Here are the available villas for rental in Spain.

In search of the perfect paella

From the Daily Mail

There is only one meal that makes a trip to Spain complete: paella. As far as the British are concerned, this mixture of rice, chicken and seafood, with the odd bit of veg thrown in, is Spain's national dish.
But in a land where regional gastronomy is taken very seriously, Spaniards wring their hands at this notion.
For true paella comes from Valencia - everything else is just rice.
Paella is by no means a fast food. It takes a minimum of 30 minutes to cook one properly. So I went to Valencia to discover its secrets.
Outside Spain's third-largest city is La Albufera, a freshwater lake which is now part of a national park.
Here, at the end of the 7th century, the Moors introduced irrigation to cultivate Spain's first rice paddies.
Today, they cover a vast area of this coastal plain, stretching 35 kilometres south of the city.
'This is the place where paella was born,' said my guide Juan Llantada.
'When the farmers stopped working the fields for their midday meal, they added whatever they had to the rice - rabbit, duck, snails and green beans.'
Today, there are more than 300 varieties of paella - pronounced 'pah-ay-yah' - which is actually the name of the shallow pan in which it is cooked. ... more

Walking back to happiness

Forgive me if I spend the next few paragraphs out of breath.
You see, I'm approaching 8,500ft in the Pyrenees and while I'm Edmund Hillary at heart, I am Buddha in body; the spirit is indomitable, but the flesh is... well, there's just too much of the flesh.
It was all so deceptive at the beginning. We had started in France, in part of the old nation of Catalonia, sauntering across meadows of yellow gentians, through cool pine woods and into a valley rising gently towards Spain.
It was mid-June. A week ago, one side of the valley had been puce with azaleas, the other golden with broom.
Now there were wild geraniums and Pyrenean lilies with curly yellow petals. Way above us, ranged the mountains, hard, sharp peaks on which snow still lay in patches.
We picnicked on bread, chewy mountain ham, brie, and country wine.
After that life changed. From a world of wildflowers the landscape turned mean. Gone were the buttercups and bilberries, around us now were harsh falls of scree.
The broad stone path had narrowed to a rocky culvert; the river that came tumbling past us in the valley was now a meagre stream. And instead of the calm forest we were now on a grizzled skinhead of mountainside.
The gradient had been ratcheted up to precipitous and the air was sapped of oxygen. My thighs were stretched like bungee cords and my lungs stuffed with pebbles.
At last, the mountain relented and flattened out in a snowfield at the top of the col. We were at 8,727ft, and had crossed the border into Spain. It had taken six hours to climb from 'bonjour' to 'buenos dias'.
In another two hours, we had scrambled down steep scree on the Spanish side to arrive at Nuria, a ski station.
Sore and tired I might be but I had survived to embroider the tale. Over a beer, Thierry, our French guide, put the day into perspective.
Our route was an old smugglers' trail. You name it, someone had smuggled it: tobacco and alcohol in the 19th century-Allied prisoners of war escaping occupied France in World War II. ... more

Isle of contrasts

Los Cristianos is a small town in which you can have a relaxing peaceful holiday or a lively one. There are plenty of cheap, good-quality restaurants and bars where you can pay as little as £3.50 for a three-course meal.
The beaches all have clean white sand, and offer watersports if you wish. There are also weekly markets where you can buy local crafts and there are plenty of places to visit around the island.
Two miles up the road is Playa de Las Americas, which is very lively but a bit like Blackpool in the sun with its clubs and dirty streets. These two towns are completely opposite to each other and you will find the more sophisticated in Los Cristianos, whilst the lager louts club it up in Las Americas, which is also a lot more expensive - you could pay up to £5 for a drink.

Love it or hate it

Well, after returning from two weeks in Tenerife, it make me wonder.
Firstly, how can people go back year after year and secondly what is exactly the attraction?
The only reason we went is because of a cheap deal through work but I would not go again.
Tenerife is dull, culture-less and simply England in the Sun. Don't get me wrong Los Gigantes (where we stayed) was lovely and quiet but the rest will be easily forgotten.
We hired a car for four days and by the third day we had run out of places to go and see.
To anyone thinking about Tenerife, you will either love it or hate it.
Sun worshipers who like chips with everything will love it. People who like to explore and like to go somewhere with different cultures to England, think carefully.

Tenerife revisited, the good and the bad

Having been to Puerto de la Cruz about 30 years ago, I was disappointed to see how tacky it's become. A last-minute booking had turned up a self-catering deal in Las Galletas, which was quiet but unremarkable.
I hired a car and set out to rediscover the island. Puerto didn't come up to my memories of it, but on the other side of the island Santa Cruz is still a pleasant working town, good for shopping and for mixing with real Canarians.
Las Canadas National Park is still the highlight of this island for me, with its lunar landscapes and imposing Mount Teide. You'd be mad to miss the chance to come here - and it's much better to drive yourself and take your time than go on an organised trip.
Los Gigantes - massive cliffs that drop sheer to the sea - always impress and it's a good place to stop for coffee. La Orotava is still well worth a visit with its graceful old houses, some with beautifully carved wooden balconies. There's a fine craft centre here, too. Driving the one-way system here can be a bit confusing, though.
All in all, Tenerife still has plenty to recommend it - not least the great year-round weather. ... more