Wednesday 25 April 2007

The best restaurant in the world is Spanish


Ferrán Adrià’s restaurant called El Bulli near Girona has been rated as the best restaurant in the world for the second year running according to Restaurant, a prestigious food magazine. El Bulli received a majority vote from the 651 judges who participated in the survey.
This means that once again El Bulli is at the top of the list of the best 50 restaurants in the world, which includes another 5 Spanish restaurants. In fact El Bulli has not dropped lower than third place over the last 6 years and has now been at the top of the list 3 times in 2001, 2006 and this year. Mugarit Restaurant in Rentería, Guipuzcoa rated 7th, Arzak Restaurant in San Sebastian, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona rated 10th, Can Fabes, de Sant Celoni in Barcelona rated 22nd and Martin Berasategui in Lasarte, Guipúzcoa rated 27th are the other Spanish restaurants on the list.
The Brazilian restaurant DOM in São Paulo in 38th place is the only Latin American restaurant to get onto the list of the 50 best restaurants according to the magazine Restaurant. Last year it came 50th. France with 12 restaurants on the list, the US with 8 and the UK with 7 were above Spain which occupied 4th place together with Italy which also had 6 restaurants on the list.

Thursday 19 April 2007

32nd America's Cup


Following a winter of training and preparing their boats the 11 teams are preparing for their definitive test - their challenge for the right to compete against the Swiss team, the Alinghi, winners of last year’s American Cup in this year’s competition. On Tuesday just gone, the 11 boats were to leave the port of Valencia for the last boat race before the hopefuls compete against each other in the Louis Vuitton cup but light conditions (read no wind) have delayed things so far.

The Alinghi team will train alone in preparation for the final later on. Most of the 11 teams will compete in new boats built in accordance with the most recent rules, approved during the winter break. The team from New Zealand, winners of last year’s season are preparing to compete using the latest technology. According to Terry Hutchinson, the strategist for the New Zealand team, the teams which competed in old boats last year but with good teams will have increased their chances of winning considerably.With a Chinese team and a team representing Asia and Africa (the Shosholoza) the 22nd American Cup is the first time that 5 continents will compete for the oldest trophy in the history of the sport. There are 3 other Italian teams taking part together with the BMW Oracle team representing the US and teams from Germany, Spain, Switzerland, France and New Zealand.

La Zagaleta and Polaris World


La Zagaleta Golf and Country Club is one of the most exclusive places to be found in Spain. The wonderful views and incomparable residential facilities speak for themselves. In this tranquil setting, a new way of life lies waiting to be discovered.Impressive villas on plots ranging from 3000m2 to 10,000m2, provide unrivalled privacy for residents. All this is set amidst a sea of greenery which is home to deer and mountain sheep. A protected habitat where animals can enjoy nature in its virgin state.
This residential complex is to be found on the Costa del Sol, close to Marbella and 60km from Malaga. The almost 900 hectares sit comfortably in the foothills of the Serranía de Ronda, ensuring visitors and residents alike enjoy breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, the Gibraltar Straits and the coast of Africa.
La Zagaleta is a project in tune with the values that define Polaris World. For this reason, Polaris World has decided to form a part of the project, building properties in this earthly paradise.
Watch this space for prices.

Wednesday 18 April 2007

New "super resort" in Murcia looks likely to go ahead

THE largest purpose built tourist resort in Europe is to be constructed on unspoilt coastline in Murcia, Spain.
Politicians from the region’s ruling Partido Popular party have declassified 11,000 hectares of once protected, virgin coastline to accommodate plans for a huge scale project that will see homes for 60,000 people built.
Central Government, environmentalists and worried local residents are appealing to courts to stop work on the development that will also see five golf courses and 22,000 hotel beds built in the Cabo de Cope-Puntas de Calnegre Regional Park, near the border with Andalusia.
However, judges in Murcia have warned the project will go ahead even if opponents to the project are successful in their appeal as Cope has lost its Natural Park status.
The Government of Murcia has been studying plans to declassify the land since 2001, when the regional Land Law was passed. Critics of this law claim an amendment was added at the eleventh hour that changed the status of thousands of hectares of Murcia coastline.
The exact scale of the declassification is yet unknown but experts at Murcia University claim as much as 14,000 hectares of wild coastline is set to be lost under the law.
The regional Government denies the figure is so high, placing their estimates at 7,000 hectares.
In addition to the homes for 60,000 people, the Marina de Cope project will include 22,000 hotel beds, five golf courses and an artificial marina with room for 2,000 boats. Costing more than 3,800 million euros, the complex will occupy 2,156 hectares, 1,843 of which lost their protected status in 2001.
The regional government has defended its decision, claiming Marina de Cope is of regional interest. The socialist PSOE council of Lorca and the PP conservatives of nearby Águilas have also thrown their weight behind the plan.
According to todosaguilas.com, the latter town’s council website, Marina de Cope will “increase the tourism in the south of Murcia. It will follow a model of quality development and sustainability.”
Madrid and local groups made up of environmentalists and worried residents have appealed to judges at the Supreme Court of Murcia to stop the declassification of land that will allow the project to go ahead.
Local chef David Sánchez said: “The regional government has not considered the environment when they decided to declassify the land. The developers will get a lot of money out of this and the poor will pay.”
Some locals are in favour of the multi-million project. Concha Conejero, a nurse from Murcia, said: “There is a lot of interest in the Murcia coast. If these construction projects create money and employment for people in run-down towns like Aguilas then I am in favour.”
Cope is known by locals as the jewel in Murcia’s crown. Within the Cabo de Cope-Puntas de Calnegre Park, there are eight habitats protected by the European Union.
The area is also home to one of the few remaining populations of spur thigh tortoise (Testudo graeca) in Spain.
Its vegetation is similar to that found at Cabo de Gata, 100 kilometres to the south: dry scrub, semi-desert conditions. However, the area is valuable to construction companies as it contains some of the few remaining kilometres of Mediterranean coastline untouched by development.
A large part of the area in which Marina de Cope is projected was owned by energy company Iberdrola, whose officials had wanted to build a nuclear power station there 25 years ago.
Then in 2004, the company sold 40 per cent of the 328 hectares it owns at Cope to banks Cajamurcia, Bancaja and Caja Castilla-La Mancha for 36 million euros.
The immediate area has also witnessed the opening of a new multi-million-euro dual carriageway recently. The AP7 links Vera in Almería with Cartagena in Murcia. Hugging the Mediterranean coast, the road passes close to where huge scale construction is scheduled to take place. Besides Cope, housing estates and hotel developments are planned for the coastal villages of Los Lobos, Ramonete and Las Palas.
Julia Martínez of Ecologistas en Accion has no doubts the road is, primarily, for La Marina de Cope: “They wanted to build this road for the largest tourist resort in Europe. It conflicts with the sustainability of the coast.”
A deal to build a new international airport 15 kilometres from the city of Murcia was also made on March 30.
Story from the olive press.es

Friday 13 April 2007

Get a head start with e-mail and text property alerts


A few recent articles in the British press over the Easter brought to my attention the fact that London based real estate agents are using SMS texts to put property in front of potential buyers, all as part of the service to help buyers find a home.
Will that mean that the days of leafing through portfolios of property listings and/or spending weekends looking in windows will disappear? Maybe.
I understand that in the current market, buyers in London have to move like lightning to snap up their ideal home. Here in Spain, things as you are well aware do move a bit slower but watch this space as we at Ultimate Homes plan to go mobile too ..... soon;)

Tinsa €/m2