Just back from the Barcelona Grand Prix

I got back yesterday from Barcelona after going with Diego to watch the Barcelona F1 Grand Prix. We were really lucky actually as we didn't pay for the tickets....Diego won them! 500 Euros worth of tickets, pretty cool hey?

So we did a "planes, trains and automobiles" routine and drove up to Granada in the morning, got a flight to Barcelona (changing in Palma de Mallorca), taxi to hotel, then the train into Barcelona city centre for some tapas and drinks.

To be honest we were shattered by the time we got to Barcelona so headed back the hotel early to make sure we got up extra early to get to the circuit. They were expecting 130,000 people to attend so we thought it might get a little busy....actually it was A LOT busy.

Anyway, up at 6:30 on the Sunday and got the train to the circuit, which was already packed. Sat in the heat getting burnt but what a great atmosphere. Fantastic experience.

We had to get the flight back that same evening so our challenge was to exit the circuit as quickly as possible. We were a little lucky that Alonso broke down half way through the race and quite a few upset fans left the circuit early.

Here's me (I'm the one with the fat face in the Ferrari gear!!) enjoying the race:




We rushed out at the end and managed to get the train and the flight back on time.

A hugely tiring weekend but well worth it. I think next time we'll go for a bit longer though!

Search Engine Optimisation Spain

Apart from running my own websites, I do have a select number of clients that I provide SEO (search engine optimisation) services to here in Spain.

I never promote that side of my business as I don't want to take on any new customers at the moment. But over the past two weeks I've been approached directly by over ten different companies requesting my search engine optimisation services.

If you're reading this and wondering what search engine optimisation is then you can read more about it on wikipedia.

I've had to turn them all down! How crazy is that?? Turning down business! But to be honest I just don't have the time and I don't want any of my existing customers to suffer because I've taken on too much work. It's difficult enough just managing what I've got already.

However, I do have a solution for you if you are after some SEO services. Some good friends of mine run Artemis Internet Marketing offering search engine optimisation Spain services. If you need to get web traffic and want to rank well then I recommend you talk to them. Very clever guys, very professional and very good.

They offer all sorts of services ranging from SEO to web design in Marbella.

So please call them...not me!

Glass curtains Spain

I was round a friend's house today and he's got a really good glass encolsure around his terrace in Duquesa. I have seen these becoming more and more popular as it allows the terrace to be used all year round.

In our area it's particularly good for keeping the terrace clean! It's so dusty around here that especially in the summer you end up cleaning your terrace nearly every day just to get rid of the dust.

I saw this website about glass curtains Spain whish shows some examples of glass curtains. Have you seen these glass curtains yourself? What do you think of them?

I like the fact that they don't change the look of the terrace much but I wonder if as part of a community you could fit these without it needing to be approved by the community?? Will take a look into that but I assume each community has it's on policy on them.

Kudos Financial Investments

This company based in Marbella is not to be trusted!!!!

Yummy chorizo

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!

Drink tap water in Spain....er no thanks

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 don't drink the tap water. UK rules don't apply!

I've got my shorts on

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 little rest now but we'll be going out later to take the kids on their bikes as the weather is perfect today so have to make the most of it.

Gotta go....

Bricolaje not my cup of tea

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 experts do it all. They're starting on Tuesday. Me, I'll be back behind my PC! Oh yeah!

Learning Spanish ebook

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 weather in Seville. The last time we went was in the summer and we nearly died from the heat. It was horrible. You've been warned!