Episode's summary
Driving in Spain can sometimes feel like an exercise in expecting the unexpected. In this episode of Spanish Practices, I take a humorous look at what it's really like behind the wheel in Spain — from the mysterious art of navigating Spanish roundabouts and the sometimes flexible relationship with lane markings, arrows and indicators, to the motorbikes that seem to appear from nowhere and the ever-watchful Guardia Civil de Tráfico. I also look at the wonderfully relaxed Spanish driving culture, why you sometimes need to anticipate what another driver is going to do rather than simply watch what they are doing, and the things you definitely shouldn't be doing while driving — from wearing flip-flops and using earphones to texting, FaceTiming or attempting to eat your lunch at the wheel. I'll also talk about drink driving, Spanish traffic fines and that remarkable little card machine carried by traffic officers. But for all the differences, driving in Spain has a huge upside. Get away from the towns and cities…
Driving in Spain can sometimes feel like an exercise in expecting the unexpected. In this episode of Spanish Practices, I take a humorous look at what it's really like behind the wheel in Spain — from the mysterious art of navigating Spanish roundabouts and the sometimes flexible relationship with lane markings, arrows and indicators, to the motorbikes that seem to appear from nowhere and the ever-watchful Guardia Civil de Tráfico. I also look at the wonderfully relaxed Spanish driving culture, why you sometimes need to anticipate what another driver is going to do rather than simply watch what they are doing, and the things you definitely shouldn't be doing while driving — from wearing flip-flops and using earphones to texting, FaceTiming or attempting to eat your lunch at the wheel. I'll also talk about drink driving, Spanish traffic fines and that remarkable little card machine carried by traffic officers. But for all the differences, driving in Spain has a huge upside. Get away from the towns and cities…
Episodes
Expect the Unexpected: The Magic Roundabouts of Spain - Driving in Spain. Real Life, Real Spain.
ListenedDriving in Spain can sometimes feel like an exercise in expecting the unexpected. In this episode of Spanish Practices, I take a humorous look at what it's really like behind the wheel in Spain — from the mysterious art of navigating Spanish roundabouts and the sometimes flexible relationship with lane markings, arrows and indicators, to the motorbikes that seem to appear from nowhere and the ever-watchful Guardia Civil de Tráfico. I also look at the wonderfully relaxed Spanish driving culture, why you sometimes need to anticipate what another driver is going to do rather than simply watch what they are doing, and the things you definitely shouldn't be doing while driving — from wearing flip-flops and using earphones to texting, FaceTiming or attempting to eat your lunch at the wheel. I'll also talk about drink driving, Spanish traffic fines and that remarkable little card machine carried by traffic officers. But for all the differences, driving in Spain has a huge upside. Get away from the towns and cities…
Building Your Dream Home in Spain: The Real Cost, Builders & Bureaucracy. - Real Life, Real Spain.
ListenedWhat does it really take to build your dream home in Spain? When we bought our Spanish house in 2016, we thought we'd found paradise. A wreck of a house, yes… but with spectacular views across the Mediterranean to Morocco. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, as it turned out. There was no electricity, no proper drainage and the house had actually moved more than two centimetres after the Spanish authorities cut into the mountainside for a new road. We had no idea about Spanish building licences, the difference between obra menor and obra mayor, planning permission, architects, structural engineers or just how complicated building a house in Spain could become. In this episode of Spanish Practices, I take you through our very real experience of renovating and extending a property on the Costa Tropical — from the €10,000-plus electricity saga and a 75-metre trench, to new drainage, extra bedrooms, an infinity pool, terraces, a hot tub, outdoor kitchen and the latest project: adding two more bedrooms to…
Look Up! The Naughty Architecture of Spain. - Real Life - Real Spain
ListenedLook Up! The Naughty Architecture of Spain Think Spanish architecture is all cathedrals, castles and grand Gothic buildings? Think again. Look closely — or, more accurately, look up — and Spain's historic buildings reveal a much cheekier side. In this episode of Spanish Practices – Real Life, Real Spain, I go hunting for the rude, ridiculous and downright outrageous details hidden in Spanish architecture. We start at La Lonja de la Seda in Valencia, where medieval gargoyles include dragons, monsters, grotesques… and one particularly memorable gentleman who is rather enthusiastically holding his own dinky doo! And he's not alone. We head north to Cantabria and the remarkable Romanesque church of San Pedro de Cervatos, where centuries-old carvings include naked figures, exposed genitals and some spectacularly bawdy medieval sculpture. Then there's Salamanca, where a modern stonemason continued the tradition of slipping unexpected jokes into historic buildings — including an astronaut on a cathedral and a devil…
The 87-Year-Old Spanish Woman Evicted From Her Home: What Really Happened?
ListenedIn this episode of Spanish Practices, I look beyond the shocking images to ask what actually happened. Why did Maricarmen lose her tenancy? Was she offered alternative accommodation? Who is Urbagestión, the company behind the property? Were the police and social services right to proceed as they did? And what does being forced from the home you've known for more than seven decades do to an elderly person? But Maricarmen's story is also part of something much bigger: Spain's housing crisis. Rents have surged, affordable housing is desperately scarce and the gap between wages and housing costs is growing. With Madrid now at the centre of a national debate over rent controls, evictions and the future of the rental market, what is actually driving Spain's housing crisis — and what might realistically fix it? One woman. One home. One eviction. And a housing crisis affecting millions of Spaniards. UPDATE: Maricarmen Abascal is going home. Just days after Spain watched the 87-year-old wheelchair user being carried…
Why Spain No Longer Wants Party-Going Brits Real Life, Real Spain.
ListenedIs Spain falling out of love with the British tourist? From Magaluf and Ibiza to Benidorm, Spain is changing the way it deals with drunken party tourism. I'm going to take a look at the crackdown on excessive drinking, pub crawls and all-inclusive booze holidays — and ask whether Spain now wants fewer tourists spending more, rather than millions arriving for cheap beer and sunshine. With personal stories from life on the Costa Tropical, the reality of mass tourism, overflowing bins, blocked sewers and even the arrival of the Ratadonna Supermarket. I think Spain isn't saying "Brits, go home." It's saying: come and enjoy Spain — but behave yourself. Spanish Practices – Real Life, Real Spain. Subscribe to this Podcast it really helps me make more of the same.