Quirky Traveller's Tales

In the fifth of our series of interviews with holiday homeowners from around the world, Martin and Christine Drew talk about how they fell in love with a less known spot in France, the Lot et Garonne. 

When Martin and Christine Drew finished a self-build project for their own home in the UK, they decided to look for a renovation project in France; an old barn, farmhouse, or other ruin that they could slowly bring back to life and restore to its former glory. Little did they know that they would end up buying a ‘little piece of France’, a building plot in Lot et Garonne with stunning views over a gently sloping valley and build Valmar Gite, a beautiful two-bedroom house with swimming pool that was completely different to what they had anticipated and which they now love to share with holidaymakers.

Valmar Gite, France

1.       What first made you fall in love with Lot et Garonne and why should people come here?

We had holidayed in various parts of France, the Riviera, the North Coast, Languedoc, but we found the North to be a little too much like home back in the UK and the South to be a little too hot and arid for our liking. So, when we visited the Lot et Garonne and discovered the beautiful green rolling hills, quiet country lanes, almost free of traffic, vineyard after vineyard and fields full of cheerful sunflowers, we really did fall in love with the area.

2.       What’s the ‘best kept secret’ you would tell any visitors not to miss?

One of the best kept secrets of the Lot et Garonne is found at the nearby village of Le Temple-sur-lot. Just 10 minutes’ drive from Valmar Gite, the ‘Jardin des Nénuphars’ (Garden of Water Lilies) was created by Joseph Latour-Marliac in 1875 and is said to contain the oldest and the most prestigious nursery of water lilies in the world. The gardens are most famous for their association with the artist Claude Monet who visited the nursery many times and it was from here that the inspiration sprang for his creation “Les Nymphéas”, a series of approximately 250 paintings, devoted to water lilies. There is a café perched on the side of the lake where you can sit and relax and partake in a snack and a beverage, or favourite tipple.

3.       Where’s the place to go to just hang out, people watch and generally soak up the atmosphere?

Night Market at Pujols

There are 152 villages classed as ‘Les Plus Beaux Villages de France’ (the most beautiful villages of France) and two of them are in the Lot et Garonne. One is called Pujols and is an ancient village perched high on a hilltop. Once occupied by the Romans who fortified it, Pujols has superb views towards Villeneuve-sur-lot. It is only a 15 minute drive from Valmar Gite and a favourite of ours to visit for either lunch or the fantastic weekly ‘Night Market’. By day you can stroll around the quirky little side streets and alleys, before sitting down for a spot of lunch and to take in the superb views. Then by night you can bring along your own food, or buy at the night market in the central square and experience great live entertainment and join in the fun family atmosphere, whilst experiencing a taste of the ‘real France’.

 4.       What would you recommend visitors either treat themselves to or take home as a   souvenir?

One of our favourite pastimes is, of course, eating out.  Whether it’s dropping in at a café or brasserie, to grab a bite to eat at lunchtime, or going for an evening meal at a nice restaurant, we love eating out in France. And you mustn’t visit the Lot et Garonne without experiencing at least one of the local culinary delicacies. For starters Martin enjoys his chevre chaud (melted goats cheese on toast) and Christine loves her escargots (snails). Magret de Canard (duck breast) is also a great favourite and for something to take home as a souvenir, the area’s main town, Agen, is world famous for its ‘Pruneaux D’Agen’. You are unlikely to find prunes as tasty as these anywhere else.

5.       Finally, what are the most ‘quirky’ things to do, see, eat, visit or experience in this place?

If you’re looking to do something a little unusual, then how about a bit of prune stone spitting. There is an annual event that takes place in a nearby small town, Sainte Livrade-sur-lot. Each year, normally the last Saturday in July, the 6,000+ inhabitants of the town, along with entrants from just about anywhere, gather together to compete in the prune stone spitting world championship. Around 100 participants take part and there are separate competitions for adults and children.  If you don’t fancy having a go at this somewhat quirky event, you could always just join in the fun as a spectator!

Valmar swimming pool & countryside

Holiday Homeowner Q&A is brought to you by HomeAway.co.uk, the UK’s leading holiday rentals website with over 320,000 properties worldwide. From cute studios and city apartments to rural cottages and country homes, large luxury villas, quirky conversions and more, there are thousands of unique places to enjoy a more authentic and unusual holiday.

In the fourth of our series of interviews with Holiday Homeowners from around the world, British expats Boz and Polly Cannon share their secret to a more laidback and active lifestyle and offer an insight into their new life in Frigiliana, in beautiful southern Spain.

 After working for 23 years in the Royal Navy then spending 5 years commuting from Petersfield Hampshire to London working in high pressure IT environment, Boz Cannon and his wife Polly, an NHS administrator, decided it was time for a change. In 2002, they bought a luxurious two bedroom apartment in a small complex in Frigiliana, Costa del Sol, with incredible 360 degree views from the balconies and roof terrace, both down to the sea and to the mountains.

After returning to London, Boz found out his  CEO had been fired, so that very same night they decided to cash in all their investments, sell the flats and move lock, stock and barrel to Spain. Less than three  months later they arrived for good.

1.  What first made you fall in love with Frigiliana and why should people come here?

We fell in love with Frigiliana, in southern Spain for so many reasons, it just seemed to have everything we could have ever dreamed of.  We had always loved the outdoors, so with the hills of the Sierra Tejeda and the Almijada Natural Park on our doorstep, the Mediterranea Sea  ten minutes away and the Sierra Nevada ski resort just 90 minutes away we could now play to our heart’s content. After our previous hectic lives, the moderate pace of life, lack of road rage,  low crime levels, lack of materialism and the fact that the Spanish have maintained family life and values, was a true joy to become part of.

 2.  What’s the ‘best kept secret’ you would tell any visitors not to miss?

This one is very easy. El Acebuchal is a small aldea (hamlet) about 5km from Frigiliana which was an old staging post on the trade route from the coast into the province of Granada. During the days of the civil war, the village was abandoned and  fell into ruins but back in 1998 Antonio Garcia “El Zumbo” and his family, who now own and run the restaurant there and who lived in the village as children, decided to renovate some of the family properties, which sparked off a full scale renovation of the village. El Acebuchal has now been reborn as a beautiful whitewashed pueblo with lovely cobbled streets and a wood fired oven in the main street, where Antonio will often cook a whole roast lamb or suckling pig.

3.  Where’s the place to go to just hang out, people watch and generally soak up the atmosphere?

In terms of just hanging out, there is no better way to get a feel for the life and soul of the village than to take  an evening  ‘paseo’ (wander) through the village. Join in with the locals as they parade through the narrow alleys and winding lanes, often with four generations of the same family in tow. Great grandparents with their walking sticks down to babies in pushchairs, they all stop to chat to their lifelong neighbours and friends.

4.  What would you recommend visitors either treat themselves to while they’re there, or take home as a souvenir?

A visit to Frigiliana would certainly not be complete without sampling some of the local delicacies. There’s the locally produced Frigiliana wine, made of the moscatell grapes that are harvested in August, taken to the local press in the village and then transferred to huge barrels where the juice is left to ferment for three months or more with no additives whatsoever. Another  favourite is the locally produced cane honey, still made in the original factory in the village. For the carnivor, a plate of ‘Choto’ (goat) in garlic and almond sauce is an absoute must.

5.  Finally, what are the most ‘quirky’ things to do, see, eat, visit or experience in this place?

The Axarquia region of the Costa del Sol plays host to a vast array of adrenalin fuelled adventure sports. There’s canyoning, a relatively new sport to Spain, but also parascending, skydiving, climbing a ‘via ferrata’ and kayaking. There are also dozens of caves in the area, including the world famouse Nerja Caves, that take the visitor to a whole new subterranean world with immense galleries, wierd and wonderful rock formations, and prehistoric cave paintings reputed to be almost 20,000 years old.

Frigiliana apartment owners Boz & Polly

Holiday Homeowner Q&A is brought to you by HomeAway.co.uk, the UK’s leading holiday rentals website with over 320,000 properties worldwide. From cute studios and city apartments to rural cottages and country homes, large luxury villas, quirky conversions and more, there are thousands of unique places to enjoy a more authentic and unusual holiday.

In the third of our series of interviews with Holiday Homeowners from around the world, globetrotting Italian traveller and entrepreneur, Antonio Bortolotti and his wife share with you their reasons for loving where their holiday home is situated,  best-kept quirky travel secrets and top tips for making the most of your stay. 

After 15 years working as an air steward for Alitalia, Antonio decided to draw on his extensive world knowledge and, together with his wife Cristina, set out on a mission to create their perfect holiday home and fulfil a lifelong dream. In just three years, they bought and renovated, with amazing creative zeal and flair, ‘Casa Teulada’, an idyllic stone farmhouse on the island of Sardinia.

Casa Teulada, Sardinia

Featured in some of the most prominent national papers, including The Sunday Times, The Guardian and The Observer, Casa Teulada has been successful beyond Antonio and Cristina’s wildest dreams.  Today they delight in welcoming guests from around the world to enjoy their beautiful home. As well as running Casa Teulada, Antonio has also written three books, including an iPhone guide, and runs the HolidayHomesRoundTheWorld.com blog, where he and wife Cristina share their experiences of other great holiday rentals around the world.

What first made you fall in love with Sardinia and why should people come here?  We live quite a hectic life and dreamt about the perfect place to indulge our senses for years. After venturing around the world, we found the ideal place not far from home! A traveller’s paradise and undoubtedly the top Italian holiday destination among our fellow countrymen, Sardinia ranks top for idyllic beaches, crystal clear waters, great scenery and warm people hands down. Northern Sardinia is where the rich and famous gather to enjoy the vibrant lifestyle and glittering nightlife, southern Sardinia – especially the southwest – is still authentic, pristine and laid back.

Teulada Beach – Sardinia

It is here that we chose to fulfil our dream, as we love the quality of life, which for us translates into peace and tranquillity surrounded by genuinely warm locals living at a very slow pace. Sardinia has it all in terms of unique history and lots of opportunities for every budget, so it was a natural place to go to live out our dream.

What’s the ‘best kept secret’ you would tell any visitors not to miss?  The coastal drive from Chia to Teulada from September to June! This shows nature at its most spectacular best: secluded coves, endless beaches, unpaved treks in the “Mediterranean macchia (bush)”, ancient ruins of mysterious civilizations, colours and perfumes that shake even the coldest heart. You could get trapped meandering through this 25 km long stretch of coast forever and never get bored seeing something similar twice.

The “Girotonno” (the Tuna Tour) is a not to be missed event held each May in Carloforte on the tiny island of San Pietro.

Giant tuna during a tonnara in Carloforte

A food and wine competition celebrating the tradition of tuna fishing, the event evokes men, stories and flavours of the tuna on the routes of the old Tonnara of Carloforte, one of the most active of the Mediterranean Sea. This is unique opportunity to explore in detail the magic world of the tonnara traps and the fishermen, admiring the ancient rite of “Mattanza“.

Where’s the place to go to just hang out, people watch and generally soak up the atmosphere?  Only an hour’s drive from Teulada, is Poetto’s beach in Cagliari, Sardinia’s gateway.  Catch the sunset if you can – locals love it, so why shouldn’t you?

Poetto beach – Sardinia

What would you recommend visitors either treat themselves to while they’re there, or take home as a souvenir?  Sardinia is a world of its own, very different from the rest of Italy in many ways. A good way to sample its diversity is through food and local delicacies, which speak for the inhabitants of this unique island. “Eat Sardinian” and you will discover a pleasant, unexpected surprise that will make you bring home some fantastic, mouth-watering Pecorino cheese, Mirto liqueur, Grappa “Fileferru” – the typical Sardinian “outlawed” liqueur – and Bottarga, salted, pressed, dried, and ground grey mullet roe, which is excellent on spaghetti or sliced on salads!

Bottarga with spaghetti

Finally, what are the most ‘quirky’ things to do, see, eat, visit or experience in this place?  Again, food is definitely quirky in Sardinia and Sardinians have a concept of cuisine all of their own! Spaghetti with bottarga or sea urchins is an absolute joy for foodies!  Make friends with locals and do something extraordinary for them, and they will invite you home to sample “Porceddu”, a young pig slowly baked and cooked underground with an elaborate procedure) and a specialty consumed only among friends to celebrate special events.

Casa Teulada at night

Holiday Homeowner Q&A is brought to you by HomeAway, the UK’s leading holiday rentals website with over 320,000 properties worldwide. From cute studios and city apartments to rural cottages and country homes, large luxury villas, quirky conversions and more, there are thousands of unique places to enjoy a more authentic and unusual holiday.

It’s a real pleasure to be hosting a series of interviews with some very special Holiday Homeowners from around the world.  They will share with you their reasons for loving where their holiday homes are situated,  best-kept quirky travel secrets and top tips for making the most of your stay.  

Nicky Anson and Phil Bryant  made Istria, Croatia their home after many hectic years running their own marketing agency in Antwerp. Amidst its rocky coastline and lush landscape they discovered the more laid-back, outdoor lifestyle they were looking for;  somewhere they could relax on outdoor sofas, lunch on the terrace and enjoy an afternoon swim.

After several years, Nicky and Phil realised what a fantastic holiday location this was and launched a holiday rentals business, alongside a blog chronicling their experiences, Liveistria.com.  They now offer two beautiful properties to guests on HomeAway.co.uk  ‘The Little House’ and a traditional stone cottage in Brnobici.

Here, Nicky talks about what first drew them to this “sweet spot” of the Med, why you should go, the region’s best kept secrets, and her favourite places to hang out.

What first made you fall in love with Istria and why should people come here?

When we first came here, Istria completely won my heart. I’d always thought the Med was dry and dusty, but Istria is green and covered with wonderful oak forests. Its rocky coastline, with pines growing down to the sea, is exquisite. 

Inland, it’s full of time-forgotten, stone villages and along the coast you’ll find magnificent Venetian seaside towns. Here, the pace of life is slower and the quality of life higher: there’s less traffic and more trees, and wild flowers still grow in the hedgerows. It’s a special part of Europe, a “sweet spot” in the Med; far enough south to have long, warm summers, yet without the searing heat of further down.

What’s the best-kept secret you would tell any visitors not to miss?

I’ve just discovered Pula Aquarium, a fascinating attraction in an old fort on the coast, which is a great place to find out about the Adriatic Sea and is home to Croatia’s only marine turtle rescue centre.  Also, most tourists stick to the coast, but the true Istrian gems are the inland villages. Grožnjan, Motovun and Hum are the ‘big three’ on the tourist trail, but try Draguć, Sv. Lovreč, Roč and Gračišće, and you’ll escape to a world where time’s stood still.

Another special place is Dvigrad, which was abandoned in the 17^th Century when its population moved out to escape the plague. Today only local tourists seem to know about this atmospheric ruined town.

Where’s the best place to go to just ‘hang out’, people watch and generally soak up the atmosphere?

For some buzz, Poreč sea front is the place to see and be seen. Have a coffee in café Epoca and watch the world parade past.My favourite local restaurant is Konoba Monica in Žbandaj, just outside Poreč. The food’s fantastic, the portions huge and the prices unbelievably cheap. Very few tourists find it and most guests are locals. Owner Biljana speaks very little English, but will make you very welcome. Also in Žbandaj is Konoba Kaštel, one of Istria’s oldest restaurants offering locally-sourced, traditional food.

What would you recommend visitors treat themselves to while they’re there, or take home as a souvenir?

Istria has been famous for its olive oil since Roman times and it still wins many prizes today, so if you can, take a bottle home. Small bottles of various types are available in the supermarkets.  Also try one of the local rakijas (‘grappa’ in Italian). Distilled from grape residue from wine production, it’s then flavoured to produce a wide range of aperitifs and liqueurs. Very common is medica, flavoured with honey, but my favourite is the jet black orahovac, flavoured with walnut. Also available are unusual biska (mistletoe), šlivovic (plum) and kruškovac (pear), to name just a few.

Finally, what are the most ‘quirky’ things to do, see, visit or experience here?

For something unusual to do, try spreading your beard (pretend if you don’t have one!) on Tinjan’s old stone table. Villagers used to elect their mayor this way. A flea was released in the middle and whoever’s beard it jumped in to became mayor. It’s a great spot to enjoy the view over the dramatic Draga valley, Tinjan is a charming little village and there’s even a konoba for a refreshing drink. 

If culture’s your thing, go to see the 14^th C frescos in Beram. These Renaissance masterpieces are in a gorgeous little chapel just outside the village. You may be lucky and find it open, but if not you need to go and ask for the key in the village – an adventure in itself!  You can also visit the island of Brijuni which used to be Tito’s holiday island and can be explored today on a little tourist train. A mixture of safari park and history lesson, it’s definitely quirky!

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Holiday Homeowner Q&A is bought to you by HomeAway.co.uk, the UK’s leading holiday rentals website with over 300,000 properties worldwide. From cute studios and city apartments to rural cottages and country homes, large luxury villas, quirky conversions and more, there are thousands of unique places to enjoy a more authentic and unusual holiday.