Weather in Marbella in November 2011

The weather this November has been quite good.  There have been a few days of really heavy rain, but the majority of the time we have had a lot of sunshine.  Some days have been so hot that there have been people in the sea and on the beach sunbathing.

For us locals, its definately chillier at nightime, heatings on and the duvets are out.

If you are coming on holiday, bring slippers as the floors are cold and layers.  Its hot in the sun but chilly in the shade and chilly at night.

Christmas in Marbella, Spain or the UK

Which do you prefer?  

Me...UK, but I cant be bothered to travel over the Christmas Period.  

Kids Drama Classes in Marbella

This is no longer running.  If you know of any other Drama Classes in Marbella, please leave a comment

DRAMA TOTS MARBELLA

Taught by a Francine Winter

Nueva Kascada Restaurant Review / Nueva Kascada Marbella

Finally, after hearing of this restaurant for well over a year, we had our first reservation for Sunday Lunch yesterday.

Nueva Kascada's is run by Chef Ewald Fichthaler and his team.  We went with our friends who used to rave about a restaurant called Kampai in Estepona.  This was the same chef.

From the moment we entered the restaurant, the service was superb.  It was a horrible, wintery, rainy day yesterday, but once you were inside this restaurant, with such a lovely ambience and atmosphere, you forgot all about it for a couple of hours.

Once sat down at our table, we were given the menu which had a  few choices or starters, main courses and desserts.  For starters we chose a mixture of the Chicken Caesar Salad, where the chicken was delicious and cooked to perfection.  There was also a soup and salmon with trout.

Then the Chef himself, came by every single table to introduce and check everything was ok.  He even came even spoke to the kids to check that their food was ok.  Such an amazing touch.

For mains we all went for the Traditional Sunday Lunch.  The service just got better and better.  The presentation of everything was wonderful.  The Sunday Lunch came where all the waiters take the lid off the food at the same time.   Small roasted potatoes, beautifully cooked veg, yorkshire pudding and 3 slices of beef that was cooked to absolute perfection and where you could eat every single part of it.  The gravy was yummy too.

Our kids decided to go for a pasta dish, which also came beautifully present with a selection of sauces for them to pour over.  Such care was taken with the kids meals, so wonderful to see.

We were all really full, but we had to try a couple of the desserts.  We had two chocolate brownies and a creme caramel.   Off of which was delicious as expected.

I can honestly say, the service was impecable.  It was like being in a top London restaurant. The atmosphere were lovely, very relaxing, you really could sit there all afternoon, unlike some places where they slap the bill on the table as soon as  you've had your desserts.

The Bill....well, there was five adults, 2 kids, 5 starters, 7 main courses, 3 desserts, a few bottles of water, quite a few glasses of wine, teas, coffees.  The bill was 175euros. 

We all had a wonderful relaxing time, with fantastic food and top service.

How to get to Nueva Kascada.  Go to La Canada and drive up the road towards Ojen until the junction on the left where there is a sign for Nueva Kascada.  You cut across the road and drive on narrowish bit of country road for about 2 minutes.  The restaurant is on the right with lots of parking.

Wish List Christmas Lunch 2011 December 13th

Message From Ester @ Wish List

It is that time of the year again ,  don't miss Wish List's annual Christmas lunch, this year working with two more great causes Fundacion Cesare Scariolo ( helping kids with cancer and their families ) and Fundacion Tutelar ( helping mentally disabled adapt to society ).

Loads of surprises in store:  magicians, fashion shows with some amazing models, great raffle and a one single item auction of a Barcelona  t- shirt signed by the best footballer in the world: LEO MESSI....................This years promises to be bigger and better!!!

How can you help:

* Come join the lunch on the 13th December

* Sponsor a child directly ( Wish List's list is now available )

* Get your very own personalised Christmas Ball on the MAGIC TREE ( donations from as little as 20 euros )

Shellac in Marbella - Marbella Mobile Beauty Shellac

Shellac Manicure

Joanna Hooper called me the other day to ask if I could do a review of her Shellac Nail Product, as the review of the Spray Tan I did for her quite a while back was so successful.  

Shellac is a nail product.  Its a gel, which goes on just like a nail varnish.   The easiest way for me to describe it, is, a strong nail varnish that could last you up to 2 weeks, even 3, depending on the type of person you are with nails.   I am a heavy handed person, so it will be interesting to see how long it lasts.  I will let you know.

Firstly, Joanna will tidy up your nails.  A quick file / shape and push back the cuticles.  Then a base coat is applied.  Your hand goes under the UV light followed by a couple of coats of the colour, followed by a top coat and thats it.  Gorgeous looking nails instantly!  There is no waiting around for them to dry, which for me is the best part!

To remove them, you just need to soak them in acetone.  No need to go back to the beautician and pay extra if you don´t wish to keep them on.  There shouldn´t be any damage to the nail.

Shellac looks very natural

Joanna is charging just 25€ for this Shellac Manicure and also a Shellac Pedicure which is a really good price. Time taken, probably just over 1 hour.

My Thoughts....You can see from the photos, the colour is really lovely and strong.  Its not too thick either, so still looks really natural.  Having been to a few other beauty places here in Marbella, I can honestly say that Joanna Hooper, Marbella Mobile Beauty,  truly is the most experienced and professional one I have come across so far.  The way she looks after, and presents her products, the cleanliness,  and the way she actually does the treatments.  You can tell she has had a wealth of experience and that she has good training behind her.

How long does Shellac Last?
Well, this photo is taken today Tuesday 29th November  2 weeks and think I still have a few more days.
Im really pleased with this product and will definitely have it done again.

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You can contact Joanna on  0034 637 444 136.  Please let her know you saw her review here on Nueva Andalucia Life.  

Iceland Puerto Banus Expanding

I was emailed this today.  Hi Jo, I  went into Iceland in Puerto  Banus on Friday and they're advertising for part time staff.

They are also taking over the empty shop unit next door and are going to refurbish it and extend current Iceland with a coffee shop and maybe a butchers. Should be open after Xmas.

Vive tu Puerto! Music & Fun by Marbella Port this Saturday!

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND!

A couple of weeks ago we went for a meal at Mas Que Pizza and then we took a stroll with the kids to the park above the Marbella Port.  

It was heaving with people.  There was  loads of music and people dancing.  It was a wonderful atmosphere.

Didn´t know what it was at the time, but just received the above.  VIVE TU PUERTO every 3rd Saturday of the month from 5pm until 11pm.

Leishmaniasis in Dogs Marbella Spain

As just mentioned in my newsletter, there is now a vaccination against Leishmania.  You can read it here on a Marbella Vets Website

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of the sandfly.   We have been aware of Leishmaniasis since we bought our dog a couple of years ago.  Vets normally advise the dog to wear a Scalibor Collar.

Leishmaniasis has been described to us as the Malaria for dogs.  Once in their system, it never leaves, but it can be controlled.

This summer, I noticed our little dog (a Pug) wasn´t himself.  Hair was missing around his ears and face.  He had some skin problems and was very "down".  

So I took him to the vets where they did a blood analysis, and, as I had thought, our Pug had Leishmania.  He had it at medium level, so he had had it for a while.  

He was put on some strong medication called Milteforan for one month.  Also taking these tablets that he must take every day for the rest of his life and some strong vitamins.

He is much better and a few weeks ago, he went back for another blood test, where the Leishmania came back as "negative".  

He continues with his tablets everyday and he is much happier.  Although, he does have alot more "down days" where he seems very lethargic and sad.

Once you start mentioning Leishmaniasis, people either say "oh yes my dog has this" or "what is that?".

There are so many dogs in my area that have leishmaniasis, its quite unbeleivable.

Please do get a Scalibor Collar.  If you dog is looking a little bit down, or you see has been loosing hair, take to the vets and ask for a blood test.

Its very common now.

Go See Spain or at least Andalucia when you are living in Marbella

A brief conversation with someone on Twitter earlier inspired me to write this post. 

It always shocks me when I talk to people that live in Marbella, have lived here for a number of years, yet haven´t even been to Malaga City.  Honestly!  For them, Malaga is Ikea and the Airport.

Im not a great traveller, but, it was important for me to see some of the main cities of Spain, especially when they are just a few hours drive.

Spain is such a fantastic country to drive around.  Its not like the UK, where everywhere is solid traffic.  Driving through Spain is so enjoyable with the sea, the mountains, the greenery.

If you live in Marbella, the local places you should at least go to are; 

Malaga City

Monda

Istan

Ojen

Mijas Pueblo

Benalmadena Pueblo

Casares

Tarifa

Castellar de la Frontera

If you dont mind a couple of hours or more

Seville

Cordoba

Granada

Cadiz

Jerez

Madrid
Barcelona

If I have missed any of your favourites off, leave a comment.

Christmas Day Lunch Marbella

Every year we always think, shall we go out for Christmas Day Lunch in Marbella.  But then, I worry that basically it will be crap as things can easily be here in Marbella.


I would want a proper traditional Christmas Lunch, a really good size portion where you feel absolutely stuffed that you dont know how you are going to fit the Christmas Pud in but you do, because its Christmas Day and you have to eat Christmas Pud.

So my question is...have you been out on Christmas Day in Marbella?  Where did you go and was it any good?

Finca Siesta Estepona - Horse Riding Marbella, San Pedro, Estepona

Finca Siesta Estepona

Horseriding

Finca Siesta, Estepona

Living here in on the Costa del Sol, with the fabulous weather we have most of the time,  I feel that we really should learn, or at least try either Horseriding or Golf.  If horseriding has been on your mind of things to learn & do, but never been too sure of where to go, or worried about the language barrier, I think the perfect place may have just been found.

Nina from Finca Siesta contacted me this week to be mentioned on this blog and it sounds the perfect place to learn to ride, have fun and even have a party or celebration. It sounds and looks amazing.

Finca Siesta, Estepona

What is Finca Siesta?

Nina Says...Finca Siesta is a small, very friendly and welcoming family run stables located in Estepona.

We can offer lessons in a variety of languages, including: English, Swedish, Norwegian, German & Spanish.

We have a BHS qualified instructor, and lessons available for all ages.

Our main aim is to share our love & knowledge of horses with our clients, and for them to have an enjoyable experience at Finca Siesta.

You can book private, semi private (for example if 2 friends want to go together) or group lessons (where we stick to small group sizes), and we have some lessons that include a theory & practical portion as well as just riding, if people want to gain more confidence with the horses or learn more about looking after them, which is great for little girls who dream of getting their own horses one day!

We have a special weekend option, which we call the Kidz Club available which is 2 hours of supervised fun on the yard, with max 4 kids at one time, which includes 45 minutes of riding and also theory and practical.  We would also love to get mums & dads involved in lessons, it’s not just for kids! 

Finca Siesta, Estepona Horse Riding

Thinking of having Birthday Party or Celebration?

We also have a clubhouse for drinks & snacks after the lesson.  The clubhouse, along with the BBQ area and green is a perfect venue for an AMAZING kids party. We can provide all the decorations, catering, games, entertainment & either pony rides or a small riding performance show.

 find us on facebook

www.facebook.com/fincasiesta

For more information please contact Nina on 625290909 

or email fincasiesta.nina@gmail.com

Please do mention you saw this advert here on Nueva Andalucia Life

 

Finca Siesta, Estepona

School Christmas Fairs Marbella - Marbella Christmas Fairs 2011

Marbella School Christmas Fayres 2011

Here are just some dates for the local schools.

Aloha College Christmas Fair Saturday November 26th 2011

Swans Christmas Fair (at Sierra Blanca)  Friday December 16th 1pm to 4pm

EIC Marbella Saturday 10th December 1.30 till 4

If you know what date your Christmas fair is please let me know.

West Indies Cafe Centro Plaza, Nueva Andalucia

I really like this little cafe.  The food is proper home cooked food.  We go for menu del dia, you get a drink, main course and coffee or ice cream for 8.50€ which is not bad considering the area.

The other day we had a delicious chicken dish with vegetable and potatoes and a fish dish.  Both really tasty.

Its a lovely place to sit too facing that wonderful view!

Amigos Benahavis - Amigos Restaurant Benahavis Review

I went here with the girls a few weeks ago now.  Its a small restaurant in Benahavis but has a nice atmosphere.

Service....was ok, not fantastic, there were quite a few times we were waiting quite a long time for something.

For starters I think we had a mixture of Chicken Croquettes, Prawns & Pil Pil etc.  Everyone was happy with their starters.

For mains I had the steak and everyone else had the beef strognanoff.  All very nice and good size portions!

We shared a couple of desserts, a brownie which was very nice and  a banoffee pie which sadly wasnt that great.

Drinks a couple of bottles of cava, water, a round of drinks at the end and a mint tea (mine) and I think we paid about 40€ each.

Overall, quite liked it and would go back!

Telephone Number for Amigos Benahavis

Mas Que Pizza Marbella

Been back to this restaurant a couple of times now in the past few weeks.  Both times we still absolutely loved it.

The atmosphere is great, the food is great and the prices are great...what more can you ask for?

Obviously once you start going for steaks etc, its not that cheap although they are still priced well.  But if you all have some of the tapas to share, the empanadas are delicious, the provence cheese is amazing, followed by some chicken, pizzas or pasta, plus dessert then I think you will find it really cheap.

Mas Que Pizza is in Marbella the road running parallel to the sea front, opposite Clerico and by the Social Security Offices.

Address & Telephone Number....Mas que Pizza. Antonio Belon 17 Marbella  Telephone number  0034 952775 796

Centro de Salud La Campana Nueva Andalucia - A Sitcom

I know I have written about this before, but I just love this place!  It really could be made into a sitcom.

Had to pop back to the doctors today.  So Im standing there waiting, theres one young woman / girl sitting talking to herself moaning cause the doctors running late.  Then people are knocking on doors walking in when doctors are with patients.

Then this very strange guy walks in, covered in dirt and stinks and completely invades my privacy.  Then another strange one walks in and starts causing a commotion and gets everyone going about the number order.

The nurses are calling out numbers and names, if noone responds that instant  someone else jumps in and takes their turn.  Then the young woman that I previously mentioned gets up and goes stand outside the actual doctors door and all the women start asking..." what times your appointment" etc.  Then one womans asks the young one, "¿que pasa hija?"....well then we all get to hear her problem. 

She is itching all over and got rashes on her wrists, her hands, her ears, her neck, her armpits, her groin, her head.....then they start asking what her jewellery are made off, what she eats, what she drinks, what creams she uses....the conversation went on for ages...honestly...who needs a doctor?  Then once she went int they all started bitching about her.....hilarious!

I love my Centro De Salud! 

La Moraga Puerto Banus

La Moraga Puerto Banus is having some work done to it, looks like an extension to the right hand side.

Not too sure if they are just adding La Moraga Sweet to it, or just expanding the restaurant.

Dani Garcia does seem to have stretched himself in Marbella although there are still queues of people outside La Moraga Puerto Banus at 1pm everyday. 

Telefonica Upgrades & Free Routers

You know those people that always get free upgrades in hotels, free upgrades at the airport and free phones or routers when they complain to Telefonica....well I am not one of them.

I keep hearing these stories of people phoning Telefonica, threatening to "Baja La Linea" and suddenly Telefonica become the best thing since sliced bread.

My router goes down at least once a day.  I have asked very very nicely for a new router and nothing.

How to I get another router free with Telefonica?    Anyone got any other tricks?

Nueva Andalucia Life on Facebook

You maybe thinking how late is she, finally going on Facebook now. But I have actually been putting it off for a few years.

For the simple reason, I find social networking takes up a lot of time for not much reward.

I also find it quite boring seeing the same thing on blogs, websites, twitter and facebook. Its all a bit, well, monotonous.

But, sometimes if you cant beat them, join them and with so many enquiries asking to advertise on my blog, I felt it was the right thing to do to help these local business even more.

I admire some of these people that come to Spain, have an idea and make it happen.  I wish them all the luck with their new businesses.

Marbella to Portugal

We just had a wonderful few days away in Portugal on the Algarve.  We haven´t been there for over 2 years since our car got broken into and everything was stolen.  It just left that awful feeling, and we just havent wanted to go back.  I remember being in the Police Station and reporting it, the police weren´t that helpful.

But you have to move on and we went back and had some lovely time away, feeling like we were on holiday, in another country, trying to speak another language without the hassle of aeroplanes and checking in etc.

For us the drive is a comfortable 4.5 hours at the speed limit.  The route we take is via Algeciras, Jerez, Seville.  You can go through Ronda and Malaga too.    Driving back through Seville its very easy to make a mistake like we did as Jerez isnt signposted at all.

The Portugese are really nice people.  Everyone speaks English....even in the little local shops they speak good clear English.  The majority were really friendly and in the shops and cafes, they couldnt do enough.

Its also great as you can speak English or even Spanish there.  Most understand when you talk Spanish and whilst I cant speak Portugese, its easy to read and understand if you can do so in Spanish.  


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Changing Driving Licence Details in Spain

Dear Jo, I love your blog.  Its so informative and great to read.

I wonder if you can help me. We have recently moved from Marbella to Nueva Andalucia.  Do I need to change the details of my driving licence?  There are police everywhere at the moment stopping cars and I really don't know what the law is.

How do I go about changing our address and how much does it cost?

Hoping you can help.

Lisa P

Primark Malaga - Review of Primark Malaga

Saturday we felt like getting out of Marbella.  We needed somewhere a bit busier and buzzier so we took a  drive to Malaga and obviously I knew Primark had opened just a few days beforehand. 

It was absolutely mobbed.  People were walking out of Primark with bags filled to the brim like they hadnt been shopping in years.    Its an incredible business.  There certainly was no sign of a crisis on Saturday.

Primark Malaga is on 2 floors and is huge. I think bigger or slightly bigger than Algeciras.  Had a great range of Kids, Mens, Womens and Homewear.  For 40€ I bought 5 cushions which completely changed our terrace look.  Its so cheap and I have to say the quality is pretty good considering the price.

I feel for Dunnes as it was empty in there.  Dunnes was cheap but now with Primark it looks a little bit pricey.  Will Dunnes be able to last?

Primark Malaga is in the Larios Centre at on of the far ends.  I cant remember what was there before.