This week, the Alfonso XIII hotel in Seville reopened after a major refurbishment. This landmark luxury hotel, one of the most famous in Spain, had been closed since the end of May last year. When I first heard about the…
The Wedding of the Year: the view from la calle
Today was the Wedding of the Year in Spain. The Duquesa de Alba, Spain’s richest woman, who has one of the finest private art collections in the world, married her third husband. She is a very popular figure in Spain…
Science, tantrums and darkest Peru
This week has been an in-between week for us: my son had finished his school term, but hadn’t yet started his activities programme. So we’ve been swinging between these scenarios: him, TV (Clan), me, computer (work); him, learning how to…
What a day!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38lPvrPuT4?rel=0&w=560&h=349] For anyone who missed it (unlikely), yesterday was the biggest and most important day in Britain for some years. Say what you like about the significance of the monarchy in British life today, the wedding of Prince William…
A brace of duchesses
Yesterday, we had a royal visit here in Seville. A four-hour whistlestop tour. Prince Charles came to town, for only the second time since his visit to the Expo 92 with his then-wife, Princess Diana (much harked back to when I…