Owner: What Living In Spain Is Really Like URL:http://www.eyeonspain.com/blog/spain_blog.html Join Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:13:27 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Life on the Costa del Sol is never dull, and I'm not talking about the weather. I've set up this blog for people who are interested to know what life in Spain is really like. It's not quite how they portray it in the glossy magazines! Site statistics:Click here
Learning Spanish ebook 2008-04-11 08:54:00 In our last newsletter we sent out a free 76 page learning Spanish
ebook. I have to say we've had a great response to it. It's proved very popular, I just hope people find it useful once they've gone through the various stages within it.If you want your own copy of the ebook then simply register for the newsletter and you'll be able to download it for free. I think it's worth it!I think for anyone wanting to spend some time in Spain it's important to have some knowledge of the Spanish language. I don't know how so many expats who live here only know "hola" and "dos cervezas por favor". I personally couldn't live somewhere without being able to speak some of the language, it would frustrate the hell out of me.Anyway, we're off to Seville soon so we'll be keeping a close eye on the weat Read more:Learning
Someone is taking the p*ss 2008-03-25 17:56:00 I really need to stop abandoning my blog like this (although does anyone actually read it??)But, I do have a good excuse. We spent Easter week in Rome seeing "El Papa" and all the sites. Fantastic city in terms of its history with so many interesting and "must see before I die" places all over the city. However, it was totally manic and chaotic so we returned to Spain on the Friday to recover! Well worth seeing but I certainly couldn't live there....it's just total chaos.Yesterday I popped round a (Spanish) friend's house for a chat and he had the telly on in the background. There was some puppet teaching English words to Spanish children and I was rather taken aback with what he was teaching.The Spanish word for taking a pee is "mear". This word in itself is not really a nice word a
Someone turned on the lights 2008-03-17 02:50:00 It seems that finally after 2 and a half years, somebody found the switch to turn on our street lights! It seems our developer must have hidden in very well LOL.Well, whatever's gone on, I'm just happy that finally we don't have to walk around in pitch black which isn't really very safe. Only another two roads need light now. Let's hope they don't have another couple of years! Read more:turned
Spanish national elections today 2008-03-09 13:08:00 Zapatero vs Rajoy. The spanish national elections are go. I'm not really into my politics very much these days but from what I've seen in the lead up to the election my money's on Zapatero continuing his role as PM.I don't think he's done much wrong really. He seems quite a likeable chap too which helps!Who will win? We'll know in a few hours....UPDATE: I was right! Zapatero won, no surprises there really. It does mean though that Chavez stays on as head of the Andalucian parliament so does that mean that they are going to push through all the demolitions?? I really hope not. Read more:Spanish
Spain area guides 2008-02-26 08:48:00 As you've probably noticed we never seem to sit still for very long. We've been working on a new project for Eye on Spain
and we're looking for your input during this development stage.As the popularity of the website increases week on week (currently around 9,000 people visit the site every day) we are always looking to provide more and more content for the site. It's a big job!One of the areas that we've always been lacking in is in having information about the different areas of Spain, towns, villages, cities, etc. So, I recently had the big idea that we should do some area guides covering as much of Spain as possible.But I wanted to do something a bit different to what's already out there.So we've started putting together some guides which include videos, photos, maps, h
Wind in my hair 2008-02-14 11:48:00 We've had relentless wind for what seems like an eternity now. It's just been non-stop for days and it's quite fierce too. I think the whole coast has been suffering with it, it must be what it's like to live in Tarifa all the time. No thanks!I went up to Jerez on Tuesday to watch the formula 1 testing and it was gloriously sunny there and even managed to burn my head....serves me right for not having any hair!Nice to see there weren't any racist idiots there whilst Lewis Hamilton was on track. There's just no need for it really.I'll try to post some pics and videos of the visit later if I'm not expected to do too much this Valentine's evening!
Don't buy a new car in Spain 2008-02-08 02:19:00 I think my blog needs some loving! I've abandoned it for a couple of weeks and it's been crying out to my fingers to get typing away again.I've been "underground" for the past couple of weeks working on a couple of projects for Eye on Spain
which I am anxious to get finished. We're going to be launching these next week and I'm really excited about them. All will become clear very soon....Anyway, I was having a bit of a moan to myself today about our new car, a black Golf GTI (yes, I'm a boy-racer at heart). We've had it for about 4 months now and in that time it seems to have attraced the attention of other cars. In fact they like it so much that they all seem to want to "kiss" it.Four times our car has been hit now. That's an average of once per month which is surely outrageous? It
Awful Euro rate 2008-01-15 11:21:00 If you're in the UK and looking to buy a property in Spain (or Europe) then I really don't think it's the best time in terms of exchanging your pounds for euros. The rate is terrible, the worst it's ever been.You could negotiate a discount on a property in Spain but it can more or less be wiped out by the extra you would be paying at the moment to buy your Euros.I've recorded a video on this subject for Eye on Spain. Watch the video here. If you want to leave any comments please click the "comments" link below.
Spanish property market 2008 2008-01-08 11:41:00 It's no secret that 2008 is going to be a tough year for the Spanishproperty
industry. Sellers will be having a tough time, agents will be closing down or cutting costs and many jobs in the industry will go.But, are we going to see prices fall? Are we going to see a full market crash? Are there going to be loads of bargains? Are developers going to leave developments unfinished because they haven't been able to sell enough properties on them?Have your say. What's your view on what 2008 has in store for the Spanish property market? Any comments good or bad, we want to know!Just click on "Post a comment" below and let us know what you think....
Pain in Spain 2008-01-08 09:26:00 Finally all the Christmas celebrations and over and life is returning to normal, well, sort of normal anyway.The kids are back at school today which is great for them and great for us. Kids get bored when they are out of routine and even with lots of presents to play with over the holidays, they do start climbing the walls a little after a while.Personally, I've had rather a painful holiday. In early December I hurt my back and spent a good 3 weeks in pain and discomfort. Straight after that I've got something called cluster headaches which leave me in agony every night...and they are still going strong. Apart from the pain we had a nice quiet Christmas. The weather was off and on and the Three Kings parade in Sabinillas threw everyone as they arrived early! It seems the New Years res Read more:Spain
Christmas in Spain - Really? 2007-12-01 02:34:00 Any expats living or hoping to be in Spain
over the Christmas
period will notice one major problem....it doesn't feel like Christmas at all, and it won't do until January!Half the reason is becuase the Spanish don't celebrate the 25th of December, they actually celebrate the 6th of January, which is the coming of the Three Kings.So for them it's still too early to get all festive. Most Spanish children won't get any presents on the 25th, although some may get a small gift as Santa Claus pushes his way into Spanish culture, although he still needs to a bit more pushy!Today the sun is shining, there's little evidence of Christmas in the shops.....it just doesn't feel like christmas is riht round the corner. If you don't like all the commercialism of Christmas then this is a great place to
Where have the lions gone? 2007-11-26 05:56:00 On Saturday morning we piled into the car and zoomed off to Granada for the weekend. It's always nice to get away and head into a big city (it's rather quiet where we live).We had been to Granada before but we fancied going back to take the kids to the excellent Parque de las Sciencias, and for Susan to do some shopping of course.I just really wanted to go the Alhambra palace. We didn't manage to get in last time as it was too busy and you are supposed to pre-book. Being more prepared this time we still didn't pre-book but did manage to get in...Now, since I was a little boy (about 25 years ago) I always dreamt of going to the Alhambra to see the famous lion fountain....But, after all those years of anticipation I was greeted with this...Where did all the lions go??Well, it seems they w
Ikea in Malaga 2007-11-01 08:23:00 I've never known a furniture store to create such a huge amount of interest when opening up.This week Ikea opened it's doors to the public in Malaga
and driving past the store yesterday the huge car park outside was absolutely packed full of cars. The place was heaving.In fact, Malaga town hall recently stated that they expect huge traffic problems over at least the next three months with everyone flocking to the new Ikea store.I don't know about you but I can't seem to get excited about it myself. We've been having a bit of a silly discussion on the forum about Ikea in Malaga which fell apart totally when we started discussing the meatballs you can buy there!But I suppose it's the type of store that people in the area having been crying out for. We have always though that furniture here
I know, I'll paint it pink 2007-10-31 06:46:00 As many of you will know, I am the president of the community in which we live in. As any fellow president will appreciate it's a very tough task which is also very time consuming.One of the main problems I've found is that many people don't understand the concept of a community and how it's supposed to work. Many people still have the mentality that as they've bought their property then they can do whatever the like with it.From an internal point of view I really don't care what they do, but when they start defacing the exterior then that's a big problem, and totally against the horizontal laws which govern communities in Spain. The other day I just couldn't believe what one owner has done. They've painted the outside of the apartment in pink! What ever possesses anyone to do that? A
Doing Atkins in Spain 2007-10-18 01:44:00 Anyone who knows me knows that I love eating! Problem is I love eating ALL the wrong stuff; chocolates, crips, biscuits, cakes...you get the picture. I don't really care for "proper" food, I could happily survive the rest of my life on Walkers salt and vinegar and Cadbury's Finger biscuits.Obviously I'd probably have quite a short life on that diet.But, over the past year I have very much over done it with too much of the above named "junk" (although I loathe to call it that!)Having 2 kids and a gorgious partner I really felt it was time to kill the bad habits and get healthy and slim again. I jumped on the scales just over two weeks ago and nearly died of shock....99.5 kilos...ouch! That's 15 st 8 lb if you're trying to convert. So it was time to do the only diet that works for me... Read more:Spain
, Atkins
Crazy drivers 2007-10-06 11:46:00 Today is really not a good day to be driving around like an idiot today. Indicators are being used even less than normal, people are sitting in the outside lane for no reason, people changing lanes without letting the car coming along know about it....and I could go on.I've been killed twice nearly already and I don't think I've got very many lives left so think I'll stay in for the rest of the day.It has been an absolutely glorious day here but why did I spot two English women walking along in town in their bikins!? You just don't do that. Mind, gives is the old guys in the village a little wake up boost now and then ;) Read more:Crazy
Busy, busy, busy 2007-09-26 17:26:00 I'm getting really bad at this bogging lark! Two weeks since I last posted a message....that's terrible, wouldn't blame anyone for not bothering to check my blog frequently :(BUT (wait for it, excuses coming up) I have been really busy. So busy in fact that even blogging has become a luxury time-wise. Many have noticed I've not been poking my head so much into the forum over the past couple of weeks either as it's just been so manic here.You see, we've been putting in place some expansion ideas for Eye on Spain so we've been having meetings with lots of different people, been recording interviews, sending out a fab snagging e-book, and then lots of personal things too (yep, dealing with the ever increasing list of community issues...isn't being a president great...hmmmm).I'm really look
Trackdays in Spain - Huge fun 2007-09-11 16:13:00 As most of you know last Friday I took the day off and spent the day having some fun! I went along to the latest track day event as organised by Trackdays Spain
. And what a day I had.It was fantastic. Felt like Lewis Hamilton (when he was 3) going round the track all day. It's really hard work but really enjoyable. Highly recommend it to anyone who's never done it before. Best money I've spend in ages. Here's some pics...Here's me looking mean before going on track:Here's me zooming along in the rented Lotus Elise:And here's some of us posing by Mike's Radical (he's the guy who runs it):Brilliant day. If anyone wants to come along with us next time let me know!Also, if you missed them here are some articles from today's newsletter:Mediterranean Diet: 5 Ways to Living a Longer, Stron
Summer is finally over 2007-09-05 17:04:00 You can really tell that summer is over now. I can park in town, I don't have to queue up at the supermarket for ages, there's hardly anyone in the pool, the lifeguard's gone and amazingly, all of a sudden we no longer need the fan on at night to keep us cool.Although summer is supposed to be a holiday for most people, for those of us who live here it actually becomes quite a headache. It's probably the most stressful time of the year for us!In fact, I was talking to Lola, who is the administrator for our community, and she was telling me that July and August are hell for her and her staff. Her office gets full of all the owners who are over and she says it's just a complete nightmare.We really have noticed the difference now in September, things are back to normal again....we've got t Read more:Summer
Watch out for burglars 2007-08-28 02:59:00 A friend of mine had a really bad experience recently. He has a villa in the Mijas area and in the early hours of the morning whilst he was sleeping, some young foreigners broke through the bars of one of his windows and got in the house.The really scary thing was that they jumped on his bed, put a knife to his throat and then tied him up. They were really after money and after spotting a safe in the house demanded that he open it. The problem was that the safe had come with the house when he bought it and he didn't have the key! Anyway, he managed to convince them that he really didn't have the key so they took his cash, an expensive watch and then drove off in his car (which was recovered the next day).This is a truly frightening experience. Imagine if it had been a woman on her own?
Busy weekend 2007-08-14 07:44:00 Last weekend came and went so quickly as there was so much going on!It was Feria week in Manilva last week so not a lot of work was getting done by anyone. It's only a small feria but the kids love it.On the Saturday we went to the beach in the morning which was lovely. I love the beach in the morning, it's generally really quite and has a real fresh feeling about it. I even got to read a newspaper whilst the kids played. Bliss!In the afternoon we went to a birthday party of the daughter's of one of our friends. Managed to stuff my face silly with cakes and crisps....well what other reason is there for going to birthday parties?!Then in the evening there was a "cavalgata" in Sabinillas which is a parade through the streets of some floats to celebrate feria week. It's was small but g Read more:Busy weekend
Mini adventure in Spain 2007-08-03 08:10:00 It looks like I've spotted BMW's new highly secret amphibious version of the mini being tested around Duquesa. Sshh, don't tell anyone, they may make me take it down. Read more:Spain
Subscribe for updates 2007-07-31 11:00:00 I've been getting lots of complaints from people about the fact that I'm so lazy with my blog. To be honest, I keep forgetting I've got it!Anyway, I've made a pact with myself to be a better blogger from now on and to post loads of pics all the time. I've also got some great stuff that I'm going to be blogging about.So, if you want to be kept up to date with when I update my blog just fill in your name and email address on the right hand side and you'll get an email with my latest post.Great....but I promise to make them more interesting! Read more:Subscribe
, updates
When healthcare in Spain goes wrong 2007-07-31 09:57:00 In today's newsletter we featured a really disturbing account of the poor treatment received by an expat who had private healthcare insurance in Spain
. It's a letter of complaint sent by the wife of the deceased man to the medical insurance company. You can read a copy of the letter at:When healthcare in Spain goes wrongI think it's important for people to read this letter, it's not just about the poor treatment received but also the terrible way in which the funeral was handled. It's often a subject that no one really likes to think about these things are different in Spain and it's best to be prepared or make sure arrangements are made well in advance.Apart from that we also featured the following articles in our newsletter:The Impractical Side Of Spanish ArchitectsTop Tips For Learni
Fuengirola zoo at night 2007-07-26 17:02:00 One of my favourite things about Spain is night time. As I get older the heat seems to bother me more and more so the relaxed cool evenings suit me so much better. I also love the fact that you can actually do so much at night.Last night at about 8 O'clock we decided to go off to Fuengirola zoo for the evening. It's open until midnight and if you've never been there and you've got kids it's definitely worth going to. It's a small zoo and oddly placed in the the town itself but it's a great place to spend a few hours. The thing is that during the day it's just too uncomfortable with the heat at the moment which is why the zoo is open until midnight during the summer months. But it has a totally different and unique feel at night. We noticed that in the monkey area as night fell the mon
Bricolaje not my cup of tea 2008-04-12 12:59:00 Bricolaje is Spanish for "DIY". Anyone that knows me knows that if something needs doing and there isn't a computer involved then I'll make as many excuses as possible to get out of it.But today I didn't need much pushing really. We bought loads of spot lights and bathroom fittings for the new house the other day so this morning I decided I would indulge in a spot of bricolaje for the afternoon. Susan was taking the kids to see some friends so perfect opportunity.Well, that was five hours ago. Over the past five hours all I've managed to do is put up two spot lights, eat some furitella sweets, smoke a cigar and moan about my back. Hmm, Susan will be disappointed.So after my rather unproductive effort to get the work on the new house going I think I'm going to resign myself to let the
I've got my shorts on 2008-04-13 10:18:00 Today is the first day that I've really felt warranted wearing shorts. So we all kitted ourselves out in our best "touristy" summer wear and went for a walk from Manilva to the market in Sabinillas.What a glorious day. It's days like these that I really enjoy. I don't like the intense heat of the summer, today is comfortable heat where it doesn't restrict what you do. Today was perfect Spain weather.So, we had a nosey around the market, didn't buy anything apart from some shoes for the kids and then trotted off to Sabinillas to have lunch at our favourite restaurant....El Estribo.Afterwards the kids played on the beach whilst we took in some of the rays and eventually dragged ourselves back home, although we couldn't stomach the long walk back so we took a taxi instead.We're having a l
Drink tap water in Spain....er no thanks 2008-04-14 06:18:00 I was reading in the Daily Mail today that new research has shown that there is no benefit in drinking tap water
over mineral water. In fact the article was even going as far as to state that tap water can even be better for you than mineral water, as it's very closely monitored.It seems there is a campaign in the UK to get people out of the habit of drinking bottled water.Fine, but PLEASE don't apply this to water in Spain
.Our tap water here in Manilva seems to have everything in it apart from H2O. It can blow a water heater apart in 6 months flat. And don't even get me started on the taste. Some of our Spanish friends won't even brush their teeth using the tap water here!I don't know what the water is like in other areas of Spain but around here if you want to live a long life then d Read more:Drink
Kudos Financial Investments 2008-04-22 10:22:00 I met up today with some of the guys running Kudos FinancialInvestments
in Marbella. This is an interesting new company which is a bit like a "Dragons Den". They take new products and back them, manufacture them and market them for the inventors.They have some really interesting new products that they are bringing to the market soon but I am sworn to secrecy so I can't tell you anything about them at this stage.I think companies like this are great for the coast. It's refreshing to see non-real esate businesses setting up in Spain.I wish them well and will follow their progress over the next few months with interest.
Yummy chorizo 2008-04-22 10:10:00 Some friends of mine have just returned from visiting their family in Vera in Almeria and they brought me a little present...They brought me a selection of their local chorizos. I love chorizo! If you haven't tried it then next time you're in Spain either buy the sliced one you put in a roll or the sausage type ones which you can fry (or grill). All are superb. Look what I got:Can't you just taste it? Mmmmmm.Anyway, the weather in Manilva seems to be getting better now after a couple of weeks of wind and rain, typical for April time. There are even some "guiris" in the pool! A bit too cold for me yet! Read more:Yummy
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