A (freebie) Spanish newspaper website started a "ranking" of Andalucia's beaches a few weeks ago.

The ranking works on a points system - you score each beach (or whichever ones you want to) out of a possible maximum of five points. There are 30 "nominated" beaches on the list.

Dunas de Bolonia (Cádiz)

With the London Olympics just a week away - the Opening Ceremony is next Friday - this post is going to move out of its usual geographical te

I was astonished to read recently that the Spanish government is going to oblige shops in some cities to stay open for longer hours, and double the number of Sundays and public holidays - including Malaga, Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla. When I first arrived here in Spain almost nine years ago, I found it strange that supermarkets weren't open on Sundays.

While Ferran Adria is the undisputed king of Spanish gastronomy, noone would disagree that the crown of Andalucian kitchen creativity belongs to Dani Garcia.

Romantics among you will be interested to hear about night-time visits to the Roman city of Italica, just outside Seville, which take place on weekends throughout the summer. The theme: Latin love poetry.

The Torre Pelli, and Seville's resulting endangered UNESCO World Heritage Status, is a topic I've written about often on this blog.

JOINT BLOG POST: REBEKAH THOMPSON AND FIONA FLORES WATSON

• Rebekah's view

It’s never been done before, and in spite of all the criticism and early doubts, Spain has become the first team ever to win three major competitions in a row (Euro Cup 2008 & 2012, World Cup 2010), and the first team e