Salud Responde Must say I’m impressed these days with the regional health services help line. I’ll never forget how I had to go stand in line just two days after the birth of my second baby because it was practically impossible to make an appointment by phone. These days I just pick up the phone…

Everywhere you go in Andalucia you may need to learn a slightly different vocabulary in order to order your coffee just like you like it. As an example, here’s a guide to coffees in Málaga. Nube: Literally means “cloud”. This is just enough coffee to flavour your hot milk. Sombra: Literally “…

I love visiting the beaches of Andalucia in the autumn – no matter what the weather. At this time of year there are so few people on the coast that it’s easy to park and the beaches tend to be deserted. Perfect! When else can you take long, quite walks on beaches that are packed out in the summer…

Another holiday in Spain! It seems like we just finished the lovely “Puente de Pilar” (The Pilar Bridge Weekend) when everyone was celebrating the patron saint of the armed forced (and the rest of the world was celebrating Columbus Day). For those who are new to Spanish customs, these long weekends…

Single use plastic bags are on their way out of Andalucia, thanks to the latest National Waste Plan (Plan Nacional de Residuos), which aims to cut the use of these handy helpers by the end of next year. According to a report in this weekend's Diario Sur newspaper, Spain is Europe's number one…

Have you noticed the abundance of amazing fresh produce in the local markets right now? And talk about affordable! If you live in Andalucia and you're not eating your fresh fruits and vegetables every day, it's only because you don't want to! And we have every reason to make an effort to include…

If you're connecting with us from a cold, wet, rainy region of the world, prepare to turn green! The weather in southern Spain has taken a turn for the warm, balmy better. Wow! These late fall "summers" are the best - not so blazing hot like July and August. And neither do they have that little…

I've just received fantastic news for birdwatchers in Andalucia regarding the annual birdwatching weekend in Casarabonela, a lovely white village perched on a mountainside in the province of Málaga. I interviewed the organisers of this event on the radio last year and I can assure you it's worth…

Spain, particularly the south of Spain, is especially attractive to expatriates from northern European countries not only because of the sun, but also the pace of life. Many are attracted to move here by what they see as a slower, more relaxed lifestyle. But would you believe it’s possible to…

Spring cleaning is big where I come from. Everyone talks about it, but I’m not sure if anyone really does it any more. Here, on the other hand, the big annual “turn the house inside out” season seems to be autumn. And it is taken very seriously. I have a couple of theories for this. First of all,…