Blasco Apartment Stay near Valencia Spain for one or two weeks

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1 Blasco Apartment Stay near Valencia Spain for one or two weeks Offer Improve your Spanish, float in the Mediterranean, enjoy nature in a protected natural park and visit the sights in the third largest city in Spain. You can do it all from our small, but comfortable for 2-4 adults, apartment on the outskirts of Valencia, the third largest city in Spain. The apartment faces the sea with no obstruction. Inside watch the sunrise from the front windows looking out over the sea or the sunset from the rear windows looking out over the Albufera, an inland lagoon, and the nearby mountains. It has a wonderful view of barges with their sparkling lights at night as they are waiting to enter the nearby port to be unloaded. All the flora and fauna are protected and there are trails for biking and hiking both along the beach front and the secondary, forested dunes. The apartment also has a pool. More Information El Saler is a protected natural park 12 km south of the heart of Valencia. It is a strip of land that runs between an inland lagoon, Albufera and the Mediterranean Sea. There are marked hiking, biking trails with audioguide descriptions in Spanish all over the natural park. Valencia can be reached by the local bus (described below) which goes every hour until the middle of June, then every half hour. Having a car at your disposal gives you the most flexibility to explore the surrounding area. There is a large file of tourist information about the area in the apartment including maps, descriptions of local and day trip places to visit. The apartment itself is on the 6th floor of an apartment building with a pool and preschool playground. It has marvelous views on 3 sides. It consists of 2 bedrooms, 1 small study, a living room/dining room salon and a fully equipped kitchen with an open marble counter to the salon, and 1full bathroom and 1/2 bathroom/laundry room. The building also has a roof top where clothes can be dried with a spectacular 270 degree view. There is regular bus transportation into Valencia where La Ciudad de Las Artes y Sciencias by the world famous architect Calatrava can be visited. Valencia is a walking City with inviting cafes and restaurants everywhere. It is also the birthplace and home of paella, the signature dish of Spanish cuisine. Center City is distinguished by a greenway that was constructed when the Turia River was diverted from Valencia after a huge flood in the 1950s. It is used by residents for walking, biking, playing soccer on the innumerable soccer fields and for children, climbing on the playground equipment. There are also interesting day trips as well the possibility of visiting Barcelona which is about 3-4 hours away by car or train. Restrictions Maximum 4 adults as there are two bedrooms, each with a queen sized bed. There is no internet or phone connectivity in the apartment. There is a café/restaurant nearby with free WIFI access.

2 Where is El Saler (Valencia), Spain? El Saler is 12.1 km (7.5 miles) south of Valencia Valencia El Saler

3 Distances 0 km 0 mi El Saler beach is located to the south of Valencia, in the heart of the La Albufera Natural Park. It is bordered to the north by the Playa L'Arbre del Gos beach and to the south by the La Garrofera beach. This large area of 2.6 kilometres of fine, golden sand is protected from the western wind by dunes and by a large expanse of pines, making it one of the most popular beaches in Valencia. (5 min walk) 12 km 7.5 mi Valencia (16 min by car; min by bus) 366 km 227 mi Madrid (3.5 hr by car) 360 km 224 mi Barcelona (3.5 hr by car)

4 Local History The Albufera which was once the scene of a strong fishing industry for angullas, (little eels) on which the local economy was based. Today that has been greatly diminished even though El Palmar, about 12 km from our apartment, still has the small houses many of which are restored to original architecture. It is surrounded by arrozales (rice fields) which today are the heart of rice production in Spain. It connects to the sea by a canal that has locks so that the water level in the fields can be changed as necessary for the rice plants. Egrets and herons are all over the fields which are dotted with the barracas or traditional small farm houses of rice farmers. The small fishing boats with a sail today take tourists out to explore the Albufera. The right to have a fishing boat has been passed down within families only to oldest son, never a daughter until recently when the women fought to inherit the fishing rights and won. To the north of the city is the huerta or lush farm area that produces luscious vegetables in season. It is still irrigated by the irrigation system put in place by the Moors when they occupied Valencia until the 1400's. There a local park research institution where migratory birds come and go in their flights from northern Europe to Africa as well as some all year residents.

5 Accomodations Need we say more?

6 Google Maps: El Saler Street View (above) Apartment * above asterisk is the Mirador de Albufera yellow bus stop

7 Transportation from Airports You can best reach Valencia by flying to Madrid or Barcelona. Madrid - either rent a car with GPS and drive to Valencia, fly to Valencia, or take a train to Valencia. It is a 4 hour drive to Valencia. Barcelona rent a car and drive to Valencia or take a train to Valencia. It is a 3 hour drive to Valencia. Valencia Metro

8 Bus Transportation from Valencia to El Saler Bus to beaches in Valencia. For all the beaches on the southern coast by Valencia you take the same mythical YELLOW BUS. Mythical because it is very well known yet it is a bit of a ghost. You will be simply told by everyone, including the Tourist Office, to catch the YELLOW BUS. The yellow buses in Valencia are those that go out of the city, as opposed to the red buses inside the city. The yellow bus you want will have "Perello" as the final destination on its front. However, considering this is Spain, it may well have "Valencia" because the driver has forgotten to change it from the return trip. You will usually be sent to catch it near the train station. However, there are 4 stops of this bus before it leaves the city and if you are staying in Av. del Puerto or Av. Francia, you may well opt for the last two. Yellow Bus Stops in Valencia 1) Between the Train Station and the Bullring - Calle Alicante 2) Gran Via Germanias X Calle Sueca 3) C/ Alcalde Reig X C/ Luis Oliag 4) Near the entrance to El Saler Shopping Centre Making Sure To make sure it is the right bus stop both on the way there and on the return trip you should check the Herca sign on the stop (Herca is the company that runs the bus). The Route If you can speak Spanish ask the driver to let you know when you get to: El Saler - for El Saler beach: You will be dropped off in the El Saler town centre. The beach is clearly signposted from there - a few minute walk. During the peak months of July and August the bus will make an extra stop at the beach itself. If you can't speak Spanish and have to rely on the landmarks only, here is the breakdown. The map only shows the stops to get off at since you shouldn't rely on counting the stops as the bus may not stop at all of them if there is no one to pick up there. Once the bus crosses the Turia river (the real one, not the gardens) and gets on the highway, you will be out of Valencia. It will then turn into a town - this is Pinedo. Just past the third round, by the entrance to a camping ground Camping Coll Vert. is the Pinedo Beach stop. At this point - around min bus trip from Valencia centre. For the El Saler stay on until, in just a few minutes and after one more stop at the 4th roundabout, the bus enters the El Saler town. The built-up landscape will be obvious and quite a few people will get off here. You will be dropped off in the El Saler town centre. The beach is clearly signposted from there - a few minute walk. During the peak months of July and August the bus will make an extra stop at the beach itself. At this point - around min bus trip from Valencia centre. [As noted on the Google map earlier, the correct stop is actually Mirador de Albufera, just south of El Saler & just above Gola de Puchol. More detail if you are the winning bidder.]

9 Bonus Mimi and Luis would be happy to host the winners of this offer to dinner at their home in Merion to answer any questions and provide additional information.