Athens is the venerable cradle of civilisation in Europe – the former city state that gave us the dream of democracy (a Greek word), but visit it today and you will find it to be a lively, spicy Mediterranean city with a touch of the Middle East.

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You would be forgiven for thinking all is grim and bleak during this Covid-affected period, but as we near summer, the growing impact of vaccinations and the easing of lockdown and travel restrictions, there is a growing swell of positive news – including major new investment projects on the Costa del Sol. (more…)

The enticing Andalusian interior, land of natural beauty and cultural fascination, beckons just beyond the coastal mountain ranges. Now, more than ever, this region of endless vistas, ancient agricultural traditions, fine food and open spaces appeals to those confined in urban spaces. (more…)

Living on or visiting the Marbella coastline, we spend a lot of time looking out to sea and surveying the horizon. In the distance, the outlines of Gibraltar and North Africa sometimes seem close enough to touch – and indeed, whether you take a ferry, yacht or make use of a new half-hour Ryanair flight from Málaga to Tetuan, Morocco is just a short distance away.

So close and yet so different; the short hop across the western edge of the Mediterranean opens up a world of discoveries and an insight into an exotic world of casbahs, minarets and the call of the muezzin. It’s all just on the other side of the water we are so familiar with, where historic cities and beautiful mountain ranges mirror those of Andalucía. Despite the impact on the senses of a place that still has an almost medieval feel in places, where the scent of spices and natural fragrances hangs in the air, there are also definite similarities with Andalucía, for if you’re familiar with the white-plastered villages of southern Spain you will come across places that bear the hallmarks of centuries of interaction between these two shorelines.

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La Dolce Vita is a now iconic phrase that conjures images of the winding alleyways and Vespas of a vintage Italy. Imbued with a sense of glamorous freedom, the concept of young people living a hedonistic and self-indulgent life has long entered cross-cultural vernacular and leaves us lamenting our lack of Italian blood. Here, Michel Cruz traces the origins and inspirations for the phenomenon that has come to define an epoch.

While Britain and America were in the grip of the Swinging Sixties, Italy made its own unique contribution – La Dolce Vita. Literally translated as ‘the sweet life’, it embodies the sense of freedom, open possibilities and joie de vivre of the post war era.

We strive for permanence in everything we do, from installing new regimes to chasing the ultimate form of style, not realising that success, happiness and ideals are but fleeting moments. With the horrors of the Second World War and the sparseness of the immediate post war years behind it, Europe awoke like a flower in spring to a whole new world of possibilities. With Marshall Aid, the continent was rebuilding itself upon the pillars of prosperity and democracy as a tide of youthful liberalism and creativity swept through the once dusty streets. (more…)