Entries by pixabella

For the last two days we've had some rain in Ronda, and in late March we're told this isn't unusual, but it was cold as well, an extra jumper was definitely needed.

Last night when we looked out the kitchen window the rain looked different, individual drops were white but only while they were in the air and as soon as they touched the ground they were just like any other rain drop.

This morning when we looked out the window we see ice on the street outside our house, and over on the hills of the Sierra de las Nieves a thick blanket of snow. In Late March! Who would have believed it?

Here in Ronda, being one of Spain's most popular tourist destinations, we have maybe 150 or more bars and restaurants, with a lot of them concentrated in the city center where all the tourists tend to be dropped off.

If you live here and make the mistake of speaking English in any of these establishments we get confused for tourists, and then charged extra. It's shameful an they shouldn't be allowed to do it but they do and they get away with it as well.

I've often thought of creating a webpage naming and shaming the bars and restaurants that have two prices but the effort of doing it is too much and of course I'd probably get sued.

The best approach that expats follow is to avoid the central city tapas bars, pizzerias, and other restaurants and to go somewhere else where the staff don't see as many tourists, usually that means finding a bar that Rondeños frequent.

The feeling of being fleeced when you live in a city isn't nice, and the attitude of many of the local business owners to tourists and expats is that we have loads of money so why not double the bill?

It's actually reached the stage where we are no longer willing to be taken advantage of and we're standing our ground more often, I for one expect the same price and quality of service that locals pay, and since I'm making an effort to speak Spanish I believe this is the least I should expect.

Expats who successfully integrate into Spanish society are the people who don't put up with that sort of discrimination, and in most cases tourists wouldn't be able to pick them out of the crowd. That is my aim while I live in Spain.

Spending time in your Spanish holiday home is always exciting however entering a stuffy house is less than desirable. Being hit by that wall of stale air makes you feel short of breathe and the odor can be really unpleasant.

Unfortunately any house that has been under lock and key for some time will smell stuffy and musty, if it isn't also damp. If you don't have your Spanish home cared for by a home minding service, you will want to ask a friend to air out the home a day or two before you arrive. If you don't have a house minding service or a kind friend to rely on you can freshen up your home within a few hours of settling in.

To freshen up your home start by opening up all the doors and windows and let the natural air circulate throughout the house. Clean air will up freshen up your soft furnishings and drapery and help dry out anything that feels a little damp.

Older Spanish homes are more likely to have damp problems so it best to air your home out everyday until the damp ceases to be a problem. If you have soft furnishings that have mildew on them a good soaking in color safe bleach will clean them right up. Read More

This is ceejay01, a blogger template based on our Serendipity template by the same name. See it in action at our ceejay01 testsite over at blogger.

Installing ceejay01 on any blogspot account is quite easy, but you do need to include the URL of the images in the template file. Start by downloading ceejay01_blogger.zip, then create a new entry in your blog and upload all images to it. Write down the url's or each image because you will need this when you edit the template file. Save your entry as draft. You don't want to publish this entry because we're only using it to host our template images.

Next, edit your template file and simply paste the entire contents of ceejay01_blogger.txt into the edit box. Now, change the 'URL_TO_IMAGE' text to match the URL of the images. Save your template file and republish your blog.

Congratulations, you should now have your new template installed.

Here is chocolate fudge for blogger, a port of our Serendipity template. Chocolate fudge for blogger can be seen in action on our 'Foolish Notions of a Hopeless Romantic' blog.

Installing Chocolate fudge on any blogspot account is quite easy, but you do need to include the URL of the images in the template file, and then you need to make a change to the settings for your account to make the post-footer work.

Start by downloading Chocolate_Fudge_Blogger.zip, then create a new entry in your blog and upload all images to it. Write down the url's or each image because you will need this when you edit the template file. Save your entry as draft. You don't want to publish this entry because we're only using it to host our template images.

Next, edit your template file and simply paste the entire contents of choc_fudge_template.txt into the edit box. Now, change the 'URL_TO_IMAGE' text to match the URL of the images. There are only 4, and they are relatively easy to find. The first is in the #banner style, then #leftcolumn, and #clearingdiv. The final image URL to be changed is within the HTML, and is the image for the feed icon. Save your template file and republish your blog.

Last, in Settings/Formatting of your blog, make sure 'Enable float alignment' is set to no. Congratulations, you should now have your new template installed.

Hello everyone, here's my first template for Serendipity, I hope you all like it!!! The photo I used is an Agapanthus that is in our front yard. I wanted to design this for my own blog but I actually don't have time to write, so maybe I'll design templates and take photos instead and let Carl do all the writing.

Download ceejay01