Very soon it will be possible to travel from Madrid to Valencia in a little over 90 minutes! This is great news – and finally connects the capital of Spain with its third largest city, in a time and way that justifies Valencia’s growing importance (and prestige) as a European city renowned for its commerce, sport and art. [...]
Although many couples choose to live together these days, the institution of marriage continues to thrive in the Hispanic world, particularly Central and South America. Indeed, Christianity continues to be a major part of Hispanic culture, and with two of my best friends from Argentina soon to ‘tie the knot’, I thought that now is as good a moment as [...]
After a recent Post about some concerts in Barcelona, I thought that I should give advance warning of some more concerts in Spain that are coming up soon – that may be of interest to you. Two of them are of particular interest to me. The first concerns Roger Waters of Pink Floyd who, on the 25th and 26th of [...]
The past few days have been pretty frantic for Mark van Jaarsveld and I – as we have been putting together a sister Blog to Culture Spain about Spanish wine and food. This is now in action and already has a lot of relevant and fascinating content about the wines of Spain. You may well ask what Mark and I [...]
After my last Post about El Cid, my wife said that it was about time that I looked at something happening in Spain that was a touch more up to date. Well, to be precise, pretty much 1,000 years more up to date! Needless to say, my family have long given up with me when it comes to me knowing [...]
In November and until December, the 23th: Your junior-suite with breakfasts included: 98 € for 2 people Call 00 34 962 868 315 or reserve here taxes not included (8%) Set in foothills of the mountains in orange groves. Quiet with beautiful views. 5 mins from the large town of Gandia 15mins from the beach of Gandia and the port 1hr from [...]
Winter seems to be on its way to the United Kingdom, with an outlook of colder weather and even warnings that snow might not be far off. So – what better time to think about a little winter sunshine? With low-cost airlines offering frequent and good value flights to the Costa Blanca, this could be the best time to consider [...]
El Cid is one of the great heroes of Spain and, unlike Britain’s beloved King Arthur, he is someone who really existed. Born sometime in 1040, close to Burgos in the kingdom of Castille, El Cid was a true adventurer who had an extraordinary life, during which (somehow) he managed to survive despite fighting, at various times, for both the [...]
Burgos is a city in the northern part of the country, and one which is not necessarily at the top of anyone’s list if you ask them to name prominent and well-known Spanish cities. Lying almost directly to the north of Madrid, it is one of the historical capitals of Castile and is now the capital of the province of [...]
I have to say that whenever I find it difficult to get things done in Spain I think of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. This fabulous building was started in 1882 and is still not finished – with the projected completion estimated to be sometime in 2026. This means that if this date is actually met(!) the Sagrada Família will [...]
Barcelona is Spain’s second city in size after Madrid, and is the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia. Well served not only by its own airport but also by airports at Reus to the south and Girona to the north, Barcelona is easily reached by budget airlines and makes the ideal destination, either for a city-break or as a [...]
One of the most interesting comments to have come out of the Pope’s visit to Spain is his denunciation of ‘aggressive securalism’ in Spain. In saying this, Pope Bendict XVI has been comparing modern day anti-securalism in Spain to that of the 1930s – just before the Spanish Civil War. You may ask what on earth is this is all [...]
Spain has had an amazing sporting year with trumph following triumph – not least in tennis and football. However, one of Spain’s less well known achievements has been to be the birthplace of the first woman to climb all 14 8,000 metre mountains in the world. This extraordinary feat was completed this year when the remarkable Edurne Pasaban stood on [...]
Granada is well served by transport links, lying at a meeting point of two motorways, and also benefits from an airport as well as a train and bus station. Granada must surely embody all the elements of what the outsider thinks of as being the typical and traditional Spanish city, and is the city to see if you only have [...]