Benissa, How I Came To Live Here And My Favourite Parts Of The Town.
When I was about 8 and we were still living in England, I remember my mum and dad sitting me down at the kitchen table and asking me how I’d feel about moving to Spain. I think I surprised them when I answered that I’d love to, my face beaming with joy. In fact, looking back on it now, my response surprises me too.
Why I was so eager to move to a different country, one where my childish English vocabulary would not be understood, I will never know. All I know is it felt right, something that was meant to happen. I remember laying in my bed at night imagining we were living in Spain. I’d ramble on in a very odd invented dialect, pretending I already spoke the lingo. I doubt any of the words I made up resembled Castillian Spanish, it was possibly more like the Basque language!!
A few months later we came over to the Costa Blanca for a week’s holiday. My parents wanted to see different areas and check out some properties at the same time. We timed it perfectly. It was October and the Marina Alta was suffering the first “gota frĂa” since the summer. I don’t think we’d ever encountered that amount of rain in such a short time. I’m surprised it didn’t put us off living here.
Still, it gradually cleared up, I was able to go in the pool at the villa we were renting (in October!!!) and we toured the local towns in search of the perfect location, one where we could see ourselves spending the following years. Our chosen spot was a plot of land on an estate called “El Collado”, just a few minutes down the road from Benissa. The plan was to rent somewhere while our house was being built. I would start my Spanish education in one of the Benissa schools and we’d live happily ever after.
But things never go to plan. We rented a villa in Orbeta, I began my schooling in Orba, made loads of friends and didn’t want to move. My parents had to sell the plot of land in El Collado and buy somewhere in Orba. They didn’t seem that bothered though, they’d also become fond of the little town. In fact they both live there now.
Roll on a few years and Benissa became a frequent hangout for me. I spent many a night partying in one of it’s bars or at the local fiestas. I’ve always felt comfortable being here. My Birthday even falls in the middle of it’s main religious fiesta (“Festes de la PurĂssima Xiqueta) in April, which is great ’cause Pep’s always got the week off work.
There’s just something about the town that makes me feel at home. The fact that I found my soulmate here is also quite coincidental. Which brings me to the number one on my list of favourite things of Benissa town, the Sifasol Modern Music School (Facebook page here).
Since I was a child I’ve loved music, listening to and playing it (or trying to!). When I was in my mid 30’s I was searching for a decent guitar teacher. An old friend of mine recommended Pep, who had founded Sifasol in 2005. I began lessons with him and the rest is history!
Music is one of the most important parts of my life, along with food! Pep and I love eating out and we both adore finding new restaurants that do decent, home made food. So I’ll now post a few pics of our favourite eateries in Benissa town with a short description of each one. There is also our favourite pizza and pasta restaurant which I spoke about in this post.
Just a quick update on one of the restaurants I have mentioned above. Taperia Ivars is one of our favourites in town now. Ximo, the owner and chef does a mean chicken, pumpkin and wild mushroom paella!! He is a good friend of ours, he’s also one of Pep’s guitar students. Pep and I frequently play there in the summer on his fabulous terrace.
Right, after a tasty meal in one of these marvellous diners I would recommend you have a stroll around the historical centre. Wandering through the streets, contemplating old buildings and the likes is a grand way to spend an hour or two. Here’s a link to a page with a bit of info, you can change the language to English. They hold a medieval fair in January in the old town which is part of the “Fira I Porrat De Sant Antoni”. I always have to go and eat a toffee apple whilst perusing the stalls. Pep says I’ll never grow up. Do I care?!?!?!
One thing I love about living in the Benissa countryside is we’re only a 5 minute drive or 20 minute walk away from the town. It’s also a town that has everything you could possibly need. Being a village girl, I’m used to having to travel to buy certain things. This isn’t necessary in Benissa, it’s like a city to me đ.
Nuria, a friend of mine and a lovely person (she’s also mad on cats!), runs BioMercat, my favourite shop in Benissa (Facebook page here). She sells all kinds of healthy, ecological produce. It’s a great little store to have a wander round. If she doesn’t have something in stock she can more often than not get it for you. You can also order organic fruit and veg which she receives once a week.
Speaking of staying healthy, my sister-in-law Anna is a well known beauty therapist in Benissa (Facebook page here). She’s been studying her profession for over 30 years. Starting out in her early twenties as a trained beautician she has since added a bewildering array of treatments to her CV. From Ayurvedic massages to Reiki, make-up courses to lymphatic drainage, she always works with each client’s individual energy. I’ve recently been for a couple of massages and each time I have left her locale walking on air.
Another building in the town that deserves a mention is the Centre d’Art Taller d’Ivars, an old building that used to be a furniture factory at the beginning of the 20th century. Many of the town’s people worked there. Known for it’s high quality goods, it put Benissa on the map as the place to go for luxury furnishings. The building is now used for cultural purposes, from art exhibitions to plays and concerts.
I could go on for ages talking about Benissa but I better not, you might think I’m on commission!! There are plenty of great shops, restaurants, etc, that I haven’t mentioned, I’ll let you find them for yourselves. Here’s a nice little site where you can learn a bit more about the town and the surrounding areas. I love living here and I’m still discovering new places.
Well, that’ll do for today, I’ve got things to do, places to go and people to seeđ. I’ll be back on Valley FM in a couple of hours. Here’s last week’s spot if you fancy a listen. I’m on around minute 35. If you have any suggestions or questions please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. Thanks for reading. Take care, see you soon. Lots of love, Georgie and Pep xxx
17 Comments
Tim Watmuff
Read your blog with interest. We live on Urb. Monte Pego down near El Verger. We have been in Spain since 2006. Can you tell me what the rental market is like in Benissa for long term rental,(up to 12 months).
We shall be cruising local towns and villages over the next few months with a view to starting a new phase of our live
Georgie
Hi there. Sorry but I have no idea what the rental market is like in Benissa. What I can tell you is Benissa is often quite a few degrees cooler in the summer than what youâre used to in Monte Pego. So if youâre looking for slightly cooler temperatures then Benissa is a great place to live. I personally miss the hotter temperatures I was always used to in Orba but most people think Iâm mad đ.
Anyway, thanks for reading my blog.
Eda
Hi, thank you for the lovely article. We are consider moving to Benissa with our 5 years old daughter. Can l please ask you if there is a community of English speaking children living in Benissa ? Thank you.
Georgie
Hi there. Thanks for your comment. Iâm really pleased you enjoyed this post. There are lots of British people living around here, Iâm sure there must be plenty of English speaking children. With your daughter being so young though she will pick up the Spanish language easily if she mixes with the locals. I was 9 when we moved out in 1986. I went to a Spanish school where there were no English students at the time and I picked up the language in no time. There are children of all sorts of nationalities here now and they are mostly bilingual. Iâm sure your daughter will be fine wherever you decide to settle. Thank you đ
Eda
Thank you Georgie very much for getting back to me. Yes sure we want her to integrate and l am sure she will learn the language quickly. However it would still be good at least for the beginning and for the transition period to have some international children living in and around Benissa whom she can connect with for example after school. More like having neighbors. Thank you.
Georgie
Hi again. There are all sorts of nationalities here now, itâs quite different to when we came over. Iâm sure the local schools must have plenty of British kiddies attending them although, not having kids myself Iâm probably not the right person to ask đ. The friends we have that do have children are mostly Spanish. Your daughter shouldnât have any problem finding friends from many corners of the world. At that age I really donât think the language barrier is as important as when theyâre older. When we came over here my dad made sure I kept my English up by reading plenty of books, seeing as my school education was all in Spanish and Valenciano. Even at the age of 9, the language was never really a problem though and I started school not knowing any Spanish whatsoever. Well, maybe âholaâ and âadiĂłsâ but that was it. Benissa is quite a large municipality so there are plenty of kids around, in the town, on the estates closer to the coast and also in more rural areas. Itâs a lovely place to live and Iâm sure you would be very happy here đ
Julie Day
Hi Sharon. I am Georgieâs Mum and I know you. We moved to Spain in February 1986 so 10 years after you. I know your Mum and Dad and we are in touch on Facebook.
Sharon
Hi Georgie, our stories are very similar! I was 9 when we moved to Spain, and after looking around the Denia area, my parents settled on Orba – El CapsĂł to be precise! I too went to school for a couple of years in Orba, and now I live in a village called Orxeta, near Villajoyosa. We moved in 1976, what year did you move down? We might have known each other, or known the same families…. Best wishes Sharon
Georgie
Hi Sharon. Thatâs a coincidence. We came to Spain in 1986 so a few years after you, but no doubt we know a lot of the same people. Did you know John Woodall? Heâs a mechanic in Orba that moved to Orba quite a few years before we did. His sons are Tony and Stephen. Thanks for getting in touch. Georgie xx
Deborah Smith
Lovely to hear about your area,Georgie, sounds gorgeous . X
Georgie
Hi there!! Hopefully you’ll get to see it in the not too distant future xx
Sandy
That was really interesting, Georgie. I can see why you love Benissa! xx
Georgie
Thanks Sandy đxx
Julie Day
Other than eating at your house, knowing we are eating your lovely produce, I love to go into Benissa with you, park the car and go for a nice walk through the old and very fascinating streets, until we get to one of the restaurants you have mentioned. When we first moved to Spain we used to wander through the streets of Benissa as we thought it would be our nearest town, so it has lovely memories for me too. Since then all the big supermarkets have moved there in competition with each other. I am very happy because we are only 20 minutes from each other. Xx
Georgie
I know you prefer me to take you walking in town instead of up one of the local mountains đxxx
Christine Farmer
What a lovely happy story Georgie and the photos of Benissa really show what a beautiful town it is along with all the facilities it has. Thank you for that xxx
Georgie
Thanks Christine. Iâm pleased you enjoyed it xxx