What to do on Sundays in Andalucia

It's windy and cold (yes, it's actually cold here) so what do you? Well, you all get in the car, head towards the mountains and find a good roadside venta for an wholesome meal.

Yes, I know I've gone on about the delights of ventas before but they really are superb. Ventas have been around for many years and essentially started as family establishments offering cheap food to workers and families. They generally served home cooked meals in large quantities for very little money.

Today the essence of these ventas is much the same. Huge (and I mean huge) portions of delicious home cooked food served in a very informal environment all for a very reasonable price. We went to a brilliant one today just past Gaucin and we only managed to finish about half of all the food.

We are all stuffed now so wont eat again for a couple of days!

Still no phone line

A couple of weeks ago we heard on the on the grapevine that Telefonica (the main phone provider in Spain) have provided for another 1100 phones lines in the area of Manilva. As soon as we heard this we ran down to the Telefonica shop to apply for one straight away. We must have been one of the first. We told a few people and before we knew it everyone in need (and there must be thousands) all put in their applications.

Considering we must have been one of the first we have still not heard from Telefonica, yet loads of people we told have been contacted and given dates when they will get their phone line installed!!

I don't know how the system works but it does seem a little unfair. Although we have an Internet connection it is far from brilliant (by wireless means), and trying to run an Internet business with it can sometimes prove challenging.

I know, moan, moan. moan! I just love Telefonica....not"

Advertising with Eye on Spain

It's not often I use my blog to plug something about Eye on Spain, but this is just a plug so don't read any more if you're not interested!

We're very excited to have launched our featured off plan new developments page where developers and agents can list specific projects that they would like to push and market. The page has been created based on the various requests that we have received for such a service.

At the same time as launching this page, we have also finally released our advertising section for those interested in placing ads in various locations on the Eye on Spain website. As the site is actually funded by advertising this feature is particularly important to us!! :)

We are going to have a really busy couple of weeks starting from next week. We will be launching 4 new modules comprising of information and services which we know our visitors will really appreciate.

More on that next week.

Plug finished.

Don't drink the water

Our 5 month old boiler decided to spill all its contents all over our terrace the other day. (Quality!). So we called out the technician and he came round 2 days later (we were starting to get a bit smelly by then as we had no hot water). Anyway, it turn out that the main seal had gone and that he would have to order a new one (brilliant)....but he couldn't tell us when it would arrive (typical).

Anyway, 5 days later (not so smelly, we used neighbour's shower) technician comes round with new seal in hand :)

He opened up the boiler to change the seal and he nearly fainted with shock! The amount of calcification inside the boiler was normal for a boiler of 3 years old....not 5 months! It was truly horrendous. It's apparently due to the poor quality of the tap water in the area.

Therefore, my advice is DON'T DRINK THE TAP WATER IN THE MANILVA AREA!! We've been told not to use it for cooking, tea, etc, either. It looks like we're going to be buying a lot more bottled water from now on.....

Happy Valentines from Spain

Happy Valentines to you all from Spain! Hope you and your partners have a great time today. The chocolates, the perfume, the flowers, the cards, the breakfast in bed....these are all the things I wish I'd sorted our for today!

Every year it's the same story. 8pm on the 13th of Feburary I find myself hunting for last minute "gifts" for the next day (I treasure my life!). Lucky we have an English card shop down the road in Duquesa which sells all sorts of little gifts and they even brought in some really nice (and expensive) roses for the big day today. Also luckily....the were open late last night for people just like me!

I think the thing is here is that there doesn't seem to be much fuss about Valentines day. Not like in the UK, you could never be forgiven for forgetting Valentines day in UK as it's so in-your-face in all the shops.

We're just going to be staying in this evening (no babysitter). I've offered to cook dinner but I was swiftly told it was probably best if we just get a takeaway...is my cooking really that bad? Luckily we have an excellent Chinese restaurant down the road in Sabinillas which is a real life saver and the food is always superb.

Hope you all have a romantic day today!

Besos (only for the ladies)

Agro Jardin - A rainy day paradise

It's Sunday and it's raining (yes, it does rain here sometimes). What do you do? Well, there is a little saviour in the Costa del Sol called Agro Jardin.

Agro Jardin is "officially" a garden centre but it's a liitle different to your average garden center in the UK. Apart from all the usual plants etc, Agro Jardin is also a pet shop (dogs, rabbits, fish, spiders, snakes, etc) including ducks and even sheep. This is great for the kids just to go there and look at all the animals. The best bit (from a parents point of view) is that Agro Jardin laso has a nice coffee shop (they sell beer too) with a play area for the kids (ball-park, slides, etc).

It's great for a rainy day or even a very hot day. See the animals then have a coffee whilst the kids entertain themselves in the play area. Brilliant! And if it's raining, someone will even accompany you to your car with an umberlla....

Agro Jardin is based near Estepona km 164 on N340.

If it's raining or too hot it's definitely worth checking out Agro Jardin!

Manilva TV

Manilva is a relatively small place but it can boast it's own TV station...Manilva TV! Now, the station, including the transmitters are RIGHT outside our window, literally opposite us. But for some bizarre reason we just can't pick up the signal.

Yet, other people on our urbanisation who cannot even see the station can pick it up just fine. I think it's all part of the "don't try to understand it" thing about living here.

I hear that the quality of the shows of the Manilva TV station is not particularly good, apparantly it's as if it's filmed in someone's garage (I think it actually is anyway!). Still it would be nice to see it for ourselves one day.

Where are you Manilva TV??

Leisure parks in Spain

I discovered a great website today.

If you're like us and have kids and are often looking for places to go in Spain to keep them entertained, check out the following site:

http://www.infoparks.com/flashan/r_parcs/spain/index.htm

It's a great site with details of lots of entertainment parks, zoos, water parks, etc, in Spain. It also covers other countries in Europe too.

There's just no reason to be stuck at home any more!

Mermaids in Manilva

I don't think I'm going to make any comment about this.

Where's our mail?

When we lived in the UK we took postmen/ (postwomen?) for granted. We'd sometimes moan that they'd turn up a couple of hours late one morning but overall we never really had any complaints.

The postal system in Spain seems to be very different, particularly in Manilva where we live. I think it's down to the fact that the town hall underestimated the impact creating so many new homes in the area would have on their postal system.

Many people in the area complain that they don't see any post for a month or two and then all of a sudden get inundated with old letters and bills.

For us it's a different story. Our problem is down to the fact that the town hall hasn't sorted out the roads and pavements properly and they are deemed unfit for "postpeople" to deliver letters to our urbanisation. We therefore have to nip down to the (tiny) post office in the village every now and then and rummage through a box full of letters to dig out our own. So, if you were thinking of sending me money through the post please don't do it! :)

So, before you moan about the postal service in UK spare a little thought for us here....

Not so easy to smoke in Spain any more

Since the introduction of the new law than bans smoking in offices, etc, in Spain, it has become increasingly difficult to buy the dreaded weed. I don't smoke cigarettes myself but I do enjoy an occasional cigar (Partagas Serie D No. 4 is my favourite), especially as during the day it can be quite warm in the sun.

As garages and supermarkets can no longer stock any "smokes" sourcing my occasional cigars is becoming quite a challenge. Maybe it's time to give them up....I don't think so! There's always Gibraltar (duty free heaven)!