http://www.thexpat.com/blog Real People. Real Spain. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:53:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The fiesta season is still with us - yes STILL, we are in Spain after all - and bull running through the streets is the fiesta of the moment in Jalón. Victoria, one of my superstar daughters (she has just received 3 A’s for her AS exams), decided to take ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/20/what-a-load-of-bull%e2%80%a6/ Last year: Rod Stewart in Zaragoza, April: Mark Knopfler in Madrid, last night: Chambao in Beniel. Who in where? It all started with the Andalucian Tourist Agency advertisements on Spanish television - Andalucia te quiere (wants you). The ads really do entice you to visit Andalucia with aerial shots of ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/19/who-in-where/ For those expats spending their first year in this wonderful country, I wish you well and hope that you give this so-called ‘brave move’ a real go. It is said that the first two years are the most difficult and anyone with a real desire to return to the good ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/18/how-to-deal-with-hps/ It’s strange how you learn the important Spanish words that get you through everyday life here. One of the problems of living in Torrevieja for me is that everyone, absolutely everyone, speaks better English than I speak Spanish. When out and about I always ‘speaka da lingo’ as classier holiday ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/14/you%e2%80%99ve-been-framed/ When it's so pavement-meltingly hot, you're always on the look out for a variety of ways to quench your thirst. Endless botellines of icy cold water and all known brands of burp-inducing fizzy stuff aside, non-alcoholic options include Nestea, chilled chocolate milk, cafe con hielo (iced coffee), bottled fruit juice ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/13/sweet-horchata/ Spontaneity is just one of the Spanish characteristics which makes them so interesting and fun to be with. Last week we heard a rumour, via my Spanish mother-in-law - who at the advanced age of 83 knows a lot but sometimes some of the details are missing - that we ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/12/the-weekend-invasion/ Now I may be no gardener but come on chaps, give a snail a break. As British weather totters between humid, cool and wet, those little Brians - remember he of woolly scarf fame in The Magic Roundabout? - are being persecuted by gardeners up and down the country. Here in ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/12/snail-rights/ For all those who don’t know, Joy Liddell is my partner and is currently pursuing a career as a TV presenter. She has started by showing you how to do Mount Teide in Tenerife, as seen below. She needs all the help she can get. If you’re a travel webmaster give ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/08/the-big-things-in-tenerife/ We've been to the port town of Águilas (you pronounce it with the stress on the very first A) a couple of times over the last few years and we’ve always had a wonderful time. Our most recent visits included a spot of diving, some really great food and seeing ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/08/diving-with-dolphins/ “Travel broadens the mind” is a cliché that retains a ring of truth. But perhaps it should be qualified to exclude any form of tourism where the product or the outcome is largely predictable. It may be snobbery on my part, but I don’t believe that the blokes from West ... http://www.thexpat.com/blog/2008/08/05/travelling-time/