Before I moved to Spain, I’d heard a lot about the macho society here. About how men rule the roost and the home – not to mention the businesses. I had been told so much about this, that I was a little worried about how I’d fit into society here. After all, I had worked in a professional position my [...]
Finally, the first overt signs of what I have been writing about for some time are becoming apparent and they beg the question of: how bankrupt is Spain? Certainly, you cannot have missed yesterday’s BBC headline screaming ‘Pain in Spain – southern town left penniless by the boom and bust’. This featured the small inland town of Moratalla in the [...]
The ‘big’ news in Spain for many foreigners is probably the fact that yesterday Catalonia celebrated its last bullfight – after 624 years of bullfighting in Catalonia. The ban actually takes place on the 1st January 2012 but the season for bullfighting in Spain traditionally ends in September. As I have written before, the decision by the Catalans to end [...]
I am delighted to report that my book ‘How to Buy Spanish Property and Move to Spain – Safely’ has just been published in print form, as well as being now available on Kindle and as an e-book. In fact, I received my first copies yesterday, which is always a nerve wracking moment for an author (does the cover look [...]
Are you a lady writer living in Spain or a female writer who knows Spain well and wants her voice to be heard? If you are – then at Culture Spain we should be interested in hearing from you! We are looking for lady writers in Spain who can give the female version of what living in Spain is like. [...]
An institution that makes me consistently proud to be British is the wonderful Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) which has just produced a fascinating portrait of Spain as part of their new and quite extraordinary Hidden Journeys series. If you like spectacular views of the Spanish landscape – then you really must have a look at what the RGS/IBG has [...]
The past few days in Spain have seen some interesting responses to the present economic crisis in Spain including the revival of the wealth tax in Spain. Meanwhile, in some areas, there is a teacher’s strike in Spain with educators (amazingly!) complaining about an increase in their current working hours. Finally, temporary work contracts in Spain are being made unlimited [...]
A very interesting graph relating to the cost of living in Spain was produced by a Spanish financial site a couple of weeks ago that is well worth having a look at. As you can see below, it shows comparative prices of some major items between 1981 and now (2011) based upon the Spanish Consumer Price Index. The two vital [...]
The concept of ‘Belleza de Lujo Barata – Luxury Beauty Bargains‘ began when we realized how expensive the products of top branded beauty houses, like Clinique, Lancome and Estee Lauder were in the Spanish beauty stores. We wanted to introduce a service that would bring all these famous brands to you, the customer, at a more affordable price. The idea is that [...]
F or most of us, foretelling what the currency markets are going to do is well beyond our experience – which is why, at Culture Spain, we have brought in Peter Lavelle to provide weekly advice on the foreign currency exchange markets. Peter is a foreign currency exchange specialist at Pure FX – which is a company authorised by the Financial Services Authority [...]
I am a professional Make-up Artist based in Gandía, Valencia, Spain. I studied make-up in London and have over 10 years experience in various aspects of the industry. My services are available throughout the La Safor region, Denia, Calpe, Javia/Xabia, Altea, Northern Costa Blanca and beyond to Xativa, Valencia and the interior of the Valencian Community. I specialize in the [...]
Just occasionally I am deeply ashamed of Spain and utterly appalled by some aspects of the culture of Spain – with the annual Tordesillas El Toro de la Vega bull hunt a dreadful example of animal cruelty in Spain that casts a deep shadow on Spain as a modern, liberal society. The El Toro de la Vega bull hunt occurs [...]
Madrid, of course, is the capital of Spain and the largest city in Spain with some 3.4 million people. The next biggest cities in Spain are Barcelona and Valencia. Interestingly, Madrid is also the third biggest metropolitan area in the EU (with a population of some 6.2 million) after London and Paris and its importance within Spain as a cultural [...]
For most of us, foretelling what the currency markets are going to do is well beyond our experience – which is why, at Culture Spain, we have brought in Peter Levelle to provide weekly advice on the foreign currency exchange markets. Peter is a foreign currency exchange specialist at Pure FX – which is a company authorised by the Financial Services Authority [...]
Some time ago I wrote an article about Spain, rabbits and the Iberian Lynx. You may recall that the article largely revolved around the question of how Spain (España) got its name and how there is some evidence to suggest that the name of Spain originally derived from the Phoenician for ‘Land of Rabbits’. In any event, I touched on [...]