CBBH Photo Challenge: Full Circle

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Marianne under CBBH Photo Challenge, Places

During March I visited the Sierra Nevada Ski Station in the neighbouring province of Granada, Spain.

The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for “snowy range”) is Europe’s most southerly and sunniest ski resort with more than 80% of sunny days each year. There are more than 104 kilometres of trails, 116 ski runs and 22 ski lifts to ensure you enjoy the biggest snow park in Spain!

I thought we could have a bit of fun with the CBBH Photo Challenge during April, so I want you to choose a position to stand and then turn a FULL CIRCLE, taking photos as you go.

My first FULL CIRCLE spin was in the main square, at the lower end of the resort village, Pradollano, which lies 2100 metres above sea level. The village has a full-range of hotels, restaurants, shops and holiday apartments and caters for every taste and budget.

From this square I jumped on board the ski-lift to the top station, Borreguiles, situated at 3300 metres above sea level – where I did my second FULL CIRCLE spin!

In the first of the next set of photographs, you can see the village of Pradollano far below. The highest peak of the Sierra Nevada range is Mulhacén (appearing in the fourth photograph, below), which at 3,481 metres is also the highest point of the Iberian Peninsula.

So, now it’s YOUR turn.

Don’t forget that the CBBH Photo Challenge is a little different from some other challenges, in two ways. First, it’s only once a month – giving you lots of time to consider your entry before the end of the calendar month. Second, and most important, this is a BLOG HOP (after all, it is the CBBH – Conejo Blanco Blog Hop, conejo blanco means white rabbit in Spanish), so DON’T FORGET that in your post you need to add links to two blogs that you have visited and commented on during the past month.

That way, when we visit each other, we can HOP OVER to your links, connect with others and share a little blog love around!

My Featured Blog Links for this month:

*** The Barsetshire Diaries follows the everyday adventures of “Lord” David Prosser, an author and retired Local Government Officer from North Wales. Quite apart from a penchant for car-boot sales, charity and antique shops, David regales us with hilarious tales of his day-to-day life as a member of the landed gentry. His Blog Cast List is so long that it now has a page of it’s own, so as not to confuse newcomers and non-regular visitors! After a difficult past year, David’s writing has kept him busy on the straight-and-narrow – and he is one of my most regular commenters. OOHHH and I nearly forgot …. you MUST pop over and see Reuben’s photo page 🙂 So cute!

*** Spanish Scribbles is all about Wendy Kate’s journey into sketching and drawing, in and around her adopted hill-top pueblo of Jimena de la Frontera in Andalucía. Unlike me, who can’t draw a straight line with a ruler, Wendy has produced the most wonderful illustrations of the tower in the main square, and the best cats in Jimena, as well as the cork oak trees in the nearby Parque Natural Los Alcornocales, which are harvested every nine years. Over the weeks, it will be fascinating to see just how much her drawing comes along. What a talented lady!

Please HOP over and say HELLO to both of my featured links, and tell them Marianne sent you!

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for April, folks.

Remember, all you have to do is post your entry by the end of the month, tag your entry ‘CBBH Photo Challenge’, link back to this blog and, most importantly, don´t forget to add links to any two blogs that you´ve commented on during the past month, so that we can all HOP OVER and have a look.

Make sure you FOLLOW THIS BLOG so you don´t miss next month’s exciting challenge!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

I hope everyone taking part enjoys the exposure the CBBH Photo Challenge offers to featured blogs and, who knows, you may end up finding a new favourite!

I´m looking forward to seeing your interpretations.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]

One trip EVERY month: Glass and Crystal Museum, Málaga

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Marianne under Axarquía, Photo challenges, Places

You might have noticed I’ve not been around much for the past couple of weeks. That’s because I’ve been back in the UK visiting family and friends, as well as a six-day trip to Iceland to cross off a “Bucket List” item ….. to see the Northern Lights.

I’m back home in Spain now and I’ll get to see your new blog entries and respond to your kind comments over the next few days.

In keeping with the theme of this blog, and to satisfy my One Trip EVERY Month Challenge, I want to tell you about my recent visit to the Museum of Glass and Crystal in Málaga. I’ve noticed for some time on Trip Advisor that this is Number One rated attraction in the city, so it was time to pay a visit.

We had spent the earlier part of the day at the wonderful Atarazanas food market, enjoying delicious tapas of fresh tuna and prawns at Marisqueria El Yerno, so it was a relatively short stroll towards Plazuela Santisimo Cristo de la Sangre to find the Glass and Crystal museum.

I have to admit that it could have been a bit easier to find, but eventually we arrived after a couple of wrong turns.

The Museum of Glass and Crystal is privately owned and housed in a beautifully restored 18th century building complete with inner courtyards, and displays a collection of more than 3,000 pieces of mostly European crystal and glass, as well as antique furniture and works of art.

Glass on display at Glass and Crystal Museum, Malaga

Stained glass windows in the crystal museum, Malaga

There are a number of stained glass windows from British churches, including a particularly magnificent one by William Morris.

What was particularly enchanting about our visit to this museum was the fact that it is housed within a family home, and we were fortunate to be given a private guided tour by one of the owners, Professor Ian Phillips, whose knowledge and enthusiasm of this unique collection shone through.

My only regret was that we had limited time available for our tour as we had to get back to our parked car, some distance away, before the meter ran out. I look forward to returning to enjoy a more leisurely tour – perhaps when our next visitors are here in the summer.

Collección del Vidrio y Cristal de Málaga
Address: Plazuela Santísimo Cristo de la Sangre 2, Málaga (in front of the main door of the Church of San Felipe Neri)
Telephone: (+34) 95 222 02 71
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11am – 7pm. Closed on Mondays, Christmas and New Year’s Days and for the whole of the month of August.
General admission: 5 euros (reduced for certain groups)

This post is my contribution to the One Trip EVERY Month Challenge.

If you’d like to join me, here’s how:

Each month, visit somewhere and then write about your trip or describe it using photographs – whichever suits you best.
Don´t forget to title and tag your entry ’One Trip EVERY Month Challenge’, and link back to this page.
Display the Challenge logo on your post or in your sidebar.
HAVE FUN!

Are you ready to join me by taking ONE TRIP EVERY MONTH? What are you waiting for?

GO!

Silent Sunday in Andalucía: Fishing boats at Rincón de la Victoria

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Marianne under Axarquía, Challenges, Photographs I love

One Trip EVERY Month Challenge: February

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Marianne under Axarquía, Challenges, Further Afield, Places

I’ve a couple of trips to tell you about this month. My February began in the delightful Andalucían town of Vejer de la Frontera, on the Costa de la Luz, where I was a guest at Annie B’s Spanish Kitchen. Annie not only showed me around her home-town, where we feasted on delicious tapas, but she also took me to the fish market at the nearby town of Barbate, where we bought the delicious fresh ingredients we would use for our cooking weekend.

I’ll be telling you all about Annie B’s fabulous Spanish kitchen in a separate post, later.

My second trip was somewhere that many British expats take regular visits to.

Gibraltar.

Just three hours along the coast, it’s a popular outing to stock up on British goods and groceries we can’t always get hold of in Spain. You know how we English love our cups of tea, so a trip to British supermarket, Morrison’s, can be a bit of a treat.

I’ve been to Gibraltar many times before, but I’ve always driven through the border on previous occasions. This time, I was on a coach rather than in a private car, and as there was a bit of a queue of vehicles, some of us decided to hop-off the coach and walk across into Gibraltar.

No sooner have you crossed into the British Overseas Territory, you are faced with the following sign:

Because Gibraltar is so small (just over 6.5 square kilometres), and within that area is the famous 426m high Rock, space is at a premium. This means that the peninsula’s runway is bisected by its busiest road, Winston Churchill Avenue. Each time an aircraft wants to land or depart, barriers come down to prevent motor vehicles from crossing the airfield.

As you can imagine, it causes quite a spectacle …. and a queue!

So there you have it – my contribution to the One Trip EVERY Month Challenge this month is two for the price of one!

If you’d like to join me, here’s how:

Each month, visit somewhere and then write about your trip or describe it using photographs – whichever suits you best.
Don´t forget to title and tag your entry ’One Trip EVERY Month Challenge’, and link back to this page.
Display the Challenge logo on your post or in your sidebar.
HAVE FUN!

Are you ready to join me by taking ONE TRIP EVERY MONTH? What are you waiting for?

GO!

Cost of Living in Spain: February 2014

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Marianne under Axarquía, Cost of Living

EDITED TO ADD: My most up-to date COST OF LIVING report for JULY 2015 can be found HERE.

Every day, around one hundred people find themselves visiting my blog after typing the search term “Cost of Living in Spain” into Google. It’s a popular subject, and for that reason each year I publish a list of the current prices of a number of items here in southern Spain.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the following information is relevant to the kind of lifestyle and area where I live, east of Málaga. We choose to live like locals, eating fresh, seasonal produce and frequenting bars full of Spaniards rather than tourists. Similarly, if your choice would be to only buy internationally branded foods and eat in tourist areas then you will find costs are considerably higher.

So …. whether you are fed up of the wet weather in the UK, have been dreaming of living in southern Europe for many years or you’re just curious – here’s my updated list of standard grocery items for your perusal.

For the sake of comparison, I have once again used the largest Spanish supermarket – Mercadona.

STANDARD GROCERY LIST

This is the up-to-date Standard Grocery List I have published previously. The first price shown is as it was in August 2013, with this month’s prices in RED alongside.

Milk (semi–skimmed UHT, own brand), 1 litre 0.59 € 0.60 €

Loaf (white, baguette 250g) 0.45 € 0.45 €

Loaf (white, Bimbo brand, 460g 100% natural) 1.49€ 1.49 €

Butter (250g, own brand) 1.05 € 1.25 €

Sugar (1kg, white) 0.93 € 0.93 €

Coffee (ground, 250g, Santa Cristina) 1.89 € 1.89 €

Eggs (12, own brand caged, medium) 1.35 € 1.35 €

Olive oil (1 litre, extra virgin, own brand) 3.35€ (5 litres 15.50€) 3 € (5 litres 14.50 €) **

Rice (1kg, long grain, own brand) 0.71€ 0.71 €

Pasta (1kg, own brand) 0.79€ 0.75 €

Pasta (500g, wholewheat) 0.99€ 0.99 €

Tinned tuna (6 x 80g, own brand) 3.39€ 3.35 €

Chicken breasts (1kg, boneless, skinless, packaged)) 5.80 € 5.80 €

Pork chops (1kg) 4.60€ 4.75 €

Beef mince (Store brand, pre-packed, 700g) 3.80 € 3.80 €

Fish (1kg Salmon steaks) 10.75 € 10.75 €

Fish (1kg Dorada, Gilt-head bream) 6.95€ 6.95 €

Apples (1kg, green, Golden Delicious) 2.00 € 1.85 € **

Oranges (1kg) 1.19 € 0.79 € **

Bananas (1kg) 1.29 € 1.39 €

Potatoes (1kg) 1.25 € 0.89 € **

Lettuce (1 head, Iceberg) 0.85 € 0.87 €

Red Peppers (1kg, loose) 1.95 € 1.89 €

Green pointed “Italian” Peppers (1kg, loose) 1.35 € 1.99 € **

Tomatoes (1kg, loose) 0.99 € 1.29 € **

Coca-Cola (1.5 litre bottle) 1.09 € 1.09 €

Water (2 litre bottle) 0.42 € 0.42 €

Domestic Beer (1 litre bottle, Cruzcampo) 1.25 € 1.25 €

Imported beer (6 x 25cl bottles Heineken) 3.05€ 3.65 €

Bottle wine (medium priced) 3.00 – 3.50€ 3.00 – 3.50 €

Colgate toothpaste (100 ml) 1.75€ 1.75 €

Pantene shampoo (300 ml) 3.00€ 3.00€

Toilet rolls (pack of 6, own brand) 1.95 € 1.98 €

Washing powder (Box, 35 washes, Elena brand) 4.87 € 4.87 €

** Seasonal changes

For the costs of accommodation, utilities, motoring, public transport and entertainment – prices are largely unchanged since last time. Please see HERE.

Many people dream of moving to southern Spain with the promise of better weather coupled with a healthier, outdoor Mediterranean lifestyle. There are many other considerations to bear in mind when trying to compare living costs, and the following may be some of them:

Unemployment in Spain is currently running at record levels with 25% of the adult population out of work. If you are considering moving to Spain, you would need to be confident that your finances are secure or you might end up having to return to your home country after failing to find employment.
Tied in with the issue of employment, comes health cover. Unless you are employed, self-employed or retired, (thus qualifying for cover under the Spanish health system), you will be required to take out private health cover.
The cost of living is really only half of the equation. Salaries and wages may be very different in Spain from what you are used to elsewhere. What is important is what is left each month after you have paid for your essentials.
Fluctuation in currency exchange rates can make a huge difference to you if your source of income comes from outside of Spain. For example, when we first came to live in Spain ONE BRITISH POUND bought us ONE EURO AND FIFTY CENTIMOS. Very handy when we were purchasing our house. However, a couple of years ago, and completely outside of our control, we only received just ONE EURO AND EIGHT CENTIMOS for each BRITISH POUND – a staggering drop in income of almost one third.
Spanish houses in this area are built to keep out the sun in summer rather than to retain heat in winter. With tiled floors, small windows and inadequate heating systems, houses can be surprisingly chilly during the winter months, making them expensive to heat.
Whilst some costs are much more favourable in Spain (for example our cost of IBI is about one quarter of the cost of a similar property in the UK for Council Tax), other costs are significantly more (i.e. when purchasing a property, costs amount to approx 11% of the purchase price).
You might have to factor in the cost of flights back home to the UK (or your home country) to visit friends and relatives. Often these can be bought through budget airlines for reasonable prices – but what if you need to return quickly for a family emergency?
Then there is the question of taxes – not only of the personal variety, but also related to any property purchase. There are many factors at play, depending on personal circumstances, and whilst I often receive messages from visitors to my blog regarding such matters, I am not a tax expert and would always recommend you seeking professional advice given your own personal financial situation.

MY ADVICE: There are many more things to bear in mind when considering the cost of living in Spain, than the price of bread and milk. DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST!