British Expats

British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)
-   Spain (https://britishexpats.com/forum/spain-75/)
-   -   The UK (https://britishexpats.com/forum/spain-75/uk-687312/)

lynnxa Oct 2nd 2010 8:27 am

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by scampicat (Post 8890981)
lynnxa

Location: on the right side of the mountain



I'm obviously on the WRONG side of the mountain! :lol:

:rofl::rofl:

nope - that would be montgomail;)

scampicat Oct 2nd 2010 8:42 am

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by lynnxa (Post 8890987)
:rofl::rofl:

nope - that would be montgomail;)


I am in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Granada Province.

Granada is on the north side. I am on the south.

Therefore, the 'wrong' side of the mountain!

(Although it is very beautiful, see the link below if you are interested.

http://www.andalucia.com/villages/alpujarras.htm

I live in the village of Yegen, mentioned in the link )

lynnxa Oct 2nd 2010 8:55 am

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by scampicat (Post 8891004)
I am in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Granada Province.

Granada is on the north side. I am on the south.

Therefore, the 'wrong' side of the mountain!

(Although it is very beautiful, see the link below if you are interested.

http://www.andalucia.com/villages/alpujarras.htm

I live in the village of Yegen, mentioned in the link )

the south side can never be the wrong side:D

I just googled some pics of Yegen - it does look lovely, but a bit remote for me with a teen & a nearly teen

oh - & I can't drive:o

lyric030250 Oct 2nd 2010 9:07 am

Re: The UK
 
We have lived here two years now. Just a few thoughts. I find the general shop cheaper than in the UK (was in Cheshire) provided I shop around.
Being in the campo close to Torrox I have quick access to 5 supermarkets and a slightly longer journey to Nerja. The two Mercradonnas are far and away the busiest and in general their fresh produce is good, fresh and lasts. Turnover methinks.
Some of the others are usually quiet - Supersol is one, it has a vast range of 'fresh' produce, no customers to speak of, is expensive by comparison, and is the place for rotting veg.
So I think, as someone has said earlier it's to do with location.
I like the way produce is not available out of season, strawberries for instance, yes I know I can still find them, imported, but at a high premium compared to the glut earlier in the year.
I Like going to the local small shop and being followed in by a farmer delivering his local Potatoes, figs, grapes, tomatoes etc. all fresh. Don't get that in Wilmslow !
Definitely not going back.

johnnyone Oct 2nd 2010 9:58 am

Re: The UK
 
[QUOTE=lynnxa;8890816]or the bisto;) (or other similar 'helpers')


and a while for our tastebuds to adapt

Thats alright if you don't split your time in UK/Spain.

We (well the wife actually) also bring over the add-ins that she uses in the UK and by her own admission her meals are not as good.
Last winter when she was over on her own she made a rabbit stew and threw the lot away as it was tasteless.
It must be down to the quality of the produce. Perhaps we go to the wrong shop, but the threads been well covered.

bil Oct 2nd 2010 10:57 am

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by elspeth sinclair (Post 8890795)
There's always the rumage stall at the market . Designer labels usually 2 for 5 euros and often brand new and a million stalls for underwear. really trendy good quality, or plain boring usually 3 pairs for five euros so no need to go naked.

Never seen a rummage stall round here.

scampicat Oct 2nd 2010 12:26 pm

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by lynnxa (Post 8891020)
the south side can never be the wrong side:D

I just googled some pics of Yegen - it does look lovely, but a bit remote for me with a teen & a nearly teen

oh - & I can't drive:o

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur...w=1280&bih=639

This photo is of the top of our little lane, our house is halfway down. Our scooter is outside!

Dick Dasterdly Oct 2nd 2010 12:29 pm

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by bil (Post 8891153)
Never seen a rummage stall round here.

2 Thongs for a euro on a Benidorm market rummage stall last time I was there.
Just a pity they didn't have my size. :rofl:
Got our lass kitted out ok though. :D

Dick Dasterdly Oct 2nd 2010 12:39 pm

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by scampicat (Post 8891288)
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur...w=1280&bih=639

This photo is of the top of our little lane, our house is halfway down. Our scooter is outside!

You gotta be pretty darn fit to live up in them thar hills.
The street looks a bit familiar, but there again there are many others fairly similar in the various villages up there.
Shall have to check through my photos, as I'm sure I have a one just like it.
Apart from the unusual chimney pots,another thing I remember well is the red geraniums just about everywhere.

scampicat Oct 2nd 2010 12:42 pm

Re: The UK
 
Sorry all for going off-topic, but our area of Spain is not terribly well-kmown considering it is just inland from the Costa Tropical and not far from the Costa del Sol - just wanted people to see how beautiful it is, albeit remote - and why we don't have a choice of supermarkets!

Dick Dasterdly Oct 2nd 2010 1:12 pm

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by scampicat (Post 8891311)
Sorry all for going off-topic, but our area of Spain is not terribly well-kmown considering it is just inland from the Costa Tropical and not far from the Costa del Sol - just wanted people to see how beautiful it is, albeit remote - and why we don't have a choice of supermarkets!

Some interesting ones in litle villages up remote backtracks.
One I recall just looked like a large garage from outside with no signs up at all.
Went inside and there was everything from bags of cement to fruit and veg randomly scattered around the floor and trestle tables.
Other remote villages seemed completely deserted until a travelling shop drove in and the whole population suddenly came flooding out together onto the streets.
Seemed like it was the main social occasion of the whole week.

cricketman Oct 2nd 2010 1:15 pm

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by scampicat (Post 8891311)
Sorry all for going off-topic, but our area of Spain is not terribly well-kmown considering it is just inland from the Costa Tropical and not far from the Costa del Sol - just wanted people to see how beautiful it is, albeit remote - and why we don't have a choice of supermarkets!

I've been around there a couple of times for weekend breaks. The food in the villages is amazing! I remember the cabrito being spectacular and the carne guisada.

We went canyoning one weekend, it was incredible and another time we went around all the villages in the Alpujarras, bought a nice jamon and a hand-made rug :)

It is the middle of nowhere, so you cant expect supermarkets. Obviously, you'd have known that before you moved there.

scampicat Oct 2nd 2010 1:42 pm

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by cricketman (Post 8891348)
I've been around there a couple of times for weekend breaks. The food in the villages is amazing! I remember the cabrito being spectacular and the carne guisada.

We went canyoning one weekend, it was incredible and another time we went around all the villages in the Alpujarras, bought a nice jamon and a hand-made rug :)

It is the middle of nowhere, so you cant expect supermarkets. Obviously, you'd have known that before you moved there.

Yes we did know that of course, we wanted to live in one of the villages, so that was the price we paid for beautiful quirkiness.

Some of the food is lovely. I particularly like papas a lo pobre (poor man's potatoes) and the black pudding sausage (can't remember what it's called!) and carne en salsa. Not terribly struck on jamon I must admit, which considering it is one of the traditional delicacies of this area is rather unfortunate. I don't like olives either.

We have the fish man, bread man, fruit and veg man and gas man, all mobile shops serving the villages. Sometimes the knicker man calls as well and spreads his wares all over my friend's rejas.

We have a couple of Alpujarreno rugs and curtains :)

We get many tourists here, mainly walkers, backpackers, climbers or mountain bikers, occasionally horseriders.

And because our house is in Calle Gerald Brenan on the Ruta de Gerald Brenan we often get tourists coming down our lane looking for his house (which is actually in Calle Real). Many times we've had Spanish, German or Scandinavian tourists ask us where it is. :) No Brits though, they don't seem to have heard of him despite him being one of the first British expats in these parts!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Brenan

But supermarkets? We have Leo's Mercado which sells everything from food and groceries to building materials and firewood. Otherwise we drive for three quarters of an hour to Berja where we can choose from a Mercadona or an Aldi!

elspeth sinclair Oct 2nd 2010 2:38 pm

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by lynnxa (Post 8890816)
or the bisto;) (or other similar 'helpers')

some ingredients that your wife - or I - might use regularly in the UK aren't as readily available here

I even had someone bring several HUGE tubs of bisto granules over :o

we can now get most - including bisto - where I live



but for several years we couldn't get that sort of thing & it took me a while to adapt my cooking to what I could get

and a while for our tastebuds to adapt

cottage pie without an oxo cube took a bit of doing - but I got there in the end:)

then they opened an Iceland in my town & all was available at a reasonable price & I and every English mum I know went mad buying all those things we missed


& yes, I do have Bisto in the cupboard - I looked at it yesterday & it's a solid lump in the tub through lack of use:blink:





I must admit that Bisto powder is something I couldn't live without and like the tubs it now comes in but I don't like the granules and I hate oxo cubes. I can now buy my Bisto in the village bar on a Saturday morning or indeed any British food you could possibly want.

agoreira Oct 2nd 2010 2:48 pm

Re: The UK
 

Originally Posted by scampicat (Post 8891375)
I particularly like papas a lo pobre (poor man's potatoes) and the black pudding sausage (can't remember what it's called!)

¿morcilla? :confused:


All times are GMT. The time now is 9:23 am.

Powered by vBulletin: ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.