Spain
Six Months in the City of Cats & Dogs
They call themselves gatos – cats. If you’re a gato you’re a true Madrilenian. Three generations at least. The people of Madrid are proud of this moniker, and rightfully so.…
This Citrus Belongs to Me
I chose the bigger of the two mandarins sitting in the middle of Nick and I. It was difficult to peel and inside it was spoiled. I knew immediately that…
Walking Away Towards You
When I think of Spain I think of a dog, handsome but dusty, sleeping in the shade of a tangled olive tree, while the sun beats down all around and…
The Death of a Doorman
My previous portero died unexpectedly. One day he was there – a fat and jovial man, bald, glasses, head pushed a little forward giving way to the staircase of rolls…
Going to a Wine Fight as an Alcoholic’s Daughter
Spain’s relaxed nature towards its lifestyle, including alcohol, is terrifying to the sober daughter of an alcoholic. To have a childhood coloured by the not-so-parental parent my mother became when…
El Abuelo’s Ashes
Buenaventura Bravo’s main job during the Spanish Civil War was getting his goats out of the village and into the mountains. This was no top-secret mission, entrusted upon young ’Ventura…
I Still Don’t Know Why I Ran With the Bulls
There is nothing noble, nor brave, about running with the bulls. Nothing of the sour smell of drunkenness and strewn-out drunkards in the early Pamplonan morning, the stench of rotten food…
The Astray Guide to Travelling Spain
Where: Modern Spain is best defined as occupying most of the land that was conquered by, and then reclaimed from, the Moors, minus the kingdom to the west that wasn’t…