Features IV - REST OF SPAIN / THE WORLD

REST OF SPAIN / THE WORLD

MY SPECIAL PLACES IN SPAIN

Pablo de Ronda first went to Spain in 1970, aged 20. Now, 53 years later, he has been living in Spain, in Andalucía, for the last 15 years. In the intervening years he has visited most parts of the country. Here he writes about the places that are special to him.

In Love with SEVILLA - at last!

Pablo de Ronda had been to Seville four times and never really took to the place, even though it’s the capital of Andalucía and the fourth largest city in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Seville was always too hot, too busy and too expensive.

SETENIL DE LAS BODEGAS

7 - 0 was the score over several centuries in the battle between Moors and Christians in the hilltop village of Setenil de las Bodegas in Cadiz province. Indeed, the name Setenil is derived from this scoreline: siete – nulo.

FOUR (Spanish) WEDDINGS… and a FUNERAL

In over four decades Paul Whitelock has had the good fortune to have been invited to four weddings on Spanish territory, ranging from the Basque country to the Canary Islands to Andalucía. The last was in 2011. Here he describes that happy event and the sadness that was to follow and he reminisces about the other three…

FOUR FUNERALS ..... and a WEDDING!

Not a sequel to the famous film starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, but simply a reflection on my experience in 2023 when I have attended four funerals. RIP Antonio, Heather, Guy and Jesper.

ANDALUCIA’s 3 C’s: Cádiz, Córdoba, Ciudad Soñada

Paul Whitelock has lived in Andalucía for 15 years. He’s been coming to the region since the year 2000 and has visited throughout. When it comes to the cities of this heavily Arab-influenced area the three he likes best are Ronda, Cádiz and Córdoba.

EXTREMADURA - Journey to the hard extreme - Part II

Pablo de Ronda has visited Extremadura twice – once about 20 years ago and again in 2023. In Part 1 he described his first visit in 2002. In Part 2 he covers the 5-day visit he and his wife Rita completed last autumn.

MADRID and TOLEDO – a two-night mini-break

In October 2021 Paul and Rita Whitelock went to Madrid to buy a second-hand car. They decided to turn this "shopping trip" into a three-night mini-break. They went by train and came back in the "new" car. Here's the story.

REST of THE WORLD - Capitals of Mainland Europe

Perhaps because of my background in foreign languages, I developed a real wanderlust from my late teens onwards. As a result, over the course of half a century I've clocked up a surprising number of capitals, thirty-four, in fact.

REST of THE WORLD - Capitals of the World, outside Europe

I developed a real wanderlust from my late teens onwards. As a result, over the course of half a century I've been to a surprising number of capital cities, thirty-four, in fact. These are the 16 capitals I've been to outside mainland Europe.