Flexible breaks

Villa specialist introduces ‘any day arrival, any length stay’

Freelance Holidays, the Mediterranean islands villa specialist, has introduced flexible stays – which can be booked online – at all its 150+ properties for 2011.

“All our destinations are well-served by low-cost as well as charter airlines,” says managing director Paul Fogg, “and guests understandably want to take advantage of the cheapest air fares, which means travelling mid-week or booking odd durations. We suggest a minimum stay of five nights, but there are no other restrictions apart from availability at the time of booking. Even two-centre holidays can be arranged.”

Freelance Holidays website online booking system shows day-by-day availability and daily rental charges for every property – a hand-picked portfolio ranging from stunning villas with private pools to character cottages in village settings. Freelance Holidays features Crete, Kefalonia, Sardinia, Sicily and Mallorca.

For example, a six-night holiday starting Monday 11 April costs £326 for a party of six at Haritakis House, a village house with bags of character and panoramic views of the coast at Agia Paraskevi on Crete. Alternatively, a 12-night High Season stay at Villa Polymnia costs £2,734 for a family of five who can enjoy the contemporary styling and private pool of this individual Cretan villa.

And a 10-night holiday in June at Casa Professore, just a few steps from the soft sand of Cala Liberotto on the island of Sardinia costs just £750 for a family of up to four.

Freelance Holidays can arrange car hire in all their destinations, and is happy to advise on flights, but does not book them. ABTA member.

01789 297705, www.freelance-holidays.co.uk - ENDS –
Release issued by Jane Williams at Beacon PR 01572 748 800

It’s been pretty snowy here in Stratford on Avon over the last few days, like much of the rest of the country.  Although that’s made life difficult for many, I have managed to struggle into the office each day, without much problem as, being a farmer ‘s wife ‘in my other life ‘ so we do have a four wheel drive.

Calender

It was going home the other evening that really brought home how we are coming to a turn in the years. My windows were thick with snow and although I had loaded the car with a blanket, shovel and boots before I set off, I had not considered anything for snow removal from the body of the car. This is where the turning into the new year becomes relevant, because we still had a small pile of desk calenders dated 2010. Although they have been usful this year their use is shortly expiring, so I grabbed half a dozen (you may remember, they had a lovely photo of fishermen in Castellemmare, Sicily  on the front) , put them into a plastic wallet and stylised my own snow scraper.  It even warmed me a little to think of the sunshine in Sicily this year and how guests at our Villas in Sicily   have enjoyed their holidays.

I’ve left my ‘snow scraper’ in the car for future use  – I wonder how many other uses those calenders have been put too?

All this snow is certainly very beautiful. Of course they do have snow high up in the mountains in Crete, Sardinia and Mallorca. But rarely off the mountains, although when I went to Mallorca last April I met up with Francicsco, the owner of Villa Hort d’en Gelos  and Villa Sa Torre, who by the way has an amazingly quiet and dry sense of humour. He was keen to show me photos he’d taken a few weeks previously of his lovely Villas in Mallorca  with snow lying all around them. The following day the temperature had gone up to 16degs so it didn’t stay around for long, but for those few hours it was almost magical in that lovely valley under the Tramantana Mountains.

I expect we will have to wait until April at least before the temperature here gets up to 16degrees. Oh well -roll on the New Year.

You hum It, I'll play it !

With the mad rush to Christmas, it got me thinking on what I look for when booking our villa holiday. The thought of relaxing by the pool, reading a novel, while the sun is warming you up and the pool is waiting to cool you down. These was an important factor when I arranged our family summer holiday this year in Mallorca , at a villa called L’Hort D’Abaix , 15 minute’s walk from the historic town of Pollensa, which dates back to the Romans. 

 I had five main criteria’s when I made this decision, first was ‘charging the batteries’, with the busy lives we all have, the need for unwinding has become imperative to our well-being. This can include the book, which never seems to get finished, gathering dust at home, listening to  music you’ve downloaded onto your MP3 player but not yet listened to or just swimming a few lengths in the villas swimming-pool, stretching those unused muscles which you didn’t released you still had. 

 Spending time together seems an over-used word but we can lose contact with each other, without releasing it. I took my mum with me on this trip, with her now living in France; I do see less of her. It was also a chance for her to see her granddaughter, who is growing up quickly. It was just magical to see them bonding in L’Hort D’Abaix  private pool – everyday, as my little girl grew in confidence with her swimming. This also gave me and my wife time to “talk”  with each other, without the usual interruptions of normal life. 

This neatly leads onto the next point, romance. We can get into that rut and forget the important things in life. The holiday gives you that chance and with the added bonus of taking a baby sitter (mum), you can have candle lit meal for two in Puerto Pollenca. 

Dinner

 And as eating is never far from my thoughts, Mallorca has a great choice of cuisines! Having tapas on the first night, which offers different tastes of local food, including Spanish sausages, croquet potatoes and meatballs washed down with a cold locally brewed beer. You can also go native and have you main meal at lunch time. ‘Menu del Dia’ offers the choice of three courses at a budget price. This was the decision we made on our trip to Puerto Pollensa, with its relaxing beaches (architects dream for building those towering sand castles) and fashionable shops. For €10 each, including wine, we feasted like kings, while taking in the sea views. Having the flexibility of self-catering, allows you not to worry about time, knowing you can eat when you want and then having the joys of exploring Pollensa’s Sunday market to obtain your ingredients.

The final night is your ‘no expense spared’ meal. We chose a restaurant in Cala San Vincente, which is on a protected bay. The view from the table of the red setting sun slowing descending behind the mountains just gets you in the mood. The choice had to be Paella, which includes mussels, prawns, clams and scallops finished off with rice, spiced with paprika and saffron – delicious. 

On the buses

My final rule is exploring the island; I want to find out more of where I am staying. You can start this buying a guide of the area. Having a diesel hire car enabled us to motor around the good roads that network Mallorca , without using very much fuel. We drove to the seaside town of Soller, with its wide promenade and clattering trams, taking people down to the sea. We then decided to visit the capital of Mallorca , Palma. With its excellent and reasonable priced public transport system, we caught the train from Sa Pobla and within the hour, we arrived at the main station. With a short walk, we picked up the tour bus, which took us around the city, without the stress of driving. We took in the sights of Castell de Bellver, Le Seu Cathedral and the large cruise liners sitting in the harbour. We managed to squeeze a quick trip to Campanet, a small town on the edge of the Tramuntana Mountains and the rugged coast line of Formentor on the north-western tip of the island. The roads do get interesting, with my mum almost having kittens with the sheer drops but the when you get to viewing points they are well worth it. 

With this in mind, I now have worked out my villa holiday for next year using my Man Technic – Villa in Crete ! 

I thought you would like them.....

Holidays abroad  have been named as one of the top five most wanted Christmas presents by British women, according to a survey by eBay.

Clothes, jewellery and books were also listed as popular items, although only a third of women are expected to be happy with their partner’s present choice. Meanwhile half of British men believe their partners give the best gifts (me too !)

Well, I’ve got some Christmas shopping under my belt now and it’s back for another week at work. I’ve always felt my job is ideal for someone who enjoys their holidays so much herself. I’m lucky enough to have stayed, over the years, in many of our apartments and Villas and have spent sometime this week adding floor plans onto our website. It’s been an interesting exercise and I’m amazed that I can remember exact layouts of nearly all our villas and apartments, yet when it comes to sending out Christmas cards I find I’ve forgotten my own children’s addresses. It has been testing to imagine how the villas first floors fit on the ground floor and although the plans are meant as a guide only, I do really feel I’ve got it right. I also feel I’m now half way to becoming an architect, but am prepared to be shot down in flames by any architect readers amongst you.

Hort den Gelos

I think the most challenging, so far has been Hort d’en Gelos in Mallorca. A renovated farmhouse and barn built more than 2 centuries ago, it’s quite an atmospheric rambling Mallorcan Finca in the Vell de Campanet  built on a sloping site, long before any thought went into actually planning interiors. This has just evolved and spilled over into what was originally an adjoining barn, where the animals were kept in the hope that their body heat would help keep the occupants of the Finca warm during the winter. I stayed there in October a couple of years ago. As it happened, we needed no extra heating, from animals or any other form as the weather was very mellow but had we needed heat, Francisco, whose family has owned the Finca for generations has installed lovely wood burning stoves. He has also created an amazingly efficient system of solar power, with excess energy stored in enormous batteries. As a result, the Finca today maintains its ecological credentials. One spin off of this is that, during my stay the rest of Mallorca was plunged into darkness from a, not infrequent, power cut whilst Hort d’en Gelos continued to enjoy a constant supply of independent power.

Another ecologically sound principle of the Finca is that all fruit and vegetables grown in the garden are entirely organic and I probably ate the best apples I have ever tasted during my stay during October.

Anyway, I have now completed the plan and posted my children’s Christmas cards (after looking up their addresses). I shall now press on with another villa plan I shall choose something a little less complicated this time, maybe  another villa in Mallorca called Sa Tanca rather than a villa in crete, it is at least all on one floor………….