For a couple of years, once a year we do a medical check-up. Since it has been over a year by now, yesterday we decided to make an appointment in the Puerto at the private clinic our new health insurer recommends. Before we could blink an eye our blood pressure was measured and the doctor … Read more
In Spain, they have excellent table manners. Meaning that at the start of any meal you always get offered: salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil. Usually from very good quality. At least as far as we are concerned. But of course, we’re no real aficionados if it comes to these table annexes. We never add … Read more
There are not many alternative roads we can walk on around the house. One way or the other we pass a dry riverbed. There stands the sign of this picture. It says: coto privado de caza. This means: private hunting grounds. Most of the time when we pass this sign, we see rabbits running away … Read more
Manuel de Falla y Matheu (1876-1946) was one of Spain’s most important composers of the first half of the twentieth century. His best-known composition is El Amor Brujo, which can roughly be translated as The Bewitched Love. At the Auditorio El Batel in Cartagena this evening we experienced El Amor Brujo as a ballet in a … Read more
This picture epitomizes our lifestyle. At least, if it comes to food. This is the fruit snack with which we start the day. And we do this already for years. As far as I can remember from 1991 onwards. In that year we went to the USA for the first time. But there is more … Read more
This a hive, not a beehive, but a hive for wasps. In Spain, wasps are called avispas. The wasps in the picture look different from those that visit the pool. The ‘pool wasps’ are bigger and have tails. Bees and wasps have important functions in nature. They eat other less useful animals and inseminate flowers … Read more
This is gazpacho, a typical Spanish cold soup. It’s from Don Simon, a well-known brand in Spain. This gazpacho is ecological, most products of Don Simon are not. So we are lucky. This gazpacho is one of the few we really like. Of course, because it’s ecológico. But also because it contains only a little … Read more
‘Shopping’. I love it. According to my friends, I am the only male person who loves ‘shopping’. That is, I love looking around in shops. I don’t buy anything. Not because I don’t want to, but because I shouldn’t know what to buy. Not that I have everything, but because I don’t want everything. Okay, … Read more
One way or the other, in Spain special care is taken of ‘people with disabilities’, or as it’s called in our world: ‘people with restrictions’. In the picture, you can see how this works. In a shallow part of the beach, shade is created with a toldo (a canopy). Under the toldo a couple of … Read more
It’s no use complaining that you’re getting older. You just need practical solutions. Like aseos when you need one. The beautiful white and blue striped cabin in the picture is such an aseos (W.C.). For men and for women. By the way, the Spanish have some interesting words for these ‘rooms of recess’: cuarto de descanso, retrete, lavabo, baño, inodoro, servicios, excusado, guardarropa, vestuario, and consigna. … Read more