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In general the Spanish are wonderful and friendly people, however, be aware of a distinct culture difference when it comes to making a complaint.
I was really quite taken aback at the lack of customer service in some places in Spain.
Where in Britain we have the polite culture of “the customer is always right” this is not always so in Spain.
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Many people dream of moving to Spain, to escape from the daily grind and the rush-hour commute. They dream of becoming their own boss, running their own successful business and living a more sedate and relaxing way of life.
Is the Spanish Dream a reality?
For us it has been partially realised. Being a working Mum I find that life cannot in reality slow down! Both of us are lucky enough to work from home in Spain, so we have lost the stress of the long commute. There is some flexibility in both our jobs, so if we occasionally want to go out for a longer lunch we can as long as we catch up in the evening.
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Apart from the usual hectic tourist periods throughout the year – typically August, Easter and school holidays – the Costa del Sol enjoys a rather sedate pace of life. Whilst there is always a steady flow of tourists throughout the year, something very strange happened in Marbella and Puerto Banus a couple of weeks ago.
It began with finding myself having to queue for 20 minutes to park my car in Puerto Banus on the Saturday morning – a problem usually reserved for weekends during the absolute peak periods of Summer and Easter. The port itself was teeming with people – the shops were packed, there were people cramming into the bars and cafes. Very odd for an October Saturday – and an overcast one at that!
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Bank holidays cause commercial chaos and carnage in Spain.
Most Brits will be accustomed to UK bank holidays which generally serve to form a relaxing long weekend, and on which it can be relied upon that stores will open, restaurants will still be serving food, and life generally runs as usual, except that most of the population doesn´t need to go to work – fabulous!
When I heard about all the holidays in Spain, it sounded like such fun and a genuine reason (excuse!) to fully immerse myself into the Spanish system fiesta-style. Mmmm, not quite.
Since moving to Spain earlier this year I have been overwhelmed with the opportunities for everyone to enjoy sport!
Compared to the UK where you get abused (from both your own team or opposition) on a Sunday morning whilst playing football, spend dark winter nights running into walls whilst playing squash and dodging the rain on a Saturday for the long awaited cricket match, Spain is definitely a breath of fresh air! My family and I have enjoyed a wealth of outdoor experiences, from walking on the mountains of La Concha in Marbella to competitive padel games at my local racquets club.
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If you happen to be in Marbella this week, you will probably already have seen the spectacular sight of what looks like a cruise liner, anchored off the Mediterranean coast. This is in fact the ´Prince Abdulaziz´, one of the largest motor yachts in the world.
With a length of 147 metres and a cruising speed of 22 knots, the yacht was built in 1984 at a cost of 184 million dollars, with features including pools, hospital, cinema, helicopter with landing pad, underwater detection system, and even a small mosque. Belonging to the Saudi royal family, the yacht was launched as ´Abdul Aziz´, but renamed later by the late King Fahd for his son.
