Category: Spain
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The Return of Sparrowman
I’ve found myself recently having coffee in a bar that used to be a regular haunt for me when my wife and I lived opposite the cathedral in Granada a few years ago and a lovely memory came to me. One day having coffee, we had the only table outside. It was a chilly morning…
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The Best Morning
When you look at the state of the world (and the weather) at the moment, especially in the media, it could be easy to think that we’re nearing the end of days. So perhaps it can be difficult to see that there is good in the world and things for which you need to be…
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What Are Your Forbidden Colours?
Even though I have lived in Andalucia in the south of Spain for over nine years, I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the fact. It’s 11.30am on a Tuesday morning and I’m having a coffee in a typical bar in Granada. ‘Forbidden Colours’ by David Sylvian and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto has just…
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Memento Mori on the Metro in Granada
I’ve just got the bus to the metro stop and am now on the tram on the way into town. Granada. Where I live now. Again. I first lived here for two years when I came to Spain in 2014 after living in London. I lived in a small village in Almeria in the south-east…
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It’s The Little Things
As we live our lives, from time to time it can feel like we’re treading water and that we’re surrounded by the same old ‘greyness’ and it’ s true that the world can be a terrible place for all kinds of reasons, however there is beauty and joy in even the little things we see and…
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Sky Full Of Morning Stars
It’s 6am on the first day of November and quite dark outside. I couldn’t sleep and so I tiptoed through the house so as not to wake Mrs Cortado and our dog Grace to go outside and get my phone which I’d left in the car. On my way back, I promptly dropped it (clearly…
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How Bruce Lee Helped Me Get A Spanish Driving Licence
Perhaps this is something we don’t like admitting, but although we may want to get things done as soon as possible, sometimes it will just take longer. And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I’ve just managed to get a Spanish driving licence for a friend. It’s been a process which started…
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Nothing Like A Coffee And Some Time
I’m sitting on a lovely, ever-so-slightly battered brown sofa in my favourite bar (Cafe Cyrano) in Almería, my recently adopted ‘big city’, listening to my new favourite album (‘Hey Mr Ferryman’ by Mark Eitzel) with a cortado coffee and an orange juice. I’ve just put my car in for a service. Not a big deal…
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Do Less. More
It’s Thursday, so it’s podcast day here at Away From The Noise and today we’re in the beautiful and perhaps under-rated city of Alicante. On the last few days of our trip around Spain, Mrs Away From The Noise and I have been travelling in the countryside and along the coast of the Costa Blanca…
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Things Are Looking Up (And Down And All Around)
It’s Thursday, so it’s podcast day here at Away From The Noise and today we’re in the beautiful city of Valencia. This week’s podcast was inspired by almost literally bumping into the National Ceramics Museum based here and how we need to be more aware and connected with our surroundings to live more happily. As…
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Art Deco, Aluminium And A Bar In Madrid
Walking to the lovely Cafe San Gines in Madrid last week for their famous chocolate con churros, I was listening to one of my favourite bands The Aluminum Group. One of their songs is called ‘Without Erté’ and to be honest, I’ve never known what the title meant but always liked the mystery of the…
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If We Were Having Coffee… What’s Next Is Now
If we were having coffee, I’d say that moving to a new area where you don’t know anybody can be a challenge and moving to a new country even more so. Although my Spanish is reasonable, there can still be a language and cultural barrier at times which can be frustrating, but that’s part and…
I Am Away From The Noise 