New gourmet food market for Seville! Rear view of the Naves del Barranco, site of Seville's future gourmet food market, as seen from the river. Due to open next summer, the market will have a terrace along this wall. This weekend it was announced in Seville that go-ahead has finally been…
Free flamenco in Seville! Outdoor-loving flamenco aficionados - or indeed people who just happen to be visiting the city - will be happy to hear that the Bienal de Flamenco, which takes place until the end of this month, has a wide programme of free events en la calle this year.Part of…
Córdoba olive oil wins top British award Anyone who lives in Andalucía, or who is an aficionado of Spanish food, will be well aware of the leading role played by "liquid gold" - olive oil - in the region's cuisine.An Andalusian breakfast is toast with jamón serrano, tomato and olive oil…
The best fried fish in Spain is in... Andalucia! Although it probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, El Pais recently published a list of the restaurants serving the best pescaito frito (fried fish) in Spain, and nine out of ten were in Andalucia.Pescaito frito is a mix of fish and…
The Paralympic GamesIt's all over. Our glorious golden summer of sport has finished. The Paralympics finished in spectacular fashion last night with a stunning Closing Ceremony, and now I'm watching the parade through London in honour of Team GB and Paralympics GB, on my computer here in Spain. No…
Patience, perspective and planning ahead: dealing with spanish administration and small children.A kind English friend, recently returned from her summer visit, has just lent me a book on parenting - the Supernanny toddler one, which she said all her friends back in England are using. It's the new…
Back to VATIf, like me, you've been away for the summer, and have recently arrived back in Spain, you may be somewhat alarmed by the rise in IVA, effective as of last Saturday, 1 September. IVA is Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido, and applies to virtually all goods and services, except health and…
My year in SpainGuest Post: Rebeka ThompsonI have been blogging for Andalucia.com, usually about special events, since March. However, few readers will be aware that this is my final week working for Andalucia.com. As a third-year degree student at Nottingham University, reading Spanish and…
The importance of eating localGuest Post: Chris Chaplow Recently I was having tapas in a bar called ‘El Tipico Andaluz’, enjoying jamon y queso and aceite de oliva. Picking up the bottle of mineral water, I noticed it was not from Andalucia, but from northern Spain. I wondered why and asked…
Malaga FeriaGuest Post: Rebeka ThompsonFeria has returned to Malaga!The annual Malaga summer fair takes place every August - it is a vibrant, energetic, 10-day celebration with all-night street parties, including lashings of flamenco, food and fino (dry sherry). The fair is over 500 years old…