KARETHE LINAAE
There are butchers and then there are butchers and when it comes to Spain, these are a veritable institution in their own right. Sadly, when it comes to my own place of birth, butchers are dying breeds. Not because Norwegians necessarily eat less meat, but because supermarkets have taken over where neighbourhood stores and local…
The other morning, on his way to his wood carving class, Jaime took this picture, looking out on the fields as one enters the old town. Every day the view is different. It doesn’t matter if it is rainy, foggy or stormy, Ronda is as they say un ciudad soñada, a city of dreams. Or…
Next week we have been in Spain for 3 months – a quarter of a year. Somehow it feels much longer, as though our life in Vancouver happened decades back. Maybe it is because we moved to a part of the world where I was brought up and where we both have family. Or maybe…
In December I signed up for a furniture restauración course at the ancient Collegio de San Francisco. The course was scheduled to start on January 10th at 10 am, and foolishly keen and Norwegian that I am, I show up early. I came to a closed door. Actually, that’s not true. I came to a cemented…
Il Camino simply means ‘the path’ or ‘the road’ in Spanish. Most people might think of il camino de Santiago, the famous pilgrims-route from France and all across the Iberian continent. However, there are innumerous known and unknown, longer and shorter caminos here. Every village has it’s caminos, and we discover new ones around Ronda…
What is Christmas? The birth of a man called Jesus? Santa Claus on his sleigh riding across the sky? Piles of presents and overstuffed turkey? To me, Christmas is traditions and family and this year for the first time in a decade I had the great joy of spending it with my family in Norway…
With the present economic situation in Europe, Spain has thousands, if not millions of properties for sale. Anything from mansions to flats to utter ruins are at offer for those who have money to spare. Especially on the coast they are literally trying to pass on beach properties for almost nada, but the expat-infested, developer-ruined,…
The first time we came to Ronda, we were enchanted by the rolling landscape, the Arabian horses living beneath the city walls and the Sierra de Ronda mountains far above. It had been raining steady all day, but suddenly the sun came out and with it appeared not one, but two rainbows. It had to…
If you ever wonder what the well-used cliché mañana means, just visit a Spanish bank. A couple of days ago we had to go to three different banks in town, quite a timely affair, even if the banks are located within a few blocks of each other. I will neither mention names, nor give a…