Holy Week in Madrid – 4 things you should know about Semana Santa

Soon it’s going to be Holy Week in Madrid… (And everywhere else, incidentally.) Yes, Semana Santa in all its Spanish glory. After a couple of years in which

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Is the Spanish timetable getting you down? Blame Hitler!

I wrote this article 10 years ago, in 2013. Those were different times. The Partido Popular was in charge, and we were in year five of the Great

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Digital Nomad Visa – will Spain become a playground for the wealthy laptop class?

Spain’s new Digital Nomad Visa is the talk of the town. Or at least the talk of all the Facebook groups for expats from outside the European Union.

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Women’s Day in Spain, and Spanish feminism’s great divide

Hola a todas, todos y todes! (That’s how the kids are saying it these days.) Interesting times for people of all genders here in Spain. Women’s Day is

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Spanish seafood vocabulary: pescado, marisco and much more

Hey y’all! Let’s do some Spanish seafood vocabulary. The other day I wrote a little article about my love for Spanish cuisine. And I described the rather disorienting

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The Pathless Path – or, why careers are overrated, and what to do instead

Several years ago I went on a blind date. The girl was Venezuelan, and (stereotypically) quite late for the occasion. I’d selected the venue: a Mexican restaurant off

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Spanish cuisine: an ex-vegetarian’s love affair with jamón and chorizo

When I was a kid, back on the ranch, I learned a bit of Spanish in school. In elementary school, we had a lady from Ecuador, who taught

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South Indian Wedding Adventures – my full Kerala wedding report

Hey y’all. It’s time to continue our South Indian Wedding story. For now, I’m calling it Mr Chorizo Finally Settles Down. (Soon to be a major motion picture.)

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Trivandrum, India – spicy adventures in tropical Kerala

Indian street scenes are rather hard to describe. Imagine yourself driving through the streets of your own Western city… Maybe you’re in London, or New York, or Amsterdam.

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Turning 40 – thoughts on the virtuous life, self indulgence, and cheap dopamine

The dentist drill whines. A puff of smoke floats past my eyes. After a minute, the smell of burning enamel. The dentist and the hygienist hover over me,

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