was a fairly tranquil weekend, interspersed with the sound of family celebrations in surrounding houses.... and I spent my time there taking in the (still almost empty!) beach and tiptoeing in the sea whilst sipping horchata and granazido de limon.

My next visit, in July, was unfortunately only a passing one in the end.... however, I managed to check out some chiringuitos - temporary beach bars, which are only open for the months of July and August. There are half a dozen dotted along the beach, and are fairly tranquil but welcoming and chilled... a great location for a refreshing gin tonica or whatever takes your fancy! There´s also one chiringuito which opens 24 hours, and is set a little further down from the others, away from the main residences.

In it`s simplicity, la playa is really beautiful at night... so peaceful, unlike the typical costas de turistas!

Enjoy!!