off the beaten path on the coast of valencia on #igtravelthursday

Valencia coast trip Spain

A quick trip to Spain to enjoy the sunshine, warm sea and good food. Not the most typical beach holiday though as we went quite off-peak time-wise at the end of the season and to an area that is still very quiet and not touristic and family-oriented (yes, those still exist!). End result: a happy family and nearly empty beaches to enjoy!

Beach love in Spain

This is actually the first time ever that I didn’t bring my camera with my – just my iphone for some scenery and family snaps. To be honest this was the least I have ever packed for this family: five people, five days and one carry-one (plus a back pack for husbands laptop, and few other bits and bobs. It might sound crazy, but I have finally learned my lesson: most of the time we all wear swimsuits so not much else is needed – plus we have a fine washing machine and the laundry dries in roughly 30 minutes!

Tapas restaurant on the coast

I think it’s quite amazing that we can leave our house 7am here in England, drive to the airport and find ourselves on a fine Spanish beach (in southern Spain, not the Asturias like in the spring) after 1pm. Yes, we officially love the Gatwick-Valencia route!! I often think that UK has a perfect location in terms of travel around Europe, East Coast US and even some parts of Asia aren’t that far away.

Pink sunset in Spain

Normally it’s very hot this time of the year, so we could call ourselves sort of lucky as we arrived right after cold drop and huge amounts of rain. The nights were actually cool and sleeping was easy. Of course it also meant that the water was a bit cooler than the normal 30c (around 86F) but even me, the whiner, swam happily in the sea and the pools so it wasn’t really that bad…

Mediterranean food bites

You might have noticed that I like to travel and explore new places and this little hidden gem in Spain in one of the few exceptions to the rule as we’ve been coming here for over ten years, or rather my husband his whole life. This really is not a holiday in that sense, but a lovely journey back to see the family (but in a really nice location). Here I do not cram my days full of tours and castles, although I cannot quite live without them either.

Coming back to coastal Spain and more rural Valencia region is for me about relaxation, family time, and enjoying the fresh flavours of the country. On the other hand we’ve already explored so many crannies and nooks, as well as castles, churches, and other beautiful or historical sights – and there are plenty!

Eremita Alcoccebre

In my first visit we came to this hill-top hermitage to get a good look of the coastal area, and I keep coming back here to enjoy the gusty wind and relative silence from the beach life. On a good day one can apparently see the island, but I have never managed to see any, so I just keep imagining a view of Mallorca in front of me: after all these years I think next time we should finally visit that famous little island…

Driftwood in rocky beach

I hope you have enjoyed our little impromptu trip to Torrenostra beach and Valencia region. If you search my blog there’ll be older stories from the area, and maybe a story of two of the castles and things I enjoy the most in this region!

Torrenostra beach

And finally, here comes my weekly favourite Instagrammer. This time it’s all about cityscapes and beautiful places to visit in Poland, as captured by @jaroslaw_marciuk:

weekly fave

I hope to see you joining me and our other hosts in this weekly travel linky. Please remember to follow the rules below, add our logo and link at least to one host. If you don’t write a blog you can still participate by tagging some of your fabulous travel photos with #IGTravelThursday

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