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Andalusia or Andalucía?

The autonomous region of Andalusia (Andalucía in Spanish) is in the southern part of Spain. It spans from Atlantic coast in the west to the sheltered coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the east and from Málaga's Costa del Sol to the borders of Castilla – La Mancha the famous flat lands and Don Quixote windmill country.  With an average of 300 plus days of sunshine a year the coastal area is an all year round destination. Not so in the inland provinces of Cordoba, Jaen and Sevilla which ha ve baking hot summers that can reach +40c and cold winters which can be 0c or less overnight. The Mezquita, Córdoba Andalusia is divided into eight provinces, each with a provincial city of the same name. Some of them are far more famous than others: Almería , Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Sevilla. The three land-locked provinces are Córdoba, Jaé n and Sevilla, the rest are coastal. Each province and city is full of culture, history, traditions, fabulous monuments and cre...

Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalusia

And no! I´m not talking about me.

I finally have received a copy of Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalusia a book I´ve been wanting for ages. Amazon finally did me proud and only 22 days or so after ordering (yes, I was counting) it arrived.

Fortunately my neighbour delivered it, as he does when the postman can´t be bothered to travel that bit further to my house, after dark so I didn´t have long to wait until I could get stuck right in.

The authoress Penelope Chetwode, wife of John Betjeman, first published it in 1963 (good year that one!). My mind runs riot as to the state of Andalucia in those days, the years of hunger my neighbours call them. Franco was still in power and poverty the norm.

Not an ideal moment for a woman travelling alone with just her mare (the other middle-aged lady) and with only a smattering of Spanish.

I´m going to enjoy this and try not to rush it. Watch out for my review of it (not too soon) I hope.


Update 3rd Sept - see the review.

Two Middle Aged Ladies in Andalusia is available from Amazon, I bought my copy from there.


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