Zarzaquemada is a densely populated district in the city of Leganés. It has been built in the Seventies of the last century and consists mainly of uniform apartment blocks. Several parks line the district and between the apartment blocks, you can find childrens’ playgrounds such as in the picture. As soon as the sun comes … Read more
In 2004 Adrián Carra finished a sculptural work in Leganés which he called Plaza de los Gatos. It’s a square, like an open patio. On the square walk, sit, and crawl several, bronze, fairly big-sized cats (gatos). The funny thing though is that mice (ratones) have been carved in the bricks where the cats are … Read more
In Spain, there are supermarkets on every corner of the street. Some of the supermarkets, specifically some of the bigger chains, are well equipped with organic food. In most other countries we visited this is hardly the case. And nowhere but in Germany and the Netherlands, we’ve seen a chain of organic supermarkets. In the … Read more
No, this is not the design for our New year card. It’s a surprise. Because they’re closed on Wednesday and we will leave for Madrid the day after tomorrow, we went to La Maroma today. La Maroma is a restaurant here in the village of Canillas de Aceituno. We very much enjoy the food, the … Read more
These last couple of weeks the weather has been devastating. Cold, windy, and lots of rain. Lots of rain. And even more rain. For the reservoir at La Viñuela, it was a boon. Reserves went up with a year’s water for the city of Malaga. Driving along the small roads we already noticed that rocks … Read more
There we are. The four of us. Rob and Carol are in the middle. Together at a small lunch table in a restaurant in Torre del Mar that I stubbornly call Tahiti. The restaurant that is, not Torre del Mar. The weather was beautiful and during most of the lunch, I was warmed by the … Read more
Although I haven’t seen any vineyards in the area, at the end of the village, in the middle of a roundabout, there is a metal statue honoring (homenaje) the farmer (labrador) who works vineyards (vid cavaor). Perhaps it’s because of the lack of vineyards that the word cavaor is written in between quotation marks. Other … Read more
The wild parakeets in this picture live in the palm trees that border the promenade along the beach of Torre del Mar. They make an awful racket for such small birds. People who think that these birds belong in more tropical regions, better think again. Although the wild parakeets in Torre del Mar are not … Read more
There has been a time in Spain people could build where they wanted. Two concurring developments ended this: the financial and economic crisis which started in 2007 and anti-corruption actions. Probably the crisis came first. The problem is that many projects couldn’t be finished because of a lack of finances, or because of indictments that … Read more
At both ends of the village, there are children’s playgrounds, combined with fitness machines for adults, situated on terraces overlooking the surrounding area. When the sun shines in the afternoon the elderly of the village gather there on the benches to discuss the news of the day. What a surprise when we saw that one … Read more