The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain! ....... No, it doesn’t. Right now, it’s dumping everything in the Gandia region and according to the weather forecast on my mobile ‘phone, it’s going to be continuing to do so for the next two weeks! In fact right now on the hill behind Real de Gandia, the downpour is reminiscent of t...
With A Spring in One’s Step! “The spring is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies is!” (Get on with it – Ed) Yes, well as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, such thoughts come to one’s mind at this time of the year. But I should explain. (Oh Lord, must you? – Ed) For those of you unfortunate...
The coming of Spring ....... So, dear reader, we seem, finally, to be arriving at that wonderful time of the year that we refer to as spring. The weather forecast intimates that the colder nights are drawing to a close and the thermometer is on the wax, as they say; whoever ‘they’ are! Suffice it to say that the sun is now powerful enough to...
An Ex-pat Monthly Experience of Moving to Gandia, Spain - Part 12 - A Winter's Tale ........ Well dear reader, Christmas has been and gone, the New Year celebrations all cleared up and forgotten ….. and winter has arrived! What that has meant here is that the winds have arrived, whistling around the nether regions and elsewhere too, but the temperatu...
The Christmas 2022 Blog! AND SO, A YEAR ENDS AND ANOTHER BEGINS…… It’s sometimes quite amazing how time flies, as they say, when you’re having fun. Here in Gandia, this year seems to have spun past on wheels! So, I guess you have to gather that it was fun. Well, actually ….. yeah, overall, it was. Oh sure, there were the fru...
Part 10: Out and about in the Gandia area .......... One of the many reasons that so many Brits consider moving to Spain, is the very different scenery and surroundings compared with that we are used to in the UK. Most of us have seen the old “Spaghetti Westerns,” many of which were filmed in various areas of Spain, so the rocky desert like scen...
Part 9: Setente años en Espana - (Seventy years old in Spain!) Yes, that number seen for so long as in the dim and distant future seems to have arrived all too quickly. Some eighteen months after we arrived here in Gandia I awoke with the arrival of three score years and ten! Well, almost as I awoke at about eight o clock and wasn’t born u...
Part 8: A vegetarian in Spain …… My wife has been a vegetarian since she was a young teenager, partly from a moral point of view but largely from the fact that she has just never liked the texture of meat. On the other hand, I have been a lifelong meat enjoyer (is there such a word?) and have been previously spoiled by the high standard of ste...
Part 7: Weathering La Safor .........Question: So, what’s it like to live full time in the La Safor Spanish weather with climate change crawling all over us? Well let’s see now? Hmmmm! Actually, a very good question. Let’s have a go at making a sensible answer! So, as we have only been here for just over one year, we don’t have pers...
Part 6; ONE YEAR ON …….. Yes, yes, I know, the previous epistle stated that this column from your beloved scribe was going to be about summer and winter, but I am nothing if not fickle and I promised she who must be obeyed (that’s Sally of course, not my beloved better other half) that I had a little something up my sleeve, so here it is...
Part 5: So, what’s it like to retire to Gandia Spain?Hello again! So, from a pair of Retirees to all of you considering making Spain your retirement destination, you may be interested in our findings since we arrived here post Brexit. First, you really do need an effective, efficient local Lawyer. Once more, the 'For Sale By Sally in Spain' team can...
Part 4: Marinas and Mountains! Hi y’all! I seem to remember saying in one of the earlier issues, that we had absolutely no idea about anything Gandia wise. In fact, we had never heard of Gandia! Denia, yep. Calpe even, yep! Then there are, of course, the everyone knows ones such as Benidorm, Malaga, Marbs and even Benalmadena. But Gandia? Nope! Well,...
Part 3: Wolfie arrives! I know that you’re all really wanting to know about Wolfie, but I’m going to tease you a little bit more first! Don’t turn over the page ‘cause’ this is all useful stuff. Trust me, I’m a retired Psychologist! Yes, I did notice you yawn as it happens! But I digress ….. You must be prepared t...
Part 2 - Hello Spain!As planned, we arrived after a seven-and-a-half-hour drive along motorways that shame our own, at our hotel in Denia. A charming little place that we can honestly recommend. Lovely staff (not all English speaking), comfortable accommodation, realistically priced and breakfast in their garden terrace is just a top treat! But again, I get...
Part 1: In the Beginning – The Journey that took us to Gandia (The Northern Costa Blanca - Costa Azahar) “Gandia? That’s in India, isn’t it?” Oh hi! Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. Allow me to explain. Y’see we, that’s my lovely wife and I, had been looking at properties in Spain for over two years as we ap...