Live News From Spain As It Happens

KING Felipe VI of Spain has publicly produced a breakdown of his assets – the first time a reigning monarch in the country has ever done so and an extremely rare move among royalty anywhere in the world. 

Son of the abdicated King Juan Carlos I, and on the throne since July 2014, HRH Felipe says he opted to reveal the full extent of his fortune and how it is made up in a 'transparency exercise' – attempting to be open and honest with his public.

Although the monarch's wealth does not include his wife, Queen Letizia's assets, the overall figure is surprisingly low and would not even put him into the top 100 of Spain's richest individuals.

Felipe VI may, in fact, be the 'poorest' King in Europe.

His full accounts reveal he is worth €2.57 million – which, if you own property in the province of Málaga's 'Golden Mile', in exclusive parts of Ibiza, Barcelona or the Greater Madrid region, would automatically put you on level-pegging with the King of Spain, even if you had nothing in your current account.

(You can check out nearly 7,600 properties for sale King Felipe can't afford, if you feel like it, by clicking on this link. Although at the other end of the spectrum, here are over 4,700 priced at under €50,000, for the contrast).

And Felipe VI does not even own any property or land – his wealth, along with bank deposits and investment funds - is made up of jewellery, antiques and works of art.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TWO in three residents in Spain want to end the twice-yearly clock-changing, according to a recent poll – and of these, seven in 10 want to stay on 'summer hours' for good.

Women were found to be more keen to end the so-called 'daylight-saving time', and the older a respondent is, the more likely they were to share this view.

National polling databank CIS found that 65.5% of those surveyed would prefer to stay in the same time zone all year, but want longer, lighter nights – 67.3% of women and 63.7% of men would rather not have to lose an hour's sleep on the last weekend of March each year, but want to be able to avoid this by not bringing the clocks forward an hour at the end of October.

Over 2,500 took part in the CIS poll between April 11 and 18, starting a fortnight after the last 'changing of the clocks' where Europe and most of the rest of the northern hemisphere went forward an hour, and most of the southern hemisphere went back an hour.

Although debates have been under way in Spain for some years about putting the country back into its 'natural' time slot – GMT in winter and BST in summer – around 70% of the CIS survey respondents want to remain on CEST, an hour ahead of BST and two ahead of GMT, for good.

'Daylight-saving time' was introduced during the petroleum crisis of the 1970s, but according to Spain's Diversification and Energy-Saving Institute (IDAE), the actual reduction in fuel use and cost to households is minimal, and not worthwhile as compensation for the sleep-pattern disruption and impact on productivity caused by widespread tiredness.

IDAE estimates that the average home saves €6 a year on electricity bills by changing the clocks.

The European Commission launched an EU-wide survey in 2018 seeking the views of the then 28 countries which had, by law, been observing daylight-saving time en masse for the past 16 years, with a view to possibly abolishing it.

And even though 84% of the 4.6 million Europeans who responded were keen to abolish the practice, the debate has long been shelved due to a failure to reach a consensus among the EU's civil service and heads of State.

Given that the Greenwich Meridian line runs through the very tip of eastern mainland Spain, the entire peninsula – except for Jávea (northern Alicante province), part of northern Catalunya and a slice of the Castellón-province coast – should, by rights, be in the same time zone as the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Morocco, and in fact in Spain as a whole only the Canary Islands are on the correct time.

SOUL, pop and R&B legend Diana Ross has announced a one-night-only concert in Spain – and fans should move quickly to grab their tickets.

One-time lead singer of The Supremes, the iconic US-born artist, now aged 78 but full of enthusiasm and with no intention of hanging up her mic for a while yet, will be at Marbella's world-class Starlite Festival this summer.

A huge tourist magnet on the Málaga-province coast, this celebrity music event is a popular stop-off point for massive international bands and singers whose career spans decades when they stage a less-frantic European tour – rather than playing at several trademark venues in the biggest cities over several nights, an 'express' tour for well-loved veterans might only feature one date per country in a more 'cosy' setting with lower-priced tickets.

Starlite has, therefore, hosted rockers and chart-busting pop acts whom fans had not seen on the road for years, or even decades, making their appearance a rare chance to catch them live after a long wait.

Diana Ross is one of those, and will hit the stage on Wednesday, July 6, where she will regale generations of followers with her classic numbers and hitherto unreleased tracks – all of which can be found on her forthcoming compilation album, Thank You.

The title of the new collection, which features a photo of Diana from the earlier end of her career, is a heartfelt tribute to all those who have listened to and bought her records since her début in the 1960s, helping her hit the number one singles and album slots worldwide over 40 times.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ONE OF the world's biggest music festivals is new on the block – or on the hill – and tickets are due to go on sale any day now for its Costa del Sol début.

Fuengirola has confirmed the Ultra Beach party, a one-day-only mega-event, will kick off on Saturday, August 20 with the main stage at the summit of Sohail Castle, which sits above the coastal town.

A 'secondary' stage, focusing on the 'sounds of the underground' and titled ULTRA Worldwide Resistance, will be within the walls of the ancient Arab fortress.

Coming within the umbrella of the whole-summer-long Marenostrum Fuengirola 2022 festival series, the main stage will include artists of the magnitude of Afrojack, Oliver Heldens and Adam Beyer.

Multi-platinum Dutch legends Afrojack, creators of the Heldeep brand and masters of the genre known as future-house, will head up the action, joined by Indian-American artist KSHMR, otherwise known as Niles Hollowell-Dhar, Oliver Heldens, and other bands and solo artists whose names have not yet been revealed as they are yet to confirm their presence.

Mostly electro-pop, techno, synth and club music, curtain-up on the main festival is at 15.00.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ANOTHER hotel in the series of 16 planned for Estepona's 'Garden of the Costa del Sol' project has opened – this time in the central Plazoleta Ortiz, with 36 bedrooms.

The Málaga-province coastal town launched plans to build a string of independent, or 'boutique' hotels throughout the main hub, aimed at attracting visitors seeking 'town tourism' as well as, or instead of, the usual beach holidays, given that Estepona's stunning beauty as a municipality tends to be overlooked when it is just seen as somewhere to bask in the sun and get a tan.

With 16 of these hotels eventually set to open, the most recent, Hotel Estepona Plaza, is based in an existing building in the old town which has been refurbished, with a roof-top swimming pool, 36 bedrooms over seven storeys, panoramic views across the whole of the historic quarter, and a café and restaurant on the ground floor.

As part of the overall plan to attract visitors to the town itself, the 'Garden of the Costa del Sol' project has involve a complete revamp, repair and upgrade of 130 streets in the centre.

So far, this and the 16 hotels now ready to open have involved investment of over €40 million, but on the whole, have not involved any buildings constructed from scratch.

Estepona's hotel network, until now, was mainly based upon the modern seafront block design, but these 16 quaint and attractive new 'boutique-style' structures are 'completely different to anything the town had before', the council explains.

The intention was to 'do up' old buildings in the historic quarter, restoring them, giving them a new life and purpose, especially those which were in ruins, abandoned or generally in a poor state.

As well as making the town look more attractive and reviving its historic architecture, the hotels' location means they are perfectly placed for guests to pop out to local cafés, bars and restaurants, offering a trade boost to business-owners in the heart of Estepona town rather than just those close to the beach.

The project has also incurred considerable savings for the council and investment for local property owners – proprietors of ancient, unused and crumbling old-town buildings were keen for them to be renovated and put to use, meaning Estepona and its visitors and traders benefit from them, but the buildings remain in the original owners' hands, now worth considerably more.

Others, belonging to chains, have recently opened near the beach and in the town itself, including Ikos Andalusia – the first-ever top-end all-inclusive branch of the Greek hotel firm – El Pilar, in the heart of Estepona town, and the Mett Hotel & Beach Resort, a five-star complex right on the beach set to open this coming year.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

EASTER'S now over for another year, but the sweet treats filling supermarket shelves and bakery display units will still be around for a few days yet, and probably at reduced prices for clearance.

Depending upon where you live, this might include the usual chocolate eggs and bunnies – much less prolific in Spain than in the Anglo-Saxon nations, but there are always a small handful on sale – or monas, which are doughy loops coated in hundreds-and-thousands, or sugar sprinkles, with a painted hard-boiled egg in the middle.

More popular still are the ones with a foil-covered hollow chocolate egg in the centre and, if you have a degree in engineering, you might even be able to assemble the plastic toy inside (no doubt, if you're a parent or grandparent, you'll have had to acquire this skill by default, and discovered failure is not an option), and the ones which disappear the fastest not only have the chocolate egg, but the whole cake is coated in chocolate. 

There's no truth in the claim that they're quite filling and one is enough to satisfy you. 

Monas are more typically associated with the Comunidad Valenciana and Catalunya, on the east coast, but can be found elsewhere.

Torrijas, or sweet, eggy, sugary French toast, are an Easter staple in Madrid, and other regions have their own, individual confectionery for the spring holidays.

When shops run out of their overstocks, many of these are fairly easy to whip up yourself – so if you were in the wrong region to indulge in your favourites this year, it's time to get baking.

Unusually, for Easter 2022, typical seasonal sweet stuff in the shops along with monas and chocolate eggs have included fresh and candied dates, kalb el-louz 'almond hearts', and other semolina-and-honey cakes and pastries – for the first time in many years, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan has fallen right across Easter.

Ramadan is the ninth lunar month, rather than a calendar month, so it goes back around 10 days a year – having been in high summer over most of the 2010s, the daytime fasting and prayer followed by post-sunset family meals is not due to take place over the shortest days of winter until the beginning of the next decade.

But while Easter confectionery will only be in the shops for a few more days, until existing stocks reach their use-by dates, Ramadan goodies will be in abundant supply in Muslim-run grocery stores until around May 2 or 3, when the final day's celebration, Eid ul-Fitr, is expected to take place.

Madrid's torrijas: Capital Easter confectionery 

Until relatively recently, torrijas were not an Easter thing. They are thought to have been found in Latin recipe collections drawn up in the fourth or fifth centuries and spread to Spain, France and the UK during the Middle Ages, not becoming a dessert-type dish until at least the 16th century.

They originally became popular as a recovery snack for women just after giving birth – along with a glass of wine – due to their high energy content, and it is also for this reason that they became an Easter staple.

WHEREVER you are in Spain at Easter, it's hard to miss the multiple references to one of the key moments in the Christian Bible – that of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection – and, including if you're of a different faith or even an atheist, the re-enactments of the tragedy and joy are powerful, moving and fascinating.

It's not only Christians who find biblical legend intriguing and enigmatic, of course. Modern literary thrillers themed on Church-based mysteries and symbolism have long topped the bestseller list in book stores: Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code was an instant hit; in Spain, too, where his female counterpart, Alicante-born Matilde Asensi, has kept book-lovers gripped for decades with her most famous works such as The Last Cato, Checkmate in Amber and Everything Under the Sky.

The first of these, still her most widely-acclaimed, centred on a fast-paced detective trail unleashed by the discovery of pieces of the original cross, or vera cruz in Spanish, upon which Jesus was crucified – and the author would have had plenty of inspiration and sources of research in her home country, especially given that a fairly close to a popular coastal tourism, expat and second-home destination is reputed to house to one of these very pieces.

Pilgrim magnets for thousands of years

In the Christian tradition, five cities worldwide are officially considered 'holy', and have been the end goal of pilgrims for centuries; once, through the pull of the faith alone, and now also for hikers, tourists, history-lovers and culture fans.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NEARLY half the people in Spain who rent their homes would rather be owner-occupiers, although fewer than one in five young adults leaving the family nest for the first time will be moving straight into a property they have bought, according to recent research.

In a country where the home-owning tradition has long been overwhelmingly the dominant choice – at any one time, around eight in 10 adults not living with their parents are in houses or flats they own, with or without a mortgage – renting has increased in recent times among the young, especially where they want to guarantee they will be able to relocate easily for jobs.

According to the Spain Youth Council (CJE) in its Independent Living Observatory study, a total of 59.2% of first-time home-leavers move into rented accommodation, and just 17.4% buy their first dwelling.

How old are Spanish adults when they buy their first home?

Despite residential property continuing to be very affordable in most of Spain, even in highly-popular areas such as cosmopolitan coasts and large cities, becoming a first-time buyer remains difficult: Mortgage providers typically only lend up to 80% of the purchase price or market value, whichever is the lower, and buyers have to budget for a further 12.5% approximately to cover fees and taxes.

Fees are normally less than the 12.5% when buying outright, without a mortgage.

For a second or subsequent property, mortgages are usually capped at 60% loan-to-value.

Colliers Consultants, in their recent research report on first-time buyers across the continent – European Residential on the Rise – reveals the average age of a person in Spain purchasing a home for the first time is 41.

This is higher than the European average of 34, and also higher than approximately 20 years ago when Spaniards would typically be aged 33 the first time they exchanged contracts on a property – around the same, back then, as it was in the UK.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AFTER a long spell of low pressure and, in coastal areas, constant and frequently heavy rain, the Met office has confirmed the long bank holiday weekend will be very springlike – and, in some parts of the country, more like early summer.

The entire nation is looking forward to seeing or joining in its first Good Friday parades since before the pandemic – and, on the Mediterranean especially, the first in four years, given that a last-minute downpour put paid to the 2019 processions in many towns.

And the good news is that these haunting, emotive and unsettling marches (pictured above) are, at last, almost a certainty for Easter 2022, given that mostly-dry climates and sharply-rising temperatures are on the cards almost everywhere in Spain.

The Canary Islands will see the mercury rise to as much as 32ºC, particularly in Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Tenerife – about as high as it gets in a 'standard' high summer – whilst in the south and south-west of the mainland, it could hit 30ºC between Thursday and Monday.

Sunday and Monday will be the warmest days in most of the country, with some of the highest temperatures on the mainland seen in the provinces of Sevilla, Córdoba and Badajoz.

Rain is not entirely off the forecast, according to the State meteorological agency, AEMET – areas of low pressure may persist on the eastern seaboard, particularly in Catalunya and in the south of the Comunidad Valenciana, with possible severe cloudbursts.

These are not expected to affect the Friday evening parades, and any rain on the east of the mainland and in the Balearic Islands from Friday onwards will generally be light and short-lived.

Wet weather is mainly expected in the early hours of Friday, after which a cloudless, sunny sky could see temperatures rise to between 22ºC and 26ºC.

AEMET says the thermometer will break the 20ºC barrier in Madrid and Barcelona, and cross the 25ºC threshold in the south-western Andalucía province of Huelva.

Calm, stable weather conditions are predicted from Saturday to Monday inclusive, meaning the Sunday morning Reencuentro, or 'Reunion' – a symbolic meeting between the Virgin Mary and her newly-resurrected son Jesus Christ, serenaded by joyful music, doves of peace, and sweets and flower petals raining down – should go ahead as scheduled everywhere in Spain.

Occasional spells of heavy rain in inland parts at high altitudes may be experienced over these three days, but will not last long.

Generally, there will be very little unsettlement in weather conditions anywhere in the country over the long weekend, and temperatures will average around 5ºC to 10ºC higher than usual for the time of year.

'Beach weather' is unlikely – except in parts of southern Spain without a coast – but the climate will feel closer to the latter half of spring than it has since the equinox marking the change of season on March 21.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

RATHER like tortilla with or without onions or, if you're British, Marmite, hardly anyone is 'neither here nor there' about the late-1990s sitcom Friends. 

You either had the telly on and the phone off the hook half an hour beforehand in anticipation and would cancel your own wedding if it clashed with the latest episode, or you'd switch channels in disgust and would happily watch three hours of back-to-back washing powder ads in a minority language from the opposite hemisphere than sit through three minutes of Joey, Chandler, Rachel et al.

Probably more polarised than a general election in any western country, the Friends versus Non-Friends camps would, nevertheless, be hard-pushed to disagree that the Central Perk was the most famous fictional café in the universe.

Even the washing-powder-ad faction would instantly recognise that famous orangey-red sofa and low-slung wooden table with Jennifer Aniston in front of a coffee cup.

Given the chance to take a selfie on that same sofa, Team Detergent would probably give in to the temptation, even if they never admitted to it or pretended the subject of the photo was their hitherto-unintroduced twin.

And now, whether you're a Friends nerd or a channel-switcher-over, you (or your twin) can do just that: In Madrid's Warner Park.

Friends with Perks

We can't promise Phoebe, Monica, Ross and pals will be there, too – which might be a bad or a good thing depending upon which extreme of the Friends spectrum you occupy – but Warner Park in Spain's capital has, however, promised that its very-own Central Perk is a complete clone of the original and that you wouldn't know the difference if nobody told you first.

And as well as lounging around with a cuppa as though you're just another member of Lisa Kudrow's and Courtney Cox's gang, the Friendzone includes a souvenir shop where you can buy authentic, authorised and official memorabilia to show the world that no-one else can ever achieve your dizzy peaks of fan-hood - or as presents for a fellow fan of unachievable peaks of dizziness to ensure they'll be your best Friend forever.

Or perhaps as the perfect gift for your worst enemy, if you happen to know they're more Laundromat than Matt LeBlanc.

Central to a milestone Warner birthday

Madrid's Warner Park turns 20 this year, and the replica Central Perk and tied gift shop is part of its celebrations – along with two new water-park rides in the Warner Beach section, an extra rollercoaster due to open in 2023 and, as one of Warner Bros' cutest characters, Tweety-Pie, will be joining the complex in marking a 'zero' birthday, a huge mural of the big-footed, big-eyed little yellow birdie is now in place, showing he's wearing very well for an 80-year-old.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

GLADIATORS are about to land in Alicante city in time for Easter – a huge interactive exhibition on these Ancient Roman warriors will open at the MARQ archaeological museum on Wednesday.

One of the east-coast metropolitan area's key visitor attractions – along with the Lucentum Roman ruins within the grounds – the MARQ has acquired 140 major artefacts from eight museums in Italy for this fascinating display, which will be open until October 16.

Titled Gladiators: Heroes of the Colisseum, complete with audio-visual elements and information boards, the exhibition will 'debunk myths' surrounding these iconic historical fighters, according to the MARQ.

Original pieces on show will include helmets and other body armour worn by the gladiators themselves over 2,000 years ago – and faithful replicas to show them intact - and murals in relief showing battle scenes, from the doomed city of Pompei which was buried in lava when Vesuvius erupted.

MARQ management explains the exhibition is a lifelike one that visitors can totally immerse themselves in – almost an indoor theme park – and assures it will be hugely exciting for day-trippers and tourists of all ages, even young children.

They are keen to eradicate 'pre-conceived ideas' about gladiators from 'Hollywood films' and TV contests, and show the public 'who they really were'.

In reality, gladiatorial activity was fairly violent, involving re-enacted battles that would be a little too authentic-looking for a 21st-century audience, and bare-handed scuffles with wild animals, such as lions, to show off their bravery and strength.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ANYONE living in the Orihuela Costa area who is not yet fluent in Spanish can improve their skills – or learn the language from scratch – free of charge in a month-long course starting after Easter.

Taking place every day from Tuesday, April 19 to Thursday, May 19 inclusive, classes are two hours long and tailored specifically to the needs of residents who are concerned with learning to communicate in ordinary, on-the-street situations that they face daily, whilst providing the background and structure to the language to enable them to get creative and expand their conversation under their own steam as they get confident.

A greater variety and scope of topics and more complex conversation will be introduced for higher levels.

For those who are starting out from zero, or near-zero, classes run from 14.00 to 16.00 every weekday.

Those who feel they would not benefit from a beginners' class and want to start learning to say what they want to say, not just what they are able to say, can join the upper-elementary and pre-intermediate class which runs from 16.00 to 18.00, Monday to Friday.

And for those who want to perfect an already sound working knowledge, the intermediate and advanced session is from 18.00 to 20.00 – evenings, so that those who work and want to improve their Spanish for their jobs can join lessons after they clock off.

After a month's worth of daily, two-hour classes, even the least-confident and most-cautious learner will make considerable progress, by default – most adults grappling with a new language are worried about their ability to remember what they have been taught, but the key to fluency is constant repetition.

If memory is an issue, you might have to repeat each new bit you learn more often, or over a longer time, and these new bits might have to come in smaller chunks, but the process eventually becomes habit-forming – no differently to learning any other skill, knowledge or set of vocabulary, such as how to use Facebook or SmartPhones.

After all, none of us knew what an 'App' was 20 years ago, or a QR code, or a USB port, or what downloading or uploading meant, and this terminology is now part of our everyday speech.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MASKS will no longer be compulsory in indoor areas anywhere in Spain from April 20, although many members of the public say they will keep wearing them.

Given that the incidence of Covid-19 has improved dramatically and medical workers report that those who catch it are very unlikely to need hospital treatment if they have been vaccinated unless they have pre-existing physical conditions, Spain's government has opted to drop the requirement to use face coverings behind closed doors once Easter is over.

Some exceptions will apply – masks must still be worn on public transport, including in taxis, and also in any medical centres such as GP surgeries, hospitals, day-care or rehabilitation centres, nursing homes and other sheltered accommodation.

The requirement applies to the general public as well as those working in these areas.

Health minister Carolina Darías says these exceptions largely translate to places where 'vulnerable' people are most likely to be – the elderly, sick or both – but says they will no longer be necessary for schools.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S president Pedro Sánchez has announced a €11 billion investment in manufacturing microchips and semi-conductors in a bid to reactivate the motor manufacturing sector.

According to industry sources, the global microchip crisis has delayed the production of over half a million new cars in Spain, a situation affecting various makes and models.

These are also a 'basic element in all energy sectors', Sánchez explained when opening this week's 'Wake Up, Spain' forum organised by daily newspaper El Español.

“Microchips take on a geo-strategic significance at worldwide level as part of the digital and technological revolution,” the nation's leader recalled.

“And Spain is not going to lose the race when it comes to advanced technology.”

Known as a 'Strategic Economic Transformation and Recovery Project' (PERTE), the microchip and semi-conductor manufacturing plan will 'put the country at the cutting edge of industrial and technological progress', Sánchez said on his Twitter site, @sanchezcastejon.

Semi-conductors are tiny elements needed for most modern-day devices, not least mobile phones, and a global shortage is holding up manufacturing and retail of goods which, nowadays, are essential for business, personal communication, transport and energy.

The most recent report from the World Semi-conductor Trade Sector (WSTS) reveals a turnover of nearly US$551 billion in the market for these elements as at the end of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 25%, and predicts similar figures for the close of 2022.

By the end of this year, the world semi-conductor market is expected to have grown by 10.1% annually, rising to almost US$607bn.

SPANISH tennis has a new rising star: The first man ever to win the Miami Masters 1000, a complete outsider less than a year ago and now starting to make the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer tremble in their trainers.

Carlos Alcaraz, at just 18 years old, is only the second Spaniard to clinch the Miami title after 1995 Wimbledon winner Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, and his meteoric rise to success has seen him soar from world number 133 in spring 2021 to number 11 now.

A pupil of legendary Spanish player Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz's win on Sunday means he is just one slot away from joining Rafa Nadal in the ATP top 10, where the Mallorca-born ace is currently the only Spaniard.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BRIGHT skies and warm weather may not have been our only reason for moving to Spain, or even have figured among our top 50 priority reasons, but they certainly help.

Even if you're not a fan of intense heat, it somehow improves a deep-winter morning chill when the heavens are lit up in a radiant, gleaming blue; sunshine might not change the fact that it's -7ºC, but lifts your spirits a little whilst watching your fingers turn to icicles and snap off one by one.

Of course, for some parts of Spain, -7ºC would make international front-page news, although in others, it's no more headline-grabbing than the fact Mondays come straight after the weekend, but that depends upon where you are and, contrary to widespread misconception, there's literally a climate in Spain for any preference – settling here for 'the weather' could just as easily mean your objective was guaranteed snow as it could finding a place where coats were unnecessary for 10 months of the year.

And our lives basically revolve around the sun, even if we live in the Arctic Circle. The sun tells us what day of the week and month of the year it is, and what time of day. It helps crops grow so we can eat – yes, that includes deep-fried chips with tomato ketchup washed down with a pint of beer and a kilo of chocolate for dessert; the main ingredients in all these come from the soil – and even affects our natural skin tone. It's said that the earliest humans, if they lived close enough to the sea to be able to feast off shellfish, got enough vitamin D from their diet, so they were of a darker complexion; those who did not became paler so as to absorb the rays more and get this vital nutrient.

As a sun-worshipping species, it helps to know where we'll get the most of it. And to lead us to the bright lights and soothing thermal comfort, travel accommodation portal Holidu has been busy doing some homework: Compiling a list of the sunniest cities in Europe.

Guess which country the majority of them are in?

Sunseekers don't have to search too hard in Spain

Of the top 10 cities in Europe with the most sunshine, six are in Spain, and of the top 15, a total of 10 are in Spain. So, consistently between a half and two-thirds – despite the fact it's only one of many countries in the south of the continent.

In the top 30 list, Spain's total is 12 – a lower percentage of the whole ranking, but that's because its entries are nearly all close to the peak of the sunny standings – also, it's the country which features the most, pipping Italy at the post with 11.

No other nation gets near Spain or Italy – Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria and Albania each have one entry, and France has two.

And, as well as hogging three-quarters of the top four, Spain, as you'd have expected, takes the number one slot.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A MUST for fans of motorhomes, campervans, static or towing caravans, Barcelona's huge global trade fair dedicated to holidays on the road has been confirmed for 2022 after the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to the previous two.

Over 600 brand-new makes and models of all types of caravan, from the basic one-room campsite versions that hook onto the back of an average-sized family saloon car through to the height of luxury rivalling top hotels, will be on display at 'Barcelona Fira', or trade fair centre.

At least 130 companies catering for all caravan needs have confirmed their presence.

Taking place in the Gran Vía complex at Barcelona Fira between October 16 and 24, the Salón del Caravaning, as the fair is known, will take up nearly 7.5 acres of space.

The largest of these will be for towing caravans and motorhomes, with 20 or so companies exhibiting.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A PERFECTLY-PRESERVED Mediaeval castle close to the Costa Brava is up for sale, and could be yours for a mere €11 million.

Foixà (Girona province) is home to the 1,696-square-metre (18,256-square-foot) sandstone-coloured, four-square, turreted building, which has been renovated for living in, even with glass windows.

It sits on a small hill, on a 1.2-acre gated and walled-in site, complete with beautiful ornamental gardens and terraces, a swimming pool with showers and changing rooms, a jacuzzi, and an 'outdoor kitchen' with a barbecue area.

Unsurprisingly, it holds 'heritage interest asset' status, or BIC, which has guaranteed its ongoing protection and conservation.

Foixà Castle includes parts originally built in the 13th and 17th centuries, but has been fully restored and refurbished to make it very comfortable and habitable.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com