What is winter on the Costa Blanca North all about?
Let's find out!
If you prefer to spend Christmas in the sun, rather than the hail and the nasty weather of Northern Europe,
come to the Northern Costa Blanca and spend it here.
We have a special micro climate in this area.
It's the healthiest environment in Europe.
And you can go to concerts, exhibitions.
All people come for living relaxed.
Costa Blanca is like a small United Nations.
Welcome to the grand tour of the Costa Blanca North in the wintertime.
Costa Blanca North spreads between Alicante and Denia.
30 different businesses of the area told us why they chose to live and work here.
Let's start in Albir.
Terence tell me about wintertime here.
Wintertime on the Costa Blanca has to be the best place in Europe to be.
We've got the best weather, fantastic facilities for all sorts of sports.
Sailing,
fishing,
hiking
and of course, cycling.
And that's what you do.
Yes.
Tell us about it.
I've been on the Costa Blanca, Spain for the last 15 years.
I've always been a cyclist, I came to here because I knew it was the best place in
Europe to ride the bike year round.
Riding in the sunshine, we've got perfect roads, it's a very special area for riding a bike.
I hear that you are a former policeman.
I used to be a policeman, yes, I don't miss that,
but it's what I did for a number of years before I came here to Spain.
I bet the experience must be helpful with organizing camps.
Having an experience of being a policeman I think helps me with a day to day running,
especially when we have groups of people on the training camps that we have to look after.
Always with groups of people there are different characters, you have to look at the group of people
that you have.
And all the different characters in that group.
It's our job to make people happy and enjoy their time here and a part of that is to get a feel for the group
and how it's gonna work and we can work with them.
We are not a bike shop, we focus on renting a particular type of bike.
Sure customers can come in and rent any type of bike.
We have electric bikes and city bikes, mountain bikes for people.
We have a large range of, full carbon road bikes.
For sport cyclists, for the guy that wants to come here to the Costa Blanca and ride in the mountains and maybe
they are riding 80, 100-150 km per day, they need the right equipment to do that.
So, we've got that here and that's what we are focusing on.
Although Meta Bike Café is our shop and this is where we work, this is our base, we market internationally.
We are selling a package to cyclists, they can come with us and stay in a hotel.
We have hotels in Alicante, across the Costa Blanca up to Denia.
They can take a bike, hired from us. We take them on guided rides
or they can just come in and rent a bike and that rental can be done online of our website
or they can come into the shop and take a bike from us.
Tell me about this bike.
This bike is a bike we offer, this is super light frame, carbon frame with height components.
It's a very light bike.
I'm guiding groups on the training camps.
We created a nice environment inside the shop.
We have a café available and customers can rent their bike from us and take a coffee.
Coffee is free, we don't charge for coffee.
Let's leave Albir for a moment and go to the beautiful Valley of Jalon.
Emily tell me how does it function here in the wintertime?
January is always a bit slow, but in February it picks up because the almond blossom,
is one of the most beautiful things you can see everywhere.
The trees are usually sticks and they turn into these bright pink and the light pink flowers
and lots of people from all over, from Madrid they all come down to see and walk the paths
to see the almond blossoms.
And lots of the routes are just behind here from the Bodega so they stop here either before or after,
ask about the routes to see the almond blossom.
And I hear you can also learn about the wine during wintertime.
Yes, we've started not long ago doing tours here in the Bodega, it's a general tour of the Bodega, the machinery,
how it works, how it's all processed and we end up in our stock room where all the stocks we have are;
how we bottle our wines.
The final step is in here, wine tasting room.
This year was a magical year, it's the first time snow has laid on the ground since 1983 here.
It was like a winter wonderland.
You woke up at 7 o'clock in the morning, snow was falling.
Even though it snowed, even though everybody was enjoying it we all knew that at least that afternoon
would be warm and the sun and our climate will be back to normal.
So, you had the best of two worlds.
The best of two worlds in one day, yes.
It was brilliant.
¡Salud!
From Jalon Valley we move to the neighbouring valley of Orba.
Orba is home to just over 2000 inhabitants, but it's increasing in popularity with
foreign residents and tourists.
Orba Valley in wintertime.
Ernesto, tell us a little bit about it.
Orba Valley is a very nice place to live in the wintertime and also in the summer time.
In the wintertime we can enjoy a very, very good weather and the people can be the residents here in Orba,
and they are also very close to the beach. Only 20 minutes, 15 minutes to the beach.
They can enjoy the mountains, they can walk all around and they have in Orba
all the services that anybody can expect.
Here is a lovely place because there is plenty of vegetation.
Beautiful.
Very green, very nice, and we are very close to Ondara where we have the commercial centre, very close to
Denia and also the international airports of Valencia and Alicante.
And you are continuing a family tradition?
We established the office here in 1994, my brother and I,
because my father has always been working in this business.
We give a special attention to the client, we are reputable builder in the area, we show the plots,
we sit down with our architects, we design the villa according to the expectation of the client and then
we build the villa with a high quality standard.
You are an expert in three different areas, in Jalón, Orba, Dénia. Can you tell us about price differences?
There is a big difference in prices, let's say between Javea, Moraira, Calpe than inland in Orba, Jalon.
Anybody can buy a property with a 40% smaller price here inland.
Jackie you are the owner of Citrus Bar here in Orba Valley, how is it here in wintertime?
Oh, it's my favourite time of year, it's a lovely time.
There is plenty of time to take lots of activities, to enjoy the area, go out to restaurants.
We have lots of cyclists in winter come visit our bar because it's a great area for touring and cycling
Also lots of walkers, you can enjoy the mountains, you can enjoy the scenery and the temperature
is just perfect for that.
Oh, it is.
What about your story, how did you get to Orba?
My daughter started the bar originally and then the whole family became involved.
We've got the 3 generations, we've got my daughter, myself and my mother.
We all bake, so it's a real family concern.
So, you are famous for your cakes.
Absolutely famous in the area for the cakes.
The wonky mocha and the carrot cake are very well known indeed, draw people from all over the place.
Javea, known as Xàbia in Valenciano lies at the foot of Montgó natural park.
It has 15 spectacular view points –Miradores de Javea– the historic old town, the port
and beautiful beaches.
Bay Radio is the biggest English radio station in Spain and we've been broadcasting for the last 12 years
and we've been growing bigger and bigger every year.
We now broadcast all the way from Denia all the way down to Cartagena along the Mediterranean Coast.
We've got an amazing range of DJ's and presenters and the great team behind us, producing some of the best
radio around here really.
Tuesday morning and we've been inundated with…
We work with some of the biggest brands who advertise with Bay Radio
and use us to get their message out there.
And you have been here for how many years?
I started here in 2005; the first day that the Bay radio started.
It's a great place to live, a great place to work and a great place to come on holidays as well.
It's got everything.
It's got great restaurants, it's got great nightlife, great shops
and it's also got a little bit of culture as well.
What have we got here in wintertime?
It's a bit different to summer, but it's still fantastic weather.
The roads are quieter which is nice and there is still lots of things to do, lots of sports, then obviously lovely
restaurants and different things and around this area especially on the Costa Blanca,
there is a lot of winter sports and different things.
We have surfing competitions here in the winter and they do cater for a lot of different things in this area in the
winter as well which is nice.
What's happening with Bay Radio right now?
We have just bought a local radio station which is for younger audience so as you know Bay Radio caters
for an older audience of 35-40 plus and now our new station –Overseas FM– is catering for a younger
audience from the ages of about 18 coming up to about 35-40.
So now we feel that we can cater for the whole spectrum of advertisers and listeners around this area.
Jaimie tell me how living here compares to living in England.
Even though some people find it quite difficult to work out here, there is a lot of opportunity
for expats to come over here and work.
Olivia, Miglena, tell us a little bit about wintertime here in Jávea.
I think living here in winter is nice because you have a lot of time, so you can do things
that usually you are not doing.
Business in wintertime is good.
Olivia you are English, Miglena you are Bulgarian.
Yes.
How come your chose this place to be to live?
I was born here so.
Your parents…They are English and they were living here for 30 years and I was born here and growing up here we
all got really nice memories and I really enjoy it and I've never wanted to leave, really.
Miglena you are Bulgarian.
Yes, I came on holidays 17 years ago, so I really liked Javea, it was different, not so busy like now.
I really love it, it's a very nice village, you have beach, nice weather, good quality of life.
My childhood we used to do a lot of quading, on weekends. We used to go to inland and different
places upon the coast which I really enjoyed.
You are one stop shop for beauty and hair, aren't you?
Yes.
You can get all body of course, like the beauty of course, you can do the facial, body treatments, pedicure,
manicure, laser for hair removal and after this of course is the hair.
Which we can take care of, the coloring, the treatments, blow dries, cutting. Anything that you need we have here
to offer.
So sign me in for a full day treatment.
Of course, enjoy it.
Thank you.
Good!
My parents went on their pension and they said we are going to live in Javea and I'm the only daughter so my
father was like come with me, come with me.
We started first with Masena and we reformed it.
Buen Apetito.
What kind of food do you offer?
It's a little bit International food, more in Masena, more Spanish, Mediterranean.
We started Vall de Cavall 8 years ago.
We all give lessons to people, to clients here, we don't rent out horses that we don't do; we only have a horse
hotel here. That's what we do, actually.
And you are actually doing it for sports.
I used to do eventing 25 years, but then I stopped and now I do endurance.
In Vall de Cavall they try some Asian things, Chinese things in the middle, but most of it is the Mediterranean.
The furniture shop, what are the inspirations here, it's so beautiful.
The most of our furniture comes from Indonesia, we have our own agent there who searches
a lot of furniture, old furniture and they restore it and it comes here.
We also have new things but it's all made with old teak wood, never new teak wood.
So, it's much stronger, it's alive so it's nicer.
And then we have some Indian things, Chinese things, and almost all of the decoration comes from Belgium.
Wendy, Chris what is The Rooms?
The Rooms is especially built environment for us to incorporate the escape room and
If you are not sure what escape room is, you get locked in for 1 hour and you have to solve the clues
This is one of the largest escape rooms that you can possibly have.
And we want families to come, we want young adults, teenagers, we want older people to come, we want
singles, we want groups.
So, there is lots of different types of board games, monopoly, risk, all sorts of things
as well as a café.
It's a great entertainment for winter, for any time of the year.
For the summer as well, because in the summer you don't want to be so much in the sun, you need a little
bit of respite from the heat and for people who don't want to be in the beach all day.
So, it's great for tourists as well.
You can come along and choose the board games, come down to have homemade cake, some tapas
maybe, coffee and because you know there is cafes and bars everywhere but there is nothing
like this, this is going to be totally unique.
So, you know we think it's a totally different concept.
Where is it?
It's just off the Arenal, it's a 2 minute walk from the beach in Javea, from the main beach in Javea, so
perfect location.
Benissa is one of the oldest towns of the area, with magnificently restored townhouses in the historic
center and one of the biggest churches of the area often referred to as the Cathedral.
Even though Benissa is located inland, it also has 4 kilometers of beautiful coastline.
We visited a private chef who lives here to tell us more.
Chris we are in Benissa Costa how is winter here?
It's absolutely fantastic, I mean that was the reason why we came here because I was actually on my way to do a
course in Milan, in Italy and decided to drop by to visit my brother on the way. He is living in Moraira.
And we happened to come in January and I thought is the weather is this fantastic in January,
my goodness me, what is it going to be like in the summer...
I am a private chef and I also teach people to cook, we do cooking classes every year.
I have people to my home to teach them to cook and I also do this private chef work
which means that if you are having a party, some nice big celebration, could be at your
villa, could be at your apartment.
We even did a lunch on a yacht.
I was an independent project manager and I decided I wanted a career change.
My wife Sue who works with me, she comes from Zimbabwe, so she had this nice injection of sun right
from the word go.
I was born in the Caiman Islands so I was also zapped by sun and of course we met in a very rainy part of the
UK and decided that one day we'd like to do something.
We've traveled around the world, learning to cook different cuisines, we can do anything from fish to meat,
to vegetables but amazingly on barbeques, that is our real specialty.
We smoke salmon.
We make cakes, so we go along in our job is to make people happy. That's how I see it.
Great.
Calpe is best known for the mighty Penón de Ifach, the majestic rock rising over 300 meters out of the
Mediterranean Sea, and its two sandy beaches.
Linda, what can one do here in the wintertime?
Well, personally I find it little cold for swimming, but there are some lunatic people form Northern Europe
who do come here to swim, but there are lots of other activities: there is walking clubs and things like that,
so they got the mountains and do serious long walks.
Or for those of us who are less adventurous you can go for a nice stroll along the beach
and enjoy looking at our lovely rock and see sun coming up or the sun setting in the other direction.
If you prefer to spend Christmas in the sun rather than the hail and the nasty weather of Northern Europe
come to the Northern Costa Blanca and spend it here.
We are much busier in winter than we are in high summer months because people who want to do
business won't come out in August.
All of the properties are full so no agent can show them anything; it's far too expensive to rent a property,
and actually we close for the month of August because there is no serious business happening then.
If somebody needs to complete a purchase, we obviously make ourselves available.
August can be pretty crowded in the near the sea towns and that's what a lot of people like.
That the beaches are packed; that's what they really enjoy.
Some of us prefer slightly quieter life and stay clear of the beach in July and August.
So what would you say to somebody who was contemplating coming to the Costa Blanca,
why is winter time so attractive?
You will find that there are lot of people who do what we call 9 month residence.
They are here all winter months and then they go back to their home country to England, to Germany or wherever
to visit the family in those hot, summer months that particularly
the older people are beginning to find that it's be bit too hot to really do anything.
Nora, Peter tell us what is it that you do here.
Well, we have a clinic together, Clínica La Alegria means joyful and I do believe joyful living is very important and
I'm a bit more concentrated, focused on the health part
and you are a bit more busy with the injectables on the beauty side.
And I see a lot of women before menopause and also during menopause
because that is underestimated problem, and many people in the medical world don't believe in the
complaints that women have that could be solved, so we treat a lot of people on a natural way
through menopause.
And navigate them through menopause.
And that's one of my hobbies.
Many women are very happy with that I know because you also see a lot of women.
That's right, I see a lot of women and I try to give them a good feeling by doing Botox and fillers in a natural way.
I often see women that are treated and they have no expression anymore
and I think there are a lot of doctors that are not well trained and that's a big problem.
You say natural way, what do you mean by that?
Natural way is that they keep kind of expression when they are angry or they are laughing.
That it looks normal.
You also offer natural therapy to cancer?
Yes we do, of course we have the orthomolecular way of treating people but we also do intravenous
work with high dosage of vitamin C. And it goes up to sometimes 70, 80 grams per time,
and then twice per week for example.
Why is vitamin C helping cancer disappear?
It's an interesting procedure because in high concentration in the blood it attacks
the cancer cells and that's proven.
It's called "nontoxic tumor therapy."
So, it's not risky really.
No and we've got some good results, people are really happy to receive it.
And how is winter here in this area?
I like it, both the climate and you live here in a relaxed way.
And that's important.
It's the healthiest environment in Europe.
Did you know that the salt lagoons are very important also for the climate?
Because of the salt concentration, the humidity will go down so it's much healthier, I mean there's not a lot of
pollution, the air is very clean and it's warm, a lot of sunny days.
And you are Dutch, the both of you.
Would you like to go back to Holland and live there?
We never know, but we enjoy life every day and that's important and make the best of it.
That's very good advice for everybody I think.
Altea is one of the most beautiful coastal towns of the Costa Blanca North.
With its white, historic old town overlooking the port
and the rocky beach,
Altea retains its own, unique Spanish charm.
It offers abundance of galleries and cultural events all year long.
The visitors can enjoy the sense of community and special charms with many small shops and restaurants.
They offer great selection of international and traditional Spanish cuisine.
I came here from Buenos Aires 15 years ago.
My family is big, I have 6 children and 10 grandchildren now.
What are you doing in Altea?
We decided to come here because it's a very nice place of course, a lot of people need my service.
I'm a Spanish teacher from 30 years now.
I was looking for many places and this is fantastic.
Why?
Because of the weather, sun, only 12 days raining, but it's not only the weather.
I love to eat and I love to cook, I enjoy fruits and vegetables, all here is very fresh.
It's very interesting because when I came I didn't know that this is a place for a second house,
and my students started to come and they told me we are coming here to change our lives and me too.
And I thought – very nice, this is the place.
All people are coming here for a relaxed living, for health.
And this is very interesting because Altea, the name means "health."
In this area there were living for many centuries doctors from different cultures: Greek, Roman, Arabic,
and it's the area where many medicinal plants grow naturally.
And this place is very interesting when you are foreigner and don't speak Spanish,
you need to speak with a doctor, with a supermarket, with your neighbor, you need to speak Spanish because
it's the culture.
The first time you need to communicate.
We use a methodology for conversation, it's not about going into the grammar.
It's practical Spanish and useful grammar.
It's important for my students to have a relationship directly with the local people.
This is Calpe and this is Albir.
In Altea, it's a family shop with a long tradition, 50 years of experience and we want to
advice our clients the best products for them.
We are here if they need something or it's broken they can contact us and we can arrange with the technicians
to solve the problem and we have a lot of different products.
If you haven't got, we can order it so no problem we bring it to your house and we install
and take out the old one, we do it all.
Perfect.
In wintertime we have no siesta, we are open from 9.30-18.30 from November to March.
How is winter here?
We have a special microclimate in this area and it's not very cool in the wintertime
and we have good temperature all around the year.
Ingo, tell me about wintertime here on the Costa Blanca North.
The wintertime here is very nice, I love the winter here.
I came from Germany and it was only rain and fog and dirty and because of this I don't like winter in Germany.
That is why I came 20 years ago to Spain, it was so nice here, sunny.
It's OK, it's not so cold and it's so nice and here on the Coast we have the mountains, we have the sea.
We have it all, what do you want more?
So, would you go back to Germany?
No, when I'm like some of my clients, the pensioners.
then I will go for some months to Germany and come back, but I think the most of the time I will stay in Spain.
And you have a very special shop here, what is it that you offer here?
Yes, I offer organic products. 100% organic, certified products.
When I came to Spain 20 years ago, I lived organic in Germany and I searched organic products and we didn't
find enough, we found nothing in Spain.
That is why we started this business.
We've had our business for 17 years now and we got more and more products and now I think we have the
best assortment on the Coast here.
Ok, great.
The most products I think, we have more than 5,000 different products here.
When you come in winter here, you have some very good offers for hotels;
they are not so expensive in winter.
To rent a house here, especially in Altea, Calpe, Denia there are a lot of cheap offers in the winter.
You can buy organic products then you can cook it in your household, it's not necessary to go to restaurants
you can make what you want.
Melitón Jardin it's a bodega and a garden restaurant in a very old traditional finca in Altea la Vella.
We have a simple but very traditional Spanish authentic kitchen with natural food of the season and of the region
and of course fresh specialties of the sea.
We have part of the classic menu and we have the menu of the regional food.
We are open the whole year from morning till night.
What is Melitón Jardin, what does it stand for?
The name "Melitón" is for any sweet like honey and the word "jardin" it's a garden place where we have a very
big garden, so much terrace.
In the summer time we have more places, but in the wintertime we have a very cosy restaurant
with two fireplaces.
Cocas are small Valencian pizzas and we make it in the wood oven.
In 2013 it was a very old finca and we needed 6 month to renovate completely.
It was never a restaurant before.
Who makes all this delicious food?
It's our chef Pablo.
Pablo is 61 years old and he came specially for the production of the traditional food.
Why did you move down here?
Oh, I came with my husband 10 years ago to the Costa Blanca to live here for good.
Of course the weather in the wintertime is nice and the sun gives you special energy.
And you are German?
Yes, I am.
Are you going back to Germany?
No, I'm sure, I am not going back to Germany and my family comes to visit me here in Spain.
Leaving Altea you can take a lovely walk along the sea to Albir.
We are practically divided in two.
We've got the old town which people know as L'Alfàs del Pi
and we've got the beach area which is L'Albir.
Which often people think it's a separate entity but it's not…
Albir belongs to Alfàs del Pi, it's the same municipality.
And this municipality is in the middle of Costa Blanca North…
It is and Alfàs del Pi also has got different festivals during the year, we've got the film festival, we also
have got many cultural activities.
And it is very international.
You, yourself are from Belgium, and you have some Norwegian blood.
Yes, I have Norwegian, Persian blood.
We are over 20.000 inhabitants in Alfàs and del Pi and more than half of them are from other nationalities.
We've got over 98 different nationalities in our town.
We have to make sure that they feel integrated.
That's the most important part of my job, make sure that people feel themselves at home.
This is Robin, the meerkat that I've got at home.
What are you doing, I'm not to be eaten.
Ok, so tell me exactly how is it to live here in wintertime?
It's quiet but for the last couple of years it started to get busier, we have a lot more people around,
business has got lot better as well, it seems like tourists are finding this is a destination to relax in winter.
And you guys offer birds…
We have all sorts of exotic animals.
Yes.
All sorts as you can see.
Reptiles, birds, we specialize in salt water aquariums.
We have a wide variety of salt water fish, also in vertebrates and shell fish.
All right.
And can you tell us a little bit about the services you offer.
You have a vet as well?
Yes, we have a veterinary specialized in exotic animals.
I treat non dogs and non-cats pets.
Parrots they are the most playful and friendly pets in the world more than any cat and any dog.
This is a lizard from Morocco.
Can I touch it?
Yes.
Now, it's much better.
It had and infusion because it was a bit dehydrated.
So you can play with him like with other pets or better not?
Reptiles are different pets, but they can interact with the owners, they just need some time.
Where is your passion for animals coming from?
Oh, back at home, we've always had a lot of animals.
And it goes back from my granddad who used to have chimpanzee, many horses, so it's a family thing.
All right.
Always been with them.
In winter what you can do is you can relax, go down to Albir,
have a nice coffee in very nice coffee places down there.
Also you can sit by the beach and have your coffee or whatever you wish.
It's pretty nice in the winter.
Suli tell me about your restaurant.
We are the family business.
My husband and I are looking after the old business.
And my brother with his wife are looking after the new business.
Also we have two cousins working at the each kitchen stove.
And at the old restaurant we are over 17 years, we started in 1999.
We are long time here.
We know a lot about Albir.
It's a big change now.
I have two boys and it's very important to study different languages here in this area of the Costa Blanca.
They go to private school, they learn English, German, Spanish, also Valenciano and Chinese.
It's very good.
Costa Blanca is like a small United Nations.
I also have two dogs, two German Shepherds, and my husband goes every morning with the
dogs to the mountains.
It's a fantastic place to live with animals and to enjoy it here, the sun is perfect.
I hear there are lots of restaurants that work only in summer time and in winter is very quiet, but nor for us.
You have business here all the time?
I have more business also in the winter time.
Oh?
Yes.
In the wintertime, they are a lot of pensioners.
The prices in the restaurants are so good they can eat nearly every day out.
Yes.
Outside there is a hotel and on the left side there is a free parking, on the right side there is a nice sea.
The whole area is perfect.
My brother is a good chef.
He knows Japanese sushi.
and also Thai food
and Chinese food of course because there are more Asian restaurants.
My husband and cousins, also my brother they are making beautiful decorations, they are artists.
Wintertime in Albir is nice. It's a bit quieter than in the summer, you serve other food.
Ok.
Because you have more time and you are more relaxed.
Now, we have more specials with the oysters, we have 3 types of oysters.
We have the French classic cuisine and that's nice, that's all the fresh things, the fish, the meat
the sauces are fresh and home-made.
That is what Anna stands for.
It takes a lot of time, but you have a lot of positive reactions from the clients.
I adore the French cuisine and that's my kitchen, that's what I want.
That's Anna.
Where is that coming from?
Anna is the name of the owner, the boss Anna, and also of her husband's mother, she was also Anna, so
they have a special name, it's a family name you could say like this.
And you, yourself are Belgian.
I'm Belgian, yes. I live here now for 3 years.
My parents wanted to come here when I was very young.
The first time I came that's the place where I want to live, it's gonna be my home some day
and this time they just said: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you just a kid,"
but now with so much time later and I live my dream, I did what I said and I'm still happy for it.
Are you going back to Belgium?
Yes, maybe for Christmas for 2 days or something.
But, you don't want to live there?
No…
100 different beers.
Wow.
Tell me about it, Alain.
We now have 100 beers.
Most of them are coming from Belgium because I'm from Belgium too.
We have many special beers, a little bit from everywhere that's why we are called Universal.
What are your favourite winter activities?
Winter activities?
You can do here many things.
But climbing is one of my favorites because in winter it's not too hot but still warm enough to enjoy whatever you
do on the rocks.
Samantha, I hear you are a special baker.
Tell me about it.
Thank you Natalia.
It's organic, it's refined sugar free, it's gluten free, it's baked fresh on a daily basis.
Here is some freshly baked polenta muffins made with fresh Spinach, sundried tomatoes
and pine kernels.
It looks really delicious and what is this?
That's chocolate, pear with hazel nuts frangipane tart, it is refined sugar free, gluten free and dairy free.
And this beauty?
That is raspberry flapjacks with oats, they are gluten free and it's also refined sugar free.
So, I understand that you are actually baking whatever people want.
Yes.
I set up Cake Away because I'm passionate about home-made baking and food made from scratch.
You are from South Africa?
Yes, I am.
How come you are here in Spain?
My family moved to Spain in the early 70s, I grew up here, went to school here.
How did you see this place changing?
It's changed a lot, there were certain things you didn't have access to with regards to food.
You couldn't find fresh salmon, you couldn't find vanilla essence to make cakes.
Things had to be done using local ingredients.
Now you have a wealth of all sorts of products in this area, organic and non-organic.
If I wanted to learn how to do this, would you be able to teach me?
Yes, of course.
In fact I'm actually organizing some classes at the moment which I think will help a lot of people learn
to make these amazing things.
I'm interested in being able to explain throughout my classes what the ingredients are best used for,
how to use them and the nutritional value.
Having a sweet treat and also at the same time having something nutritious and satisfying too.
Well, I'm looking forward to it then.
And what do you like about winter here?
It's less crowded, the weather generally is fantastic, there is lots to do and the airport is 45 minutes away.
Valencia if you want to go to the theatre is an hour and a half away; it's easy and it's comfortable to live here.
How did you start your business, Gaynor?
It was a case of boredom.
I came over here to retire because I have a foot parlour in England and it's been established ther for 20 years
and I decided I was going to go back to my roots in Spain because this is where I grew up.
What I'm trying to do is just to help people because when you come to see me, I don't treat the symptoms,
I treat the causes, so for example if you have corns, you have callouses I will explain why you have these,
why you have to make a change in your footwear.
Obviously in England feet are inside the shoes all the time, whereas here as soon as the spring starts to come
everybody starts to get the feet out and they want to have the nails looking nice.
We also offer colonic hydrotherapy which is then that you can see the difference more between the winter
and the summer because generally in the winter months people are eating these nice
fatty things and you know they are filling themselves with rubbish.
So as soon as the bikini season starts, the spring starts
that's when I start to work with the colonic hydrotherapy because everybody decides that they want to have a flat
tummy, they want to get rid of those horrible toxins that they have been taking in and sometimes people just
come to maintain things and in the wintertime people
they are waiting for the summer and then when we go from the winter to the spring that's when we start to
notice that people are starting to make more appointments.
Benidorm is best known as the nightlife party city of the Costa Blanca North.
With over 70.000 inhabitants it has the most high-rise building per capita in the world.
There is more to it than just a party life:
beautiful sandy beaches,
theme parks,
old town
and great shopping.
Winter time is perfect for visiting Benidorm as its busy and lively but not over crowded.
Alex tell me what is Isabella?
Isabella is the mix from Italian and the Spanish food, cuisine.
We try to make a real Italian pizza with real ingredients.
We make the menu of the day all day, at night we make a free buffet, you can eat all the pizza you can for 6 euros.
And you are in Benidorm why?
Because there are many people here all year, winter and summer, every season.
We are in winter now and it's a very nice weather.
Yes, it's I don't know 20 degrees.
It's perfect to live here.
Alicante is the capital of the province of Alicante.
It is also a historic Mediterranean port with a population of over 330.000, it's the second largest Valencian city.
Let's hear more about the town from one of the city's great residents, culture lover and a musician:
Pepe Bornay
How is Alicante for you different in winter time than in summer?
Do you feel the difference as a person that lives here?
Yes, and even the visitors are different.
Different kind of tourists.
Tell me.
They are more cultural, when you think about Alicante and Costa Blanca
You mainly think about beach, good sun, holidays, things like that, but you can find nice buildings, the ambiance,
a rich cultural life.
You can go to concerts, exhibitions, there are many new activities now.
Tell us a little bit about what you do.
We have a music school here in the city,
and then you know playing groups,
jazz groups, mainly.
You teach adults and children.
On every corner we've got something interesting in Alicante.
What have we got here?
You have the Castle, then you have a very nice church built on old medieval ground and then you have the
contemporary art museum.
You know the Camino de Santiago?
It's from here
OK.
from Alicante.
One of the roads.
The old style tapas, restaurants, Spanish food and all that.
And then you can find a very nice new restaurants designed, new cuisine
which are becoming quite famous.
So, you can see how nice is the winter weather here…
And this is the Rambla you say.
This is the Rambla.
So the Rambla is an old riverbed or?
Yes.
It's an old riverbed, when the rain comes all the water goes to the sea.
It's very typical – La Rambla de Barcelona.
You can see them all over Spain.
This is like a kind of a symbol of the city:
this pavement.
It's taken from another promenade in Rio de Janeiro in Brasil.
OK.
It's a curiosity.
It's beautiful.
You are involved into the music scene of Alicante of course.
Yeah.
Concerts; festivals.
Cinema festival, we have a section which is music "música para la imagen," music for the image.
And then we have a jazz festival.
The city lives 24 hours.
Yeah.
It's a cool city and with this weather, what do you want?
Elche has a population of over 230,000 inhabitants, it lies between Costa Blanca North
and Costa Blanca South.
Elche is a beautiful city famous for its palms and the archeological remains.
Like all towns of the Costa Blanca North, Elche has many fiestas.
The international airport which tourists often refer to as Alicante airport is in fact situated in Elche.
Elche is very famous for long standing tradition in shoe production and we are in one of the biggest shoe
production companies: Salvador Artesano. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Yeah.
This factory is 40 years old, it was created by a couple and now we have this factory to show to people and the
shop is for the people to come by from other countries.
How many shops do you have?
We have 25 shops.
We have shoes for women, very comfortable and party shoes too.
We have shoes for men too, we have many brands, shoes for party, walking and we have other brands too.
So for sports and for any occasion?
Yes, in here you can buy any kind of shoes.
What about prices?
It's much cheaper than the other shops because here is the factory and the price is low.
From Elche we go north, deep into the mountains where we find a lovely Bed and Breakfast called
Can Sueño which means "hostel of dreams."
When did you decide to move to the mountains?
We'd like to go deep into Spain, but not too far from everything and here we don't have any neighbors,
we have all space and good air.
We live with eagles and with wild boars,
Nature.
birds.
Yes, beautiful.
And silence.
You can hear your heartbeat.
And you can see the stars.
The main thing is that we are really interested in people, we love our guests.
We take a really good care of them.
We make excellent food, fresh food from this area, without any pesticides.
As good as possible.
We offer a suite for people who really want to enjoy life and like to stay for the night.
Before we go back to the coast we visit two charming inland villages.
La Solana has more than 35 years of tradition.
All year long you can enjoy very good food.
We offer a wide variety of daily menus.
Also you can choose between different starters and desserts, you can find a lot of home-made cakes.
We organize family celebrations, associations and groups up to 160 people.
You can enjoy horse riding and guided tours around the area.
In February we have beautiful almond blossom.
Kina, Paul, tell us what are you doing here?
We run a supermarket, The British Supermarket and we offer British foods that all the expats who are here don't
find here.
And it's not only the English, Spanish people coming, Germans, Dutch.
We also have a very good butcher …. yes, I love his meat.
And you are from Zimbabwe?
Yes, I am from Zimbabwe
You are English?
I'm English, yes.
How did that love happen?
Well, I used to work in Africa in oil industry and we both met in Namibia.
Yes, I was there going waiting for a visa and Kina was there doing some sales and the place is a whole,
everybody knows everybody and it's like a corner shop and the café is very popular.
Denia positioned on the northern edge of the Costa Blanca North is famous for its culture and gastronomy.
Tell me a little bit about your restaurant.
We've been open since 2005 we are now one of the longest running restaurants in the marina.
Christmas is over so we need to take the decorations down.
We do a menu of the day which we try to use seasonal fruits and vegetables at a very reasonable price,
hence the reason why we are usually so busy.
It's beautiful day today, in the middle of January and yet we've had 18 degrees, people on out terrace,
people inside.
What more could you want?
We hope you enjoyed the film and to discover other towns and the people of the Costa Blanca,
tune into our website at UPnowCostaBlanca.com
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