Words of the wise
As you read this, my husband and I are travelling around Morocco by rail to mark my 60th birthday. I am NOT sharing this news to attract felicitations (Please don’t!) or sympathy. Rather the contrary.
I usually keep very …
How Spanish have we become?
After living in Spain for a decade, it is almost unavoidable that we have begun to inherit some Spanish habits, attitudes, and even ways of being. It isn’t as if we suddenly start dancing Flamenco in the streets and speaking …
BENITO GÓMEZ Ronda’s no-nonsense Michelin-Chef
«In the end, it is about the essence and quality of the products, and the care one takes in preparing the food. There is no greater secret than that.»
This year, 289 Spanish restaurants received stars from the world-renowned French …
KRISTINA BRÅTENG Architect for the world’s ultra-VIPs
She is Norwegian. She is Basque. She is an internationally awarded Architect & Interior Designer, and she is only 33. If you haven’t heard the name Kristina Bråteng in connection with architecture and interior design, you are bound to hear …
Our decade in Andalucía
Unbelievable, but true! Exactly ten years ago to the day, on a stormy night on November 3rd, 2012, my husband and I arrived in the small town of Ronda in Andalucía with a couple of suitcases. …
7 stops from Rome to Tokyo – Life of a SAS air hostess in the 1950s
Photo from the front page of the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, February 1957. Aase (right) together with the Swedish captain and air hostess from the first commercial flight over the North Pole.
One of the many times that …
The arduous and joyful task of restoring a village ruin
When we bought a ramshackle village house in Ronda nine years back, we had no idea that it would take more than two years to get the building permit from the municipality as well as the regional culture department. That …
A helping hand
People I have met that have impressed me the most, are almost always individuals who give unlimited of themselves in some volunteer capacity. The act of choosing to share one’s time, knowledge, energy, resources, conviction, or compassion is the …
Creativity vs. destruction in times of war
I am sad to say – just as we thought we could allow ourselves to stop being concerned about Covid, came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and another war on European soil. Meanwhile the desperate draught in Andalucía is creating …
A Norwegian bodeguero in the sherry golden triangle
A bodeguero is a person who owns and runs a wine bodega. Other than bull fighters, you probably won’t find a more typical Spanish profession. Yet to some people’s surprise, there is a genuine Norwegian bodeguero right in the middle …