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When it comes to talking about the Costa del Sol, you’d be forgiven for thinking that tourists only choose to visit in the Summer, as it’s name suggests, the “Coast of the Sun” is famous for its scorching hot weather and chilled out beach bars, or “chiringuitos”. However, this is far from the case – and we will see shortly, in times like these the best plan of action is to promote year round tourism for the country.

The objective for the Head of Tourism in Andalucia, Luciano Alonso is to maintain the province’s position as the most popular destination for visitors from the rest of Spain, and indeed the rest of the world. He has chosen the Wine Museum in Malaga to present the plan to promote tourism in Andalucia for the coming autumn/winter season. In yesterday’s visit to Conil de la Frontera, Cádiz where he came to see the building site of a 4 star hotel by hotel chain “Hipotel” Luciano Alonso declared to the waiting press: “Andalucia needs quality tourism”. Read more »

As per my previous article on bullfighting, the region of Cataluña has recently passed a bill to forbid bullfighting as of 2012, although there were whispers heard afterwards that the decision was based as much on politics and separatism as it was on any concern for the rights of animals and cruelty towards them. On average, the annual revenue accrued from bullfighting is £2.2bn and 13,300 bulls are killed in official bullfights every year (which is the equivalent to 36 bulls every single day) However, the total number killed is estimated to be 3 times as high.

The reaction from the rest of Spain to the historical ban has been completely the opposite to Cataluña, with many regions defending the “fiesta nacional“. However, the true home of bullfighting has always been Andalucia. It is here that much of the industry that surrounds the Spanish tradition is created. Read more »

A trip to Marbella Port would not be complete without a visit to the amazing “Patagonia” Argentinian tapas bar. (so named after an actual region of South America in Southern Argentina and Chile extending from the Río Colorado to the Straits of Magellan and from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean.) The study of its original inhabitants, the Tehuelche (“the Patagonian giants”), and its unusual wildlife have attracted many scientific expeditions, including that of Charles Darwin between 1831-1836.

The tradition of Tapa‘s (meaning lid or cover in Spanish) is somewhat confusing, as some say it dates back to the reign of King Alfonso 10th, between 1886 and 1931 when due to an illness, the King had to take small bites of food with some wine between meals. Once recovered from the disease, the king decreed that no wine was to be served in any of the inns of Castile, unless accompanied by something to eat. This was indeed a wise precaution to counteract the adverse effects of alcohol on those people who, through lack of money to buy a nourishing meal, drank alcohol on an empty stomach.

Alternatively, you could choose to believe what may be a more logical theory, since “tapar” literally means “to cover”. The name could simply have come from the olden day tradition of covering a cup of wine with a small piece of food to keep the flies away. Read more »

The Andalusian hotel group Fuerte Hoteles just opened their seventh hotel, Fuerte Estepona Suites, on July 30th. The four star resort is located front line beach just 200m away from the sea front, just two kilometer from Estepona and about 20 minutes drive from Puerto Banus. In addition to the great situation, the strength of the hotel are the dimensions of spaces. The resort is surrounded by 25,000 square meters gardens, it has four swimming pools of which  two pools are well defined as a pool for couples and another one for families, a spa, a supermarket, a lobby bar lounge, pool bar and several courts to play tennis, paddle, beach-volleyball and shuffleboard. Inside, the hotel has 210 suites of one, two and three bedrooms between 45 and 190 square meters. Read more »

Head on down to the Palacio de Ferias and Congresos in Marbella during the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th of August for the Outlet Parade (Fiesta de Los Stocks) Here you will find up to 70% discount on top designer and high street brands for men and women, such as Armani, John Galiano, Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli, Tommy Hilfiger, Blanco, Stradivarius and Pull and Bear to name but a few! This is the time when the shops liquidate all their accumulated stocks and you can find some real bargains to complete your summer wardrobe. For those who are not so clothes orientated, there will also be a fantastic selection of homewear, décor items, art and gifts! Read more »