ISLS Travel Stories

 

One of the things that I have been wanting to do for a long time is take the train ride from Ronda in the mountains of Andalusia down to the coastal town of Algeciras. Through many trips to the south of Spain, I have read as well as heard from other travelers about this fantastic experience. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it until this past weekend.

 

Originally we were going to do the trip with Kurt and Luis, but we stayed out to the wee hours of the morning the night before and decided to scrap it when we got up too late to start. From the Costa del Sol, it is a fairly easy day trip and many tour companies offer different versions of it. Now that we are getting toward the end of our time here, we decided to list the things that we really wanted to do before we left. Since we also decided not to go to Africa, this was at the top of mine.

 

Saturday was a beautiful, clear autumn day with the high in the low 70’s. We decided to do the trip on our own and not do it through an organized tour. I find it a lot more fun to figure things out and plan the trip than to follow someone. We had already been to Ronda a few years ago, so didn’t need a guide to tell us about the place. Of course, if we had gone with a tour we would not have had the stress of almost missing our first bus.

 

Because Estepona is a little off the beaten track, we had to take an indirect bus to the nearby beach community of San Pedro. There we caught a bus that took us directly to Ronda up in the hills. The drive was beautiful with both the Spanish and African coasts splayed out below us. There are hundreds of villas up in the hills, along with numerous golf courses and planned communities. The sky was so blue that it reminded both of us of the skies in New Mexico, a blue so bright that it almost overwhelms your optical nerves.

 

It was a very windy trip up to the mountains and we were glad that we had called the earlier trip off. There was no way that Kurt would have made it up the hill. As it turns out, Siena gets car sick. We were about ¾ of the way up when all of a sudden she got really quite and started drooling. Next thing you know there was a mini Exorcist going on in seat 17B. Pour baby had no idea what was going on, but god love her, she didn’t even cry.

 

Shortly after this, the bus reached the top of the mountains and the rest of the trip was a lot smoother with fewer curves. Marjo unfortunately wore the brunt of the experience on her pants. Luckily, we had brought a change of cloths for Siena, so when we arrived at the bus station in Ronda we changed her.

 

As I said, we had been to Ronda before and it is a great town. It is like the king of the Pueblos Blancos, white towns of Andalusia. It is also the birthplace of modern bull fighting. As with all of the white towns, they are of course painted white and they sit on high crags and mountains sides. They are located in inaccessible places that are easy to defend and hard to attack. The tradition of painting all of the buildings white goes back to the Moorish days and has been kept for over 1000 years.

 

Fortunately for us, the main bus terminal and the train station are only about 4 blocks from each other in the newer part of the city. It was easy for us to go over and get our tickets for the train before we wandered down for a short stroll through the older part of town. The two parts of town are divided by a deep chasm that separates the old from the new. In fact the old town of Ronda is surrounded on three sides by valleys that fall away down deep cliffs and is only approachable from across the gorge. Very few armies every breached its defenses.

 

I could go on and on about Ronda, but that is for a different blog. We only had an hour to wander around before we headed back to the station. We got back where the train arrived on time, and we along with about 20 or 30 passengers loaded on. It was in the late afternoon, so there were not a lot of tourists, most were locals commuting down to the coast. After a slight delay to wait for a train coming in the opposite direction, we were on our way.

 

Because of Ronda’s location, the train started out to the north. We slowly wound our way down the valley to the west before heading south along the Rio Guadalevin. The valley is littered with fruit and olive orchards surrounded by pastureland filled with herds of sheep. In the late afternoon, the valley was covered with soft sunlight and many of the trees had leaves of burnt orange and yellow.

 

Further south, we left the valley behind and entered a tight river canyon that winds its way between a number of small towns. We stopped at some of these and people would get off and on. At the village of Benaojan-Montejaque, we picked up a large group of trekkers who then got off at the next town.  The whole area is filled with hiking trails and this town in particular is close to the prehistoric cave paintings at Cueva de la Pileta.

 

All along the route the scenery is fantastic. We saw the ruins of castles, a number of small white towns, valleys and canyons while all the time slowly dropping down to the Mediterranean. There were a number of children in our car, and Siena had a grand time playing with them. The people of Andalusia are genuinely warm, and they love children. No matter where we are or what we are doing, people come up to Siena and want to talk to her and touch her, which, of course, causes Marjo no end of frustration. We go through a lot of wet wipes.

 

After about 2 hours, the ride ended at the port city of Algeciras. The sun had set, and we had very little time to catch our bus back to Estepona. Happily, the bus and train stations are across the street from each other. By the time we arrived back home, Siena was fast asleep after a long, but eventful day in the south of Spain. In the end, the trip exceeded both Marjo’s and my expectations, and we would highly recommend it to anyone.

 

 

Now for the Nuts and Bolts

 

From the Costa del Sol, you can do the train trip in either direction. We did it from Ronda because the buses worked out better that way. The main bus company on the coast is Portillo. There are three to four buses a day up to Ronda and you can catch all of them in Marbella and San Pedro. Other towns along the coast have service, but not all buses stop every time. For those folks, like us, who are not in a town where the bus stops, the best option is San Pedro. This is the last stop before it goes up the hill to Ronda. There are many more buses to Algeciras, so check the timetables on line for what will work best. The cost of an adult ticket from San Pedro is 4.15 Euros and the ride takes about an hour. The bus ride back from Algeciras to Estepona was 4.65 Euros and took 35 minutes.

 

Renfe is Spain’s national train company. They operate nearly all of the trains in the country and this line in particular.  There are four Regional Express trains a day from Ronda to Algeciras departing at 7:10am, 9:58am, 4:36pm and 7:35pm. The ride costs 6.70 Euros per adult and takes about two hours. As always, check the timetables for any changes. There are also two Altaria trains each day. These are much nicer trains and cost quite a bit more, 17.40 Euros. It takes about the same amount of time, so since the ride is about the scenery, why pay more? Also, it is possible to take the train all the way from Malaga, via Ronda to Algeciras. I have not made this trip, but I understand that the ride up from Malaga is a great one, too.

 

Every part of Spain has regional specialties and many have sub-regional specialties. This is true of Andalusia. The food of the coastal areas leans much more heavily upon seafood and soups, while the inland and mountain areas focus more on meat and stews. All areas though rely on a healthy dose of olive oil in just about every dish, as well as vegetables, salads and many different kids of fruit.

 

Paella, which originated in Valencia, farther to the east up the Mediterranean coast, has now become a staple food throughout the country. On the Costa del Sol it is all about the seafood: prawns, muscles, clams, white fish and squid are the most popular. Paella is traditionally cooked in very large cast iron skillet over an open flame or fire. The basic ingredients for any paella is long grain or paella rice, olive oil, onion, red pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic, peas, tomato, paprika and saffron.

 

A very Andalusian dish is gazpacho, which is essentially a cold soup that is popular during the hot summer months. Most people think that it is essentially cold tomato soup, which would be inaccurate. Tomatoes did not even become a standard ingredient until after the discovery of the New World. In addition to tomatoes the soup has garlic, peppers, onions, olive oil, vinegar and water. For those of you who have never tried it, you will be pleasantly surprised at how good and thirst quenching it is.

 

The pace of life in Andalusia is still very traditional. While most of the northern and central parts of Spain have moved toward the 9 to 5 work week, the towns and cities of the south still take their siestas. For the first time visitor it is odd to see the streets virtually deserted between 2 and 5pm. The vast majority of shops, stores and business are closed at this time. Restaurants on the other hand are not closed, as this is the time for the main meal of the day.

 

Most restaurants have what is called a Menu del Dia. This is usually a three course meal at a set price. This can vary from two courses with a drink, to as many as five courses. It all depends on the restaurant and their clientele. Price also varies from the very cheap, in the 6 Euro range to the expensive over 25 Euros. Many restaurants will have boards out front advertising their menus. Usually you have a couple of soups and salads to choose from for your first course, followed by 4 or 5 meat and or fish dishes followed by a selection of desserts.

 

Customarily the afternoon meal is enjoyed over about 2 hours followed by a time to nap before going back to work. To top off the meal most people have a glass of very strong coffee; Café solo (black) or café con leche (with half milk). This is usually fortified with a mound of sugar as well.

 

Breakfast is a much more modest affair. Coffee, orange juice, toast and pastries make it a more continental style. A popular option is a slice of bread with olive oil and tomato past. In Andalusia they like bread or toast rubbed with garlic and doused with olive oil. Many people will stop by a local cafeteria on their way to work to have a bite while they stand at the counter. Some will even have a class of wine to fortify themselves.

 

In the evening after people get out of work is the time to stop by a local bar, pub or cafeteria to have some tapas and a few drinks. In some areas of the Costa del Sol, the competition for clients is causing them to offer tapas for free when you order a drink. This is not the case in the majority of Spain, but tapas are a great way to eat fairly cheaply.

 

In general there are two types of tapas, cold and hot. In a traditional tapa bar or cafeteria the options will be lined up along the bar in glass display cases. You can choose from the menu of options or you can just go to the counter and point at your choices. If there is an outside seating option, it is usually about 10% more expensive than at the counter. Popular tapas are: Russian potato and egg salad, meatballs in tomato sauce, fried squid, Spanish tortilla, olives and patatas bravas (potatoes in a spicy red sauce).

 

After tapas and drinks, most Spaniards go home to have dinner with their families. It is not unusual to have dinner start as late as 10pm. This meal can also be a very long, multi-course affair. In general people take their time eating in Spain. It is the time when families and friends can catch up on their days and activities.

 

They say time moves slower in Spain and this is definitely true during meals. What’s the rush? Sit back and enjoy the waves of different foods coming your way until you are full. Then have a relaxing drink, a bite of dessert and you are ready for the night life that the country is so justifiably famous for.

 

 

Over the years I have noticed that there are a few things that every American mentions about Spain the first time that the visit. Some things are regional while others are pretty consistent throughout the country. Three big ones are; graffiti, cigarette smoke and food.

 

Graffiti is everywhere. It is in the cities, the countryside, on the sides of highways, bridges, buildings, walls, fences, buses, trucks; pretty much any flat surface. Most of it is tagging so not very appealing, even for those who try to appreciate it. It is not just Spain, but everywhere in Europe. The European governments try and crackdown on it, but it is rampant everywhere. After a while you just stop noticing it until someone mentions it.

 

Cigarette smoke is becoming less and less an issue as more and more countries pass laws against it in public places. In Spain, even though they passed laws against it a couple of years ago, smoke is everywhere in bars and restaurants. For someone like me from California where you have not been able to smoke in a bar or restaurant in 10 years, it is pretty overwhelming. This too you get use to over time. It’s how it use to be in the states 30 years ago.

 

Food is another issue that most people mention as being very different. This is true for every country in Europe, but maybe more so in Spain. One of the issues is that meat tastes different over here. For the most part there are no high density feedlots. Most of the animals are essentially free range and they do not use a lot of the hormones and other chemicals to fatten them up. They eat a lot more seafood and lamb in Spain and they also use much more of the animal, not much is wasted.  

 

In Spain each region is very different and so is their food. Since the country is surrounded by water, seafood of every type and description is available. We went to the fish market down at the port here in Estepona where the local fishermen sell their catches wholesale to the local restaurants and markets. I could not recognize a fifth of the stuff that was for sale. We in the states have really only a few options when it comes to fish and seafood; tuna, swordfish, halibut, salmon, catfish, trout, shrimp and lobster. That makes up more than 90% of what you will see in a supermarket. In Spain that would represent less than 10%.

 

In the heart of Spain and furthest from the sea is Castile y Leon. Here, meat is king. Spaniards love their pork no mater the part of the country, but in the center they really love it. Their specialty is suckling pig. They serve the whole thing on a plate with the head and everything! They use a lot of olive oil in their cooking and love leg of lamb and lamb chops. Steaks are popular, but taste very different from their counterparts in the US. A popular way of cooking steak is with nothing other than sea salt.

 

The most identifiable food for the all of Spain is Jamón Iberico or Jamon Serrano. This is the smoked and cured ham that is served thinly sliced as an appetizer. It is renowned for its taste and texture and is very expensive. You will see these hams hanging in store windows, shops and restaurants. They are essentially large pig legs and quite a site the first time you see them. This too can be an acquired taste, but once you have come to appreciate it, you have to have it. It is a lot like Italian prochuttio ham.

 

All regions also have tapas. These are small plates of appetizers or other local dishes. All Spanish bars and restaurants have some form of tapa available. Popular tapas include; albundigas in salsa tomate (meatballs in tomato sauce), patatas bravas (cubed potatoes in a spicy red sause), tortilla Espanola (egg and potato, similar to a quiche), blood sausage (usually rice mixed with blood and spices), omelets (the most popular is with asparagus), fried calamari and Russian salad (lots of mayonnaise, pees, tuna fish, hardboiled eggs and potatoes). These are just a few of the many types that are available. A good tapa bar will have over 30 options form which to choose. You can also get what is called a racion, which is just a larger portion than a tapa.

 

It can take a while to get used to the food in Spain. It is different, looks different, smells different and tastes different. As long as you have an open mind you will come to enjoy Spanish cuisine sooner, rather than later. Buen provecho!

Well, we just saw Kurt and Luis off early this morning and they are on their way back to their respective homes. It was a great visit and a lot of fun was had by all.

There is a little bit of a depressed mood in the Garrison household now that they have left. Each morning, over the course of the visit, Siena would get up and walk into the living room. She would peek around the corner and look at both Luis and Kurt sleeping. A smile would come to her face and then she would run back into our bedroom. This morning she walked out there and peeked around the corner and there was no one there. She came back to our room with a look of disappointment on her face. It was so sad!

Before their trip to see us we had all sorts of big plans; we were going to Morocco, we were going to Gibraltar, we were going to Sevilla or Granada. Of course we only had five days and there are a lot of things to do and see. Well, we ended up doing none of the trips that we had planned. Once more, I have not made it over to Morocco.

Instead we stayed closer to home and really enjoyed our time together. It is hard to describe how close we all are. Kurt and Luis are not just Siena’s godfathers; they are two of our very closest friends. There is a level of comfort that we have in each others company that is a joy to be a part of. We are sad to have them leave, but so very happy that they came.

We ended up taking only two day trips while they were here. Mostly we stayed around Estepona, the little port by our house and spent time at the beach. The weather during their trip could not have been better. Sunny days in the low 70’s and nights in the low 60’s. Each day, but the last, we could see Gibraltar and the coast of Africa clearly.

On Sunday we went to Puerto Banus and Marbella. These are the near each other and form the more exclusive sections of the Costa del Sol and are about an hour by public bus from Estepona. Marjo and I had not yet been to Puerto Banus and it was everything we had read. The yachts are numerous and huge and the cars are all Ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls Royces and every other imaginable luxury car.

We wondered around the port and looked at all of the boats and cars. We stopped in a waterfront cafe and had drinks and tapas. They were not cheap, but the people watching was fantastic. Most of the larger yachts were all registered in Brittan with some from other European countries. There were people from all nationalities out and about and most were dress to the teeth in designer cloths and accessories.

After the stop at the cafe we found the Fly Blue Gran Catamaran that was running a transport service from Puerto Banus to Marbella up the coast. The cost was 8 Euros each and worth every penny. It was the first time any of us had been on the Mediterranean and we got just gorgeous views of the coastline and mountains in the background. The beers and win were cheap, 2 Euros and the ride lasted about 30 minutes.

We wondered around the shore in Marbella for a few hours and stopped in a great little restaurant in the port and near the beach called The Saloon. It was British owned and operated and they had drink and food specials. They did not have much food left after the weekend rush, so they made us an off the menu selections of typical Spanish tapas along with a few British favorites such as Yorkshire pudding.

After Marbella, we hopped back on the bus to Estepona and eat out at a great restaurant overlooking the sea called El Palangre. We all had the Paella and generally enjoyed the food and company. After dinner Kurt, Luis and I made it down to my local Bar Ester to watch the NFL games to the wee hours of the morning.

Keep checking back as I will write about the rest of the trip in subsequent posts.

I spent the 1996 presidential election living in Costa Rica, so I have seen what a presidential election looks like from the outside. This year we are living in Spain, but it also feels like we are living in the UK. There is such a large population of Brits that live in southern Spain that is just as likely that you are going to talk to someone in English as you are in Spanish. Plus, our two English language television channels are news channels; CNN International and Sky News. Both of which are mostly broadcast from London.

The most significant difference between this time and last is that there are so few American living here. In San Jose, Costa Rica there were well over 50,000 of us living in the area and twice that in the rest of the country. As I said in another blog, even the Americans Club here is mostly British. In 96’ I was discussing the situation in the election with fellow Americans. Many of those conversations were very heated and the majority of people were Republican leaning due to the large number of ex-military retirees. Most thought Clinton was a draft dodging, woman chasing, pot smoker. This always struck me as funny as the only difference between these expats and Clinton was the draft dodging part.

Here, we are talking to non Americans who are curious what we think will happen tomorrow. Europeans tend to be much more liberal and yes, socialistic than we do. They cannot understand why we elected George Bush twice. Heck, they don’t understand how he won the first time, while loosing the popular vote. That is a fun one to explain, let me tell you. No one anywhere outside the US has an Electoral College system for electing their leaders, so it is a completely foreign concept.

By a large margin people here hope that Obama gets elected. It is not that they don’t like McCain, per se, they just really hate Bush. Even people who would normally be more receptive to McCain and the Republican candidate can’t bring themselves to root for him. It is a mater of respect for a lot of them. They see Bush and the Republicans as essentially going ‘Rogue’ over the last eight years no mater what their supposed allies thought or wanted. Iraq is just one of the thorns in their sides. Rumsfeld’s ‘Old Europe’ and ‘Freedom Fries’ are some other examples.

I seem to be more obsessed with this election than I remember being in Costa Rica. I search on line to major US news sites to glean any and all information about the polls and the mood of the electorate. The time difference is also a factor. We are 6 hours ahead of East Coast Time and so when we get up at 8 or so, it is only 2am in New York. So, we don’t get any new news until the evening, which is the lat morning in the US. This kind of creates a disconnect with what is going on over there as we get our news out of phase.

There are no parties planned for the election returns as the polls on the east coast will not close until after 2am our time. I don’t know if I will stay up all night watching or go to bed and try and get up early. It will probably be the former as I am a night owl anyway. I may go to a bar to watch the first ones come through as they are open until 3 and 4 am over here, even on a Tuesday night.

Get out there and vote! Everyone counts. God bless America.

It has been a rainy few days here on the Costa del Sol and Marjo and Siena really needed to get out of the house. We read about a play that was being put on by a local theater company in Marbella for children. It was a tie into Halloween and the kids were to come in costume.

Marbella is the real ritzy resort town of the Costa del Sol and is about 20 miles up the coast from us toward Malaga. I was not very familiar with it as I had only really driven through it a couple of times. I had always heard how over developed and commercialized it was and didn’t bother to check it out. Well, there is a reason that people like to visit Marbella, it is quite a cool place.

It is certainly built up and commercialized, but in a way that is not as in your face as Torremolinas and Fuengirola. It is like a larger version of Benalmadena, a little further up the coast. Nearby is the home of the uber rich, Puerto Banus. This is where the 100+ foot yachts pull into waiting limos that whisk them up to the hilltop mansions that overlook the coast. We didn’t go there, but it looked pretty nice from the window of our bus as we went by. Maybe next trip.

We took off from Estepona about 3pm and got into Marbella by 4. It was an easy trip, we took the indirect bus, since that would leave us off in the middle of town. We didn’t know where the Black Box Theater was, but figured that it wouldn’t be hard to find. We wondered down to the beach and walked along the boardwalk. There were a number of very nice parks and squares. While it was not raining, it was still very windy and cold.

After asking a few people for dictions, we found our way to the theater. It turned out to be about 2 blocks from the bus stop. Marjo and Siena got tickets and went into see the show; I went to explore the town. It was 10 Euros an adult for the show and I figured that I would spend less on beer at the local bars, and I was right.

I went back down to the beach and the little sports port that they have. The sun started to breakout and there were plenty of people strolling along enjoying their Sunday evening. There were numerous restaurants and bars, along with shops and high end hotels along the strip. I am sure that in the peak season of August you can’t even walk in the area because of the crush. But, on a windy afternoon at the beginning of November, it was really pleasant.

I stopped in a couple of bars during my walk about. There are a fare number of British pubs peppered in with the more traditional Spanish bars. Every place had a sign out with their specials and prices. There is a great deal of competition going on for patrons. Unlike other parts of the coast, I did not see any shops closed for the season.

I finally made my self comfortable in a British pub called the Tiger Club. It is right off the main strip in the little port. They had a number of drink specials and they had on live sports. Today was the final race of the Formula One season and Lewis Hamilton, a Brit, was vying for the season’s crown. The place was packed and the people over here really get into it. I have watched a few races and I can definitely say that is a hell of lot more interesting than Nascar.

The race started after a slight delay on account of a torrential downpour that happened 5 minutes before it was supposed to start. It only lasted a few minutes, but wet the track enough that all the cars had to change their tires. All of this is a little above me. They were going off about the different track conditions and the best type of tires for them. It seemed that the rain only really effected part of the track, so this was going to be a tricky question for the teams.

Anyway, Hamilton only had to finish in 5th place to insure the season championship. On the first turn of the race there was a crash and he luckily was not involved. The other driver that was in the hunt was a Brazilian driver named Massa. Did I mention that the race was in Brazil and that he had the poll position, or whatever they call it? All of this made the contest even more dramatic. Plus, last year Hamilton had the lead in the overall points only to choke on the last race and loose. There was much speculation at the bar as to whether this would happen again.

It turned out that Massa was in the lead on the last lap and Hamilton was in 6th, or one out of clinching the title when he pass the driver ahead of him on the final turn to hold on for the championship by one point. Neither team knew for sure the outcome and the stands with over 100K people went bananas. I of course had to read about this later on the internet as about halfway through the race Marjo called and they were ready to go, the play was done.

Siena ended up having a ball and there were a bunch of kids of all ages. The theater was pretty small and there was a standing room only crowd, so I was happy to miss it. There were games before the play along with a costume contest with winners and prizes. Siena did not win a prize as she did not dress up. She was still damn cute!

We met up and made our way back to the bus stop. Everyone it seemed was going home for the weekend and the bus was packed. We made it back to Estepona and Siena fell asleep. All in all it was a nice time had by all and we plan to go back. I’d like to check out more of the town and maybe visit a couple of Spanish schools. Both Marjo and liked the place. It just goes to show you that you can’t just go on what other people tell you, you have to experience it for yourself.

We came to Spain in mid September, which as any football fan in America knows, is the middle of the college and pro seasons. We are in the south of Spain which is dominated by Spaniards, of course, and many British Expats and visitors. So, watching futbal or soccer is not a problem what so ever. But, try and get an American football game on and it is a different matter.

At the start I searched the web to see if there were any American bars in the area. There are a few, but they are far away and the one I did visit in Benalmadena, Jacks Restaurant did know anything about American football games. There is another restaurant in Puerto Banus called Yanx that we are going to try out tomorrow and see.

Next I heard about the American Club of Costa del Sol. So, I called them and left a message about wanting to find out where I could watch a game. A few days later a man with a British accent called me back. He said that he was the president of the club, but unfortunately, he had no idea where to watch a game. It turns out that there is such a small population of Americans in the area that the American Club is mostly British. So, they were no help as the Americans that I did meet later at a meeting had either been here so long that they didn’t care about football, or never did. Another dead end.

Finally, I was in my local pub talking with a couple of British blokes who have pretty much befriended me. One of them Tony from south London, I can understand about one out of 5 words and the other Alex from north London I can get about every other. It is enough to get the point of everything, but at the same time frustrating. I told them about my problem and they said that they had once seen a pro game on Sunday night at a local Irish pub.

Well the next Sunday, I went to that pub and the bartender was nice enough to check on Sky Satellite Network. Sure enough there it was on Fox Sports, channel number 432 I think. I was so happy that I finally had figured it out and was going to be able to watch a game. Who cared that it was the Raiders and someone else, it was American football. Unfortunately, because there was one guy there watching the replay of an Argentinean soccer game from earlier that day, he couldn’t change the channel.

So damn close, I was pissed! So I walked over to Bar Ester, which is my local drinking hole and my mates were there. I told them what happened and they called Tom, the owner over and asked him to put the game on. I sat their dumbstruck. ‘What are you talking about?’ I asked. They said that Tommy had the sky network too. ‘You mean that I have been coming here all this time and never knew that I could watch the games?’. Yeah, pretty much, we just never thought about it before. Tom was very nice and put the game on and said that anytime I wanted to watch the games, he would put them on. It seems that all the important European soccer games are over by 7pm.

So, now I watch at least the first game on Sundays, sometimes the second one, depending on who’s playing and what I have to do the next day. The first game does not start until 7pm. They even show the Sunday evening game, but that does not start until 3am. Last week I saw the Chargers and Saints play at Wembley in London. I watch the games with a bunch of brits to whom I am slowly teaching the rules and finer points of the game. They are lukewarm to it now, but by the end of the season I will have a bunch of rabid football hooligans, American style!

As to college football, no luck so far. I am still trying to figure out where to see them. Once I find out, I will post it. I can’t be the only American to visit Spain who has wanted to see a game.  

UPDATE: College Football (Nov. 16.08)

I finally did figure out how to see college football. There is an international sports channel called NASN, short for North American Sports Network. It is owned by ESPN and is broadcast on a number of netwarks in Europe, including Sky. In fact on sky it is channell #417. Each Saturday during football season they have two games on. They also have College Gameday and other college programing just before the first game. I watched Ohio St. beat Illinois yesterday and part of the FL/S. Carolina game.

The trick is getting a bar to play the game. Saturday is a big day for soccer in Europe, so you have to know where to find it. NASN can be found on the web as well at www.nasn.com and you can see the daily broadcast schedule. They also show NBA, college basketball, NHL and some NFL games as well. Of course I find this out on the 13th weekend of college football. Not much left, but at least I know I can see some games.