The state system in Spain, an hilarious insight!
Well, you cannot keep a great gag down and my Spanish lawyer has just sent me a fabulous (short and hilarious!!) video about the state system in Spain. In fact, I featured this video in an article on Culture Spain earlier in the year entitled Bureaucracy in Spain – but I think I am more than justified in highlighting the [...]
The most perfect Art Déco house in Spain
Just occasionally, perhaps only once every four or five years, I come across a house in Spain that is truly extraordinary – somewhere that really does have the ‘Wow!’ factor. Frankly, this is rare in Spain as many Spanish properties lack personality and this applies even to expensive villas on exclusive estates. The latter can appear wonderful but often boast [...]
Gandia, Valencia Province, Spain
Gandia is a town located on the mid eastern side board of Spain. It is within Valencia Province (one of the three Provinces of the Autonomous Region of Valencia Comunitat de Valencia) and is situated some 70 kms south of Valencia City. The immediate area around Gandia is known as La Safor which comprises a number of small towns and [...]
Summer holidays in Spain – 10 things not to forget!
Are you going to be spending your summer holidays in Spain? If so – then make sure that you are well prepared beforehand and pack everything that you need. After all, there is nothing worse than setting out for your holidays and arriving at the airport to find that you have left behind something critical! So, what should go on [...]
Spain, rabbits and the Iberian Lynx
Did you know that there is a really interesting connection between the name España and rabbits – and that the devastating decline of the Iberian Lynx is intimately bound up in both? Well, there are good reasons to believe that the name of Spain (España) derives from the Phoenician word ‘ispanihad’ which evidently means ‘land of rabbits’. This word was [...]
Valencia City of Arts and Sciences
I defy anyone who comes to Valencia city not to be entranced by the City of Arts and Sciences. It is, justifiably, one of the greatest tourist attractions in Spain and a tribute to modern Spanish vision and design. Indeed, the City of Arts and Sciences is such a triumph that, alone, it makes any visit to Spain worthwhile. However, [...]
Culture Spain, Running of the bulls Pamplona – the rules!
The first thing is never consider running with the bulls in Pamplona if you have not seen the encierro before. Even if this is only the Spanish TV1 broadcast (excellent coverage every day of the feria de San Fermín from 7.30 to 8.30 am) which first transmits the run live, then has commentaries, then a re-run with a commentary, and [...]
Las Fallas Valencia, the most incredible fiesta in Spain!
Las Fallas must rank as one of the most extraordinary fiestas in Spain. Indeed, over the past few years it has gained international recognition as one of those remarkable events that you should see – at least once in your lifetime. Certainly, the sheer scale of La Fallas is astonishing with the main festivities taking place over five days (15th [...]
The Alhambra and the Moors in Spain
Some years ago, I was commissioned to write an article which ended up entitled ‘What did the Moors do for us?’. This was, needless to say, a ‘take’ on the famous scene in ‘The Life of Brian’ where the same question was asked about the Romans. Before I started my research my answer to ‘What did the Moors do for [...]
Culture Spain: La Tomatina (the greatest tomato fight in the World!)
Few people would argue that Spain has some pretty incredible fiestas. However, one of the most bizarre has got to be La Tomatina – which is a massive tomato fight. Amazingly, some 30,000 people a year crowd into the village of Buñol to hurl rotten tomotoes at each other. The mess is simply beyond imagination but taking part has become [...]
Culture Spain : MARBELLA VILLA OR BARRIO?
Marbella villa or barrio? The doorbell rang. It was Perla carrying a bucket full of fish. They were small dorada and they were still wriggling. When I had met him in the street yesterday he had asked me if we wanted any fresh fish and I had said yes. This is what he normally does, as he has no phone, [...]
CULTURE SPAIN: THE SAGRADA FAMÍLIA, GAUDI AND BARCELONA
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 [...]
CULTURE SPAIN – BULLFIGHTING IN SPAIN
I am sure that most Spaniards would think (probably correctly) that few people outside Spain have the faintest clue about bullfighting. Most non-Spaniards instinctively dislike it – and are shocked by the bloodletting and apparent savagery. And yet, bullfighting in Spain remains popular and is considered by many Spaniards to be a fundamental part of the very culture of Spain. [...]
LIFE IN SPAIN – TEN REASONS FOR MOVING TO SPAIN
I think, like everyone else, I often tend to get too wrapped up in Spanish property and the state of the Spanish property market. It is important, undeniably, but, within it all, I think the whole reason for moving to Spain (or buying a property in Spain) – can be lost. Indeed (and this I have stated countless times), living [...]
SPANISH POLICE – THE POLICE IN SPAIN
Few matters are more confusing initially to someone coming to Spain than the array of police forces encountered around the country. It can be difficult to know who to go to when you are in trouble and why one police force will attend a crime in one place and another elsewhere. In fact, essentially, Spain has three police forces: the [...]
The pound has hit 1.25 against the euro this past week, its highest rate since Oct 2008, as Spain struggles to get to grips with its banking sector and Greece contemplates a euro exit. So what next for the continent in crisis, and the exchange rate? Here is my latest update of the British pound to euro exchange rate, covering [...]
I have just been sent a wonderful YouTube film of a demonstration in Barcelona about the crisis in Spain. It is wonderful (breath-taking really) and shows the best side of Spain and the culture of Spain. The demonstration is set within an office of la Caixa, one of the biggest banks in Spain, and revolves around a by-line stating that [...]
Well, I think if I was in Spain in charge of marketing Spanish property to the British (if there is such a person!) then I would probably finally have my head in my hands. Either that or I would be looking frantically for a wobbly, three legged stool and a short rope. Why? Because the UK press has recently been [...]
Spain is being rocked, at the moment, by the news that the directors of various Spanish banks have taken huge compensation packages – despite relentlessly driving their own banks to the point of destruction. To everyone’s amazement, some of these packages have been awarded by the directors, to themselves, just days before the Bank of Spain was forced to bail [...]
I had to grimace recently when I saw an article in El Pais (‘conservative’ national Spanish newspaper) which reported that the economy ministry in Spain is about to issue an order for banks in Spain to clarify their charges to customers. Evidently, along with Italy, Spanish banks are the most costly banks in the EU. This, I am afraid, comes [...]
I have just been sent an hilarious article by a Spanish lawyer friend of mine concerning banks in Spain and some advice given awhile back by the Ministry of the Economy of the Spanish government. If you can read Spanish then have a look at this article. However, if you cannot read Spanish then let me give you a very rough [...]
Well, really – what can any of us say? Do you remember last year when the results of the ‘stress’ test of European banks was announced by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS)? To the astonishment of most commentators, only five out of the 27 banks in Spain tested were found to have failed the tests. These were, predictably, Cajas [...]
Yesterday, Levante (a Spanish newspaper) had an interesting article about banks in Spain following their recent rating by Moody’s. Moody’s, of course, are an American credit rating agency (like Fitch and Standard and Poor) who analyse the financial position of companies (and governments). They are very influential and their assessment of a business or government can have a real affect [...]