Bruce Ransley
It's zambomba month in Jerez
Zambomba is Christmas flamenco for the masses, in that anyone can join in and not risk being kicked in the fork by one of the performers.
top of page
Life in two Spanish towns
We did it! One of life's windows opened up, and we jumped through it with two suitcases and our cat and landed on all fours in Spain. What follows is a nice and accurate account of the whys, hows, wheres and holy-craps of what we did and what we did next. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and at some point you'll probably go to the lavatory.
Bruce Ransley
Nov 94 min read
Dining scams to watch out for in Jerez
Having eaten out daily since we arrived here I can report that the hospitality operators in Jerez are among the best in Spain.
Bruce Ransley
Nov 73 min read
A tale of two cities – Jerez v. San Sebastian
"You'll struggle down south – their accent is really difficult to understand." This from a San Sebastian local a few months ago when we...
Bruce Ransley
Oct 212 min read
Japanese flamenco is a thing
Flamenco is the dancing-and-singing equivalent of punching a baboon in the face and then attempting to make love to it.
Bruce Ransley
Oct 112 min read
Cats on a plane: the move to Jerez
You don't get much sleep the night before you take a cat who's prone to bouts of stress-induced diarrhoea on a plane. Pets here are...
Bruce Ransley
Oct 98 min read
The secret's out: where to eat in San Sebastian
A core theme of my posts is that when you come to San Sebastian, you should avoid the places you've read about and seen on TV . Not...
Bruce Ransley
Sep 103 min read
Casa Urola: the exception that proves the rule
If you've read my post on how to eat out in San Sebastian , you'll know to avoid any place that has a queue outside – because within five...
Bruce Ransley
Aug 257 min read
How (not) to eat out in San Sebastian
When you read up on the food scene before you visit a new town you’ll inevitably find dozens of articles with titles like ‘The 10 best...
Bruce Ransley
Aug 244 min read
How to order food in a San Sebastian bar
A common sight in this neck of the woods is tourists with mildly shocked and confused expressions on their faces as they enter a pintxo...
Bruce Ransley
Aug 225 min read
A glossary of pintxos in San Sebastian
Google Translate often won't help you identify menu items. While lots of bars in Basque Country have an English menu, they've often been...
Bruce Ransley
Aug 223 min read
Shopping for groceries in San Sebastian
Back to our second day in Spain nearly two years ago. We're stocking up on groceries. We've unloaded our cart onto the conveyor belt and...
Bruce Ransley
Apr 8, 20232 min read
It's the opposite of autumn here
I've always been tempted to try to make some money on the side as a street artist. I can't draw, but I can write. I imagine sitting down...
Bruce Ransley
Mar 31, 20233 min read
It wasn't the dog, it was me
I remember a few years ago in a busy shopping centre Jess announced that she really needed a toilet, could I see any signs? I answered...
Bruce Ransley
Mar 6, 20232 min read
Shorter hair, better Spanish
This is the view from my face most mornings from about 6am. It's blurry because I don't have my glasses on yet. It's effectively my daily...
Bruce Ransley
Feb 27, 20232 min read
The cat is pooping normally again
It's been a rough few weeks for the cat and also for the toilet officer in our house but thankfully the fluffy little bastard is his old...
Bruce Ransley
Feb 21, 20232 min read
Time to bury the sardine
This is one of the plazas in which the annual winter festival culminates in the ceremonial 'burial of the sardine'. According to the...
Bruce Ransley
Feb 14, 20232 min read
A new food pattern
I'd rather have my scrotum caught in a revolving door than go to a supermarket on a Saturday morning. In Spain they do have equivalent...
Bruce Ransley
Feb 13, 20233 min read
On a language we don't yet know
Back in Tassie a couple of months ago we were sitting at an outdoor cafe and I decided to test out some Spanish on Jess. I delivered a...
Bruce Ransley
Feb 11, 20232 min read
An ode to poop scrooching
We're sitting on the hard floor in an apartment with no furniture watching our cat Ted, heavily burdened with diarrhoea, scrooching his...
bottom of page