The Season is starting!

This Sunday, March 29th, marks the start of Semana Santa 2015 and thus of... summer! 

Summer? Aren't there 4 seasons in Andalusia too? Yes, there are - and still people mainly divide the year into Summer and Winter only. 

For these 2 periods come with a remarkable and very noticeable difference: it's 6 months wintersleep versus 6 months of life, so to speak.  

Life with a capital L

Summer in Andalusia, that is T-shirts and flip flops, barbecues and fiestas. Summer means people coming together in the streets, cafés and around swimming pools. Summer stands for beach, concerts and excursions. 

What with the beach-and-pool culture of Andalusia, youngsters have been going to the gym for 2 months now. Summer wear has been prepared. 

Minds are opening and are slowly starting to think about planning that birthday party or barbeque. Energy is back! 

Sure, it's not a 6 month long beach party: the real heat only starts by the end of June. This makes that...

The months of April and May are for city tripping

For property viewing trips, for walks and hiking, horse back riding and shopping: everything that takes energy.

The grand cities of Andalusia - Seville, Codoba and Granada - are located inland and that means it can be insufferably hot in the top summer months. 

So they are most popular in April and May, and again in October, when the weather is sunny and pleasant and doesn't make you want to sit in the shade and keep still. 

Sports? April and May are the word.

Or, greatest excursion of them all: just taking the car and cruising through Andalusia without any plan? April and May! 

June to September is for beach life

Or, in inland Andalusia, for a true swimming pool culture. 

Especially July and August are the peak of summer. 

The breeze coming in from over the sea and the healthy air makes everyone go to the beaches of the Costa del Sol. 

You don't like busy beaches? No worries. Andalusia has got something for everyone. just hop over the mountain range and in a matter of 15 minutes you are in a different world, a world of nature and tranquility, beautiful views and sleepy villages. 

And what about the natural beaches of the Costa de la Luz? 

From Tarifa and all the way up north you will find one calm, natural beach after the other, punctuated with campings and little beach bars for the hip surfer crowd coming from all over Europe.

Naturally, every month comes with its specifics. 

Together they are The Season, The Summer that half of all Spanish songs sing about, from La Macarena (set in Marbella) to Asèrejé (video made in a beach bar in Estepona).

We wish you a great summer! 

And for the part of the property viewing trips, contact us.

www.inlandandalucia.com 

The Centre Pompidou now also in Malaga

One week still and the Centre Pompidou Malaga will opens its doors.

This will happen on March 28th, 2015. 

 

That's right on time for the Semana Santa and thus also for what we call The Season.

 

So far when someone said 'Centre Pompidou', we immediately thought of the world famous museum in Paris, one of the greatest homes of 20th century art. And now there will be subsidiary - where else than in Malaga, that city that just doesn't stop reinventing itself.

 

As in Paris, the construction is made of glass. You will find it right at the port of Malaga, which is both just a few steps away from the old city centre as from the Cruise Terminal.

 

Spread over 6300 square meters the Museum will boast a permanent collection of 20th century artists such as Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Dijkstra, Oursler, Magritte, Chagall, de Chirico and others.

 

Every 2 years the collection will be updated and in the mean time there will be 2 or 3 temporary expositions. 

 

The opening hours:

From 9:30 AM to 20:00 from Wednesday to Monday

 

The exception is from June 15 to September 15: then the hours are from 11:00 to 20:00.

 

The Centre Pompidou will be closed on Christmas and New Years Day.

 

For all information: 

Visit the official website: http://www.centrepompidou.es/ 

 

Malaga... the city that has a culture department that never sleeps.

 

www.inlandandalucia.com

 

 

Day dreaming about Andalusia

'Living as a god in France'. By now, very many know that you can best do this in Andalusia. 

The hills are higher, the people more open, the culture is all around you, the sea is nearby, the food is distinct and very affordable, and then there's Europe's most healthy air that is doing everyone so much good. 

And then those beautiful properties, so within reach of many a budget. Doesn't this make you dream?  Aren't you already planning where you would lodge visitors or how you would decorate the villa yourself? 

Whatever the most important personal reason, be it the beauty, the life expectancy, the flamenco, the culture… there are hundreds of thousands of 'Andalusia dreamers'. 

Some come back every summer, very many own a holiday property, and even more simply decided to move to Andalusia and very quickly become part of the local, large expat community - or of the local community in general. 

There isn't a village so small or there's an expat community of 50-100 people. Mainly Britons, followed by Dutch, Germans, and people from Denmark, Sweden, Norway… but usually every nationality is represented. 

And on top of anything else, there are those super bargains of the last year. Finding a townhouse for 20.000-40.000 Euro is no longer an exception. Simply keep an eye on our website and you will see what we mean. 

What was your reason to move to Andalusia? 

That will be the question in our Facebook page this month. 

And of course we will list the results here. 

Dreamer of Andalusia, thank you for visiting us and for all your valuable input. 

This blog exists thanks to you.

Never hesitate to let us know what you would be interested in to read about, or you would want us to investigate. 

Un saludo from inland Andalusia,   

www.inlandandalucia.com

The 4 phases of expats in Andalucia

There are 2 kinds of people: those who don't live in Andalucia and those who do. 

One group has got watches, the other has time. 

This is such a big difference, implying so many things, rattling the doorknobs and windows of your usual self, that as an expat in Andalucia you usually go through 4 phases: 

Phase 1: you love it

You FLY through the whole first year. 

Forget about Xanax, forget about psychiatrists or self-help books: the fresh air, the views, the colours, the relaxed pace of life… you seem to feel alive up to the tiniest corners of your body and mind. 

All of a sudden you feel a rush of creativity, of ideas, hope, calm, being at peace with yourself: life is looking so bright you need shades, pairs of them, in all colours and shapes. 

Phase 2: you hate it

You start to get used to the permanent state of beauty, it wears off, your old self pops up again. You get stressed by that lack of stress. 

Your northern European internal watch foresaw 3 minutes and 15 seconds for buying bread… does it really have to take 20 minutes? You go to that shop for bread, not for padding a dozen toddlers on the head and an extensive overview of all the local news! 

And what's with that 'mañana'?!

Andalusians can tell you it's a prejudice, and still you hear that word left, right and centre. Your computer will arrive mañana, the boiler will be repaired mañana, and mañana the boss will be there - Mañana is such a gorgeous, mood-lifting day solving all the world's problems. You're going to dance like it's 1999. It's a carrot leading you through this day to that heaven of tomorrow. 

For sure there's also a very punctual, severe, austere, hard working, noble Andalucia, but somehow the one that you see merely seems to exist of cha cha cha, olé and mañana. 

Does time even exist??

"When does the procession start"? 
"O, in the afternoon". 
"What is that? 2 PM, 4 PM, 5 PM, 6 PM, 8 PM, 9 PM… what"? 
"Yes, something like that". 

Somehow, miraculously, everybody comes out at precisely the right time. Nobody knew at what time it would start, but then collective consciousness hits and everybody knows. What do you need the Internet for - if something happens in the village, you will feel it. 

That is: Andalusians do. 

We expats though are the only ones standing in the rain two hours in advance, thinking we must have got the dates wrong. Or we sit alone in that bar at 10 PM, with only a cat and 3 other expats, thinking that the evening has started. By the time we start to yawn, feeling that the night is over, the locals are only still planning their outfit for the night. 

Or other rules? 

So you walk down to the local fiesta, in jeans and sneakers, only to discover the rest of the town is dressed as though they need to present the Eurovision Song Contest. 

You remember that, dress up to the nines when attending a funeral - and everyone around you has got paint splotches and muddy shoes for coming straight from the construction plot. 

There just seems to be… no rule at all. You forever feel as though being pushed on a stage where everyone knows the lines, except you. Then it hits you: you are going to educate them. This town needs to be like yours, the one you grew up in and that is SO much better.  

Yip, you risk to forget the reason why you came to Andalusia in the first place. 

Phase 3: you live it

You 'see the light'.
You convert to Andalusia as to the Islam. 

Suddenly you realize what 'an other culture' actually is, where the habits are coming from and what they achieve - and just how amazingly well they fit you. 

You no longer study life, life is studying you. 

At 7 AM you sit in a local bar for a coffee and Pacharan, like normal people do. You speak of Andalucia, not Andalusia with an s. You go sit in the sun and then suddenly it seems to be 11 PM and you start wondering whether it wouldn't be a good idea to go out in a few hours. You meet up with 5000 of your most intimate friends. You say 'yes' which means 'maybe', and that headache question is for mañana. 

You go to a job interview in flip flops and open shirt, looking like a gypsy with a sunstroke, and promise you will be very punctual, if it doesn't rain. Or if the colleague of the mother-in-law of your third cousin doesn't need help that day. 

By the end of this year, you're calling relatives abroad to ask for money, because somehow, for some mystic reason, there seems to be a hole in the hole in your wallet. 

Phase 4: the new you

Just as any other Andalucian: you find your balance. 
Very slowly, step by step, you mold a piece of art: 

What you like and love of Andalucia sips into your system, while you mingle it with what you need and love of your personal background and customs. 

This phase comes with a risk: you are in serious danger of no longer being able to live anywhere else. 

All the advantages of that other place do not matter: Andalucia has enriched you, taken your personality, temperament and feel of well being to a next, higher level. You've become a better you, one that you like more. 

Some extraversion has been injected into your introversion, a too high stress level has learned how to let go from time to time, social obligations no longer feel like a strait-jacket, and after too much work stress there's always a view or encounter ironing out the creases. 

And you, where are you in the circle of Andalucian life? 

www.inlandandalucia.com

Olé, the 2015 Semana Santa in Malaga!

Oh, highlight of highlights. Week that we look forward to months in advance. 

For sure we will see us in the centre of Málaga. Once, twice or the whole week.

From Sunday March 29th to Sunday April 5th

From all over the province and beyond we will head to Málaga, every late afternoon, park our car outside of the city centre and then walk to the old town. 

As always in Málaga, La Alameda and the Calle Larios are the 2 hot spots: you can't miss them, just go with the flow of the crowds. Since it can be too crowdy sometimes, you might also decide to walk further on, and enjoy the tapa bars in the alleys with an occasional glimpse of the processions. 

Elegance and magnificence, ambiance and respect

In Andalucia, the Semana Santa or Holy Week, is something that needs to be treated with the upmost respect. 

Nowhere in Spain it's celebrated with so much elegance as in Málaga. 

The professions are impressive, the ‘throne men’ wearing their elegant clothing. Waving on the rhythmic cadence, sober and accompanied by the typical music, the processions pass by with distinction, filling all malagueños and a shared feeling of pride and honour for their thrones and religious culture. 

We could talk for hours about the Holy Week in Malaga, its history, its peculiarities and what it means for us. But why do so? The best way to find out, is simply to live it. Come to Malaga during the Holy week and make sure to be see at least some of the processions.

When to go? 

Follow the pace of the brotherhoods. Obviously the nicest experience is when there are several out at the same time - especially when the sun starts to set or the night is starting. 

Here are the processions per brotherhood: 

PALM SUNDAY: 
10.00 14.30 La Pollinica 
16.45 23.00 El Huerto 
15.00 22.15 Dulce Nombre 
15.45 23.15 La Salutación 
17.20 01.00 La Salud 
17.20 01.00 Prendimiento 

MONDAY:
16.10 23.30 Crucifixión 
17.15 22.30 Los Gitanos 
20.00 03.00 Dolores del Puente 
17.00 23.40 La Pasión 
19.00 01.30 Estudiantes 
19.45 04.00 El Cautivo 

TUESDAY:
15.45 02.30 Nueva Esperanza 
17.30 01.15 Las Penas 
20.15 02.15 La Humillación 
19.00 01.45 El Rescate 
19.45 02.30 Sentencia 
20.00 03.30 El Rocío 

WEDNESDAY:
16.30 00.00 Salesianos 
17.45 00.30 Fusionadas 
19.15 00.30 La Paloma 
19.35 02.00 El Rico 
20.55 02.15 La Sangre 
23.45 05.00 La Expiración 

THURSDAY:
19.40 03.30 Zamarrilla 
23.00 05.30 La Esperanza 
16.00 22.10 La Santa Cruz 
17.10 22.30 La Cena 
17.30 00.30 Viñeros 
19.50 01.30 Mena 
20.35 02.30 La Misericordia 

FRIDAY:
17.35 23.00 Dolores de San Juan 

17.25 23.55 Descendimiento 
16.20 01.30 Monte Calvario 
19.30 02.30 El Traslado 
18.45 03.00 Amor 
20.15 02.45 La Piedad 
21.00 02.55 El Sepulcro 
22.45 04.00 Servitas 

RESURRECTION SUNDAY:
10.30 14.00 El Resucitado 


www.inlandandalucia.com