Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain – South of Granada City & North of Granada Coast
Leaving the city of Granada and heading south towards Motril you have two choices, head east to The Alpujarras or west to Valle de Lecrin. Today we´re taking...
Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain – Ruined Moorish City Madinat al-Zahra and its Museum
The old Moorish city of Madinat al-Zahra, also known as Medina Azahara was rediscovered in 1911 and to date not much more than 10% of this, once astonishing...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain. Cordoba City
Cordoba city is a day trip away from home in Jaén province but it is occasionally an overnighter too. The Casco Historico is the best known, most visited...
Via Verdes in Jaen for Walking and Cycling
Long and winding walking and cycling routes through the olive groves of Jaen are a great way to see the landscape and some history. There are some...
Jaén Best Extra Virgin Olive Oils
When you live in Spain´s largest olive oil producing province and you like the stuff an exciting time of the year is when Jaén Selección is announced....
Salmorejo – a Healthy Spanish Dish
Cordoba my neighbouring province is home, they say, to Salmorejo the thicker cousin of Gazpacho usually made without cucumbers. In my years of living here (25 this year) I´ve...
Rachel’s Favourite Article of 2020. Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain 15 El Caminito del Rey – The King´s Walkway
Once known as the world´s most dangerous walkway, the caminito – which means little walkway – and it was little. The old path was built as a narrow path...
Light and Easy Christmas Cake, No Egg Fruit Cake, Quick to Make
This recipe is one I play with depending on what dried fruit is in the cupboard. Usually I have dried figs, which I dry myself in the Andalusian sunshine,...
Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalusia
Nine years ago – I find that hard to believe but my Andalucia Explorer blog tells me so, I wrote ´It´s fifty years since Penelope Chetwode, wife of John Betjeman,...
Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain – Curtailed Again. New Restrictions for Bank Holiday Weekend
So Figgy Bread baked, eaten, baked and eaten again a rest is needed and more walking necessary, which as it is Bank Holiday Weekend – Dia de Todos...
Rachel´s Wanderings – Photographer, Stunning Scenery and Figgy Bread
A travelling interlude in this time of uncertainty was a welcome break. A break that took us to a town of inland Andalucia that we hadn´t been to before –...
Rachel´s Wandering´s in Spain – Still Masked, Breathless and a Grandma
Compulsory mask wearing still has not got me beaten. Every opportunity, opening the office door or car door, and it is whipped off! I’m not as quick to...
Rachel Wandering´s in Spain – Dust Masks and Sunglasses
What weird times we are living in! I walk the streets of Martos in my mask, now a pretty, flowery one, yes I have succumbed. More for the...
Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain – Masked, Hot and Busy
Our last break, and first for months – see What a Joy to Go on a Road Trip – seems forever ago. Since the country borders opened I am seeing foreign plated cars...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain. What a joy to go on a road trip!
What a joy to go on a road trip. Our first escape since January and first departure from Jaen province since lock down began. Heading due south our first...
Rachel´s Wandering in Spain – Freedom to Move, but Not to Breathe!
So it´s nearing the end of June, nearly half a year gone already. Where did it go? Quite a lot of it was at home, but that has been a...
Rachel´s Wanderings – Moving Around the Province
So after leaving the house 5 times in eight weeks, not counting walking the dog in the olive groves, we are now free to move around within the...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – Don’t Count the Days, Make the Days Count
I am amazed we have now completed seven weeks on lock down. Where did April go? Did it happen? As someone who thrives on business it has been...
A Place to Stay – Finca la Fronda
A cat lies motionless in flickering shadows cork oak trees. Its whiskers barely move in the welcome breeze. Except for a dog’s bark in the distance, a lone donkey...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – Wander, Wonder and Ponder
Before my eyes are open I can tell what sort of day I’m going to have. Now into week four of our lockdown I have realised how much...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain has Become Rachel’s Stay at Home
What an extraordinary experience we find ourselves in. I am not counting days, I am having trouble knowing which day it is! Two weeks into our lockdown, which was...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain Small Critters, Big Problems
It’s animal life again that rules my life, not because the fibre cables have been chewed through, see Ups and Downs (and Ins and Outs) of (Animal) Life...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain Ups and Downs (and Ins and Outs) of (Animal) Life in Spain
I missed my deadline, not for the first time, last week but this time with my alloted article writing time on the agenda I’d headed home only to...
Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain 14 New Year, New Century and Day of the Kings
Happy New Year to you all. Red underwear or not (see previous article Christmas in Spain Then and Now for clarity) we´re into not only a new year but...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain What a Busy Year Since My Introduction in April – Me and ‘my’ bit of Spain
I’m very happy to be joining this eclectic group of rambling writers from all around the world. I’m in Spain, but let me start at the beginning and introduce...
Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain 13 Christmas in Spain, Then and Now
When we first moved to inland Andalucia in 1996 it was like we had stepped back in time 30 years or so. Christmas, the little that was made of...
Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain 13 Guadix, Renaissance Cathedral, Amphitheatre and Cave Dwellers
Usually I ignore the emails I get with special offers, but this particular hotel just kept popping up. What could I do? Cheap night away, spa circuit included in...
Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain – 12 – In My Element, Quick Trips and Spanish Wooden Doors
There aren´t many jobs where you get to see every bit of someone´s house! I have to say I love looking at houses, seeing basements and attics, master...
A Place to Stay – Palacio de Oñate, Guadix, Andalusia
Guadix is well-known for its troglodyte districts but it wasn’t a cave that took me there on a recent visit. It wasn’t the first time I’d been by any...
Rachel´s Wanderings in Spain – 11 – Long and Winding Road and Stunning Views of Inland Andalucia
Now it´s been over four weeks since our new estate agency office opened its doors. We finally have received the furniture ordered at the beginning of August (see article...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 9 – Good Rain, Bad Rain and in the Mountains Not on the Plain
Well after five or six months with no rain we have had some. Lots actually. Before moving to Andalucia I lived in Devon and I thought after 33...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 9 – Autumn Looms, Almonds Fall and Time Flies By
I expect you know the feeling when days fly by and a week ago seems more like a month ago. That’s my life right now. Organising the Estate Agency...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 8 – Estate Agents, Spanish Sunsets and Second Hand Cars
It’s been an odd month so far and we’re just over halfway through. The early part of the month saw me visiting family in the UK on a short...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 7 – Summer Nights, Capers and Caperberries
So August is here. The earth is hard baked and any ground foliage golden brown but there is one wild plant that is resplendant at the moment and...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 6 – Heatwaves, Mules and Decorated Carriages
As far as heatwaves are concerned we’ve got off quite lightly so far. Just one day of 38c the rest has been a rather pleasant 33c or so. Inland...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 5 – End of June Heat, Snakes, Dust and Corpus Christi
‘It’s #8217; I’m hearing from France and the UK. As well as ‘enjoy it, it’s the first blue sky we’ve seen in #8217; That from the north of...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 4 – Stunning Scenery in Seville Province
Andalucia never ceases to amaze me. Twenty-three years I’ve lived here now and the views, the open roads, the scenery is always beautiful. Different around every corner. This...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 3 – Inland Malaga, Rural Hotel and Stunning Scenery
In the last couple of weeks we’ve headed down to inland Malaga twice. With very different scenery each time. One thing that never ceases to amaze me here...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 2 Cordoba – Meanderings and Ramblings
After a blip or two with some much needed rain (for the olive trees, not me,) spring seems to be here and pretty settled. The olive trees are...
Rachel’s Wanderings in Spain – 1 Introducing myself and ‘my’ bit of Spain
I’m very happy to be joining this eclectic group of rambling writers from all around the world. I’m in Spain, but let me start at the beginning and introduce...