Monday, Oct. 20, 2008
Read more about affordable travel in Europe in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Dear International Living Reader,
My friend, Brigid Darragh, spent some time getting a feel for life in Spain.
She made a point of exploring Spanish culture from the ground up and traveling like the locals.
She’ll tell you all about it below...you can almost hear the guitars and taste the paella.
Dan Prescher
Publisher, International Living
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Read more about getting cheaper health care abroad in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
I’m a dedicated consumer of overseas health services.
I’ve had shoulder surgery in Ecuador, eye surgery in Panama, and loads of dental work in Mexico. Doing a quick calculation compared with out-of-pocket prices in the U.S., I figure I’ve saved about $25,000 having my work done overseas...at no sacrifice in quality.
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Monday, Jan. 28, 2008
Madrid, Spain
Read more about moving abroad in International Living Postcards—your daily escape
I walked into a well-known tapas bar in Madrid, Spain, and the first thing I saw was a dead guy. Actually, it was a series of pictures, not only of a dead guy, but also of a number of soon-to-be-dead guys in the process of being gored, trampled, or flattened by finely conditioned bulls in excess of 1,000 pounds. Of course, the bullfighters who won are here too, in a huge photographic display that covers some of bullfighting’s most exciting moments. This particular bar is one that pays proper tribute to the bulls that won their match.
Read OnOnly 1 day left! Save $100 on our Live & Prosper in New Zealand Seminar...but only until tomorrow.
Friday, Jan. 4, 2008
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Learn more about Spain in International Living Postcards--your daily escape
Breakfast for $2.65. A tapas supper--battered hake and potato salad--for $5. Glasses of straw-colored fino sherry for less than $2.
Spain, expensive? Not in Jerez de la Frontera, where many apartments are in the $110,000 to $220,000 bracket.
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Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007
The Costa del Sol, Spain
Read more about Spain in International Living Postcards--your daily escape
Following my last rubbishing of Spain’s most famous stretch of concrete coastline, some readers accused me of being unfair. So I returned to the Costa del Sol to see if I was being unreasonably harsh…
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"Eh, hombres, enhorabuenas!" Miguel El Gordo shouted at me and my husband Marcus, over the din of that night's "entertainment."
The second night of our fiesta was punctuated with the clamor of a heavy rock band. It was 2 a.m. and they had only just begun-more than three hours later than advertised. But that wasn't their fault; the electrical generators in the disused quarry just couldn't cope with the "10,000 watts of sound and 24,000 watts of light." They had already blown two generators the size of small cars and were now on their third.
The quarry was heaving. The cerveza was flowing. Young children were screaming with glee and racing around the legs of tables, adults, and the makeshift beer tents. Even the oldest partygoers were raring to go on all night-dancing, gyrating, and generally enjoying the party atmosphere.
"Congratulations for what?" we screamed back.
Rioja is Spain's main wine region. Its reds, made primarily from Tempranillo grapes, vary from fair to divine. Much depends on price and label. While a no-name $6.50 Rioja is gluggable, it won't draw dinner-party raves.
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