Telephones appeared late in my parents-in-law’s village. Until fairly recently, they tended to cause a little confusion, especially among the older inhabitan...

Unlike Manolo, if you are “lucky” enough to get lunch in that house, then you had better eat it all up. You have to lay the dining table yourself first thoug...

One winter’s day, we arrived in the village late afternoon, so it was already dark. It was Faustina’s birthday, so Juan took her a cake, which cost him quite...

Now available to purchase from my PAYHIP store. ​ payhip.com/spanishtuitionfarnborough Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels. (Please note I will be con...

This is a shot of the beautiful and unique 'plaza mayor' (town square) of a small village called Tarazona de la Mancha, which was down the road from the vill...

that all Spaniards have a double surname, the first being their father’s and the second their mother’s? When they have children, these take their father’s f...

that the Spanish language uses an upside-down question mark at the beginning of a question? ¿Qué quieres? (What do you want?) It also uses an upside-down exc...

that Spaniards celebrate the New Year with their family and friends by drinking cava and eating 12 grapes - one on each bell strike of the clock? Apparently,...

One of my little Spanish pets! He lived at the bottom of my patio in the chimney along with a family of lizards so we never lit the chimney! 😃

The stunning cathedral of Salamanca. I walked my dog around the cathedral square for 12 years but never, ever took its beauty for granted!

that Spain is a constitutional monarchy, like the UK? Felipe VI ascended the throne on 19 June 2014 upon the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos I. Di...

that Spain was invaded by the Moors in 711 AD and they stayed there for 800 years? The Moors were responsible for much progress in Astronomy, Mathematics, Ge...

In Spanish, the letter h is always silent. For example: helado (pronounced el-ladoh) (ice-cream), humo (oo-mo) (smoke), hombre (om-brai) (man) Although the h...

In Spanish, the sound ch is always pronounced like the ch in chimney and chocolate and never like the ch in champagne. Spanish ‘ch’ words: el champú (shampoo...

In Spanish, the letter c before e and i is pronounced like the th in think (not like the th in then) For example: CENA (dinner) is pronounced thenna (a of ma...

In Spanish the letter v is pronounced like the letter b so VACACIONES (holiday) is pronounced bakatheeon-ess and VINO (wine) is pronounced beeno (o of pot).

When you see ll in a Spanish word, pronounce it like the y in yellow. Try saying AMARILLO (yellow) and CALLE (street).

There are only 5 vowel sounds in Spanish that never change. The a is pronounced like the a in MAN. The e is pronounced like the e in MEN or EGG. The i is pro...

Spanish tortilla contains potato (TORTILLA ESPAÑOLA). If there's no potato, it's a French omelette (TORTILLA FRANCESA)!

that 'Don Quijote de la Mancha', the famous book written by Spanish author Miguel Cervantes in 1605, was voted the “most meaningful book of all time” by 100 ...