Marbella with Him & Her

Welcome to the latest episode of Marbella with Him & Her, your weekly update on things that have happened in Marbella and San Pedro de Alcantara over the past week, brought to you by husband and wife expats PJ Lopez (@pjlopez1marbella) and Hannah Murray (@radiohannah). If you have not listened before, PJ is a digital marketer and Hannah is a radio presenter on Talk Radio Europe and a TV presenter on Good Morning Spain. They both moved to Spain in 2003. They co-founded a popular guide to San Pedro (@sanpedromarbellaguide) and enjoy sharing their ups and downs of expat life in Marbella via this podcast. It was San Pedro Feria week last week which started with a parade of stilt walkers, flamenco dancers and inflatable bulls. It was the first time in many years that there was no rain during the feria and also the first time in years PJ had not attended. Hannah on the other hand went Friday with friends Adrienne, Aoife, and Meadhbh where she says they enjoyed some rides, although their faces seemed to say the opposite. They also had the obligatory buñuelos (mini doughnuts). On Saturday Hannah went again with another friend, Maria who was visiting from Portugal. They started the evening with tapas at La Fria before heading up to get the bus. Getting to and from the feria from San Pedro centre was easy as there was a free bus service in operation with buses every 20 minutes. Another feria first this year was Hannah actually winning a prize in the bingo! Meanwhile PJ was otherwise engaged doing the sound and lighting for a very successful run of Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Crime written by David Tristram and performed by the International Theatre Studio (@internationaltheatrestudio). Some interview highlights last week that Hannah did on her radio show included interviewing Irish national treasure Mattress Mick (@mattressmicks). Not being Irish we did not know who he was but it seems that ALL of our Irish friends, and pretty much everyone in Ireland know exactly who he is as he is somewhat of a legend. She also interviewed an interesting author called Anne Abel (@annesimaabel) about her book High Hopes and her sudden introduction to a concert which resulted in her following Bruce Springsteen across Australia. Followers of Marbella with Him & Her will be aware of Hannah's weekly exercise classes (Bootcamp Pilates, Body Combat and Thursday gym). However, she was invited to try a class at Iron Body Fitness (@ironbodyfit.marbellacentro) last week which involved stripping off and getting into a suit rigged up with electric pulses. Listen to find out how she got on. On Sunday afternoon along with some friends, they were booked in to take part in the Rotary Club Marbella Treasure Hunt around San Pedro in aid of World Polio Day. Their competitive spirit shone through as their team Hogan's Hunters (as they are all regulars at the Hogan Stand), won the treasure hunt. Find out what goodies they won! Sur in English articles this week include Spain tourism being promoted through the USA, new records for Malaga Airport passengers, the northen lights possibly being visible in southern Spain, decreasing cinema attendences and the extension of the BBQ ban.

After a crazy week in Bucharest it is good to be back in Marbella and getting back to routines. Hannah was straight back to Pilates and was pleased to be back to her fitness regime. Hannah also shares her disappointment about another reading she had. She was also back to some great interviews on Talk Radio Europe, the first of which was with someone they have both seen perform in many Salon Varietes shows. Regan Bailey Walker was a standout performer at Salon and has gone on to perform in the West End in some amazing musicals as well as appearing in Eastenders. She popped into the TRE studios to have a chat with Hannah about her career so far which included recently being in Evita with Rachel Zegler at The London Palladium. They had a busy weekend of food starting on Friday by entertaining Sheila's friends who were visiting from Belfast and the UK.  Sadly, both Shelia and Bernie (Hannah's father) were not very well so the ladies went to Hannah & PJ for a paella feast and some great chat. On Saturday PJ cooked stuffed cabbage leaves, a dish they enjoyed in Romania. Hannah tells a funny story about a mosquito in the car and a spooky radio message just after PJ managed to squash it. Sur in English articles this week include two Malaga chefs being recognised at the best chef awards, Dani Garcia and Benito Gomez, who own restaurants that they have eaten in. One more recently in Ronda called Bardal where they had an amazing tasting menu. This weekend the much talked about EES system rolls out at airports, starting in Madrid but not yet at Malaga airport as they are using a gradual roll out. They also discuss a stormfront that has hit Spain called Storm Alice which has caused downpours and flooding in Ibiza and parts of the Costa Blanca. Don't forget to follow the podcast on your favourite podcast app and also you can keep up to date with Hannah on Instagram @radiohannah and PJ at @pjlopez1marbella

Welcome to the latest episode of Marbella with Him & Her, your weekly podcast from expat couple PJ Lopez (@pjlopez1marbella) and Hannah Murray (@radiohannah). The weekend started with a Good Morning Spain photoshoot for Hannah, a BBQ at Rachel and Gerry's house with some great food and company. They left a little earlier than would have normally been the case as they still had to pack for their trip to Bucharest and prepare for the monthly quiz at Urban Chai. It was straight home from the quiz for a couple of hours sleep before heading to the airport for an early flight. They have some great tips on Malaga airport parking and PJ shares his packing tips, which still seems to astound Hannah! After a 3.5 hour flight they arrived at the airport in Bucharest and jumped in an Uber. They quickly established that Uber and Bolt were much cheaper than normal taxis, with the trip from the airport to the city centre costing just over €10. After getting their bearings having done some sightseeing on the jump on jump off bus, they went out to the old town and found a bar, which happened to be an Irish bar. After refuelling they had a bit of an explore and ended up having Greek gyros on their first night! They managed to pack in quite a lot over the next few days which included finding the clinic founded by Hannah's childhood heroine, former gymnast Nadia Comaneci (the first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10 at the Olympics). Hannah was thrilled and emotional and even managed to form a few gymnast poses! Food was a big part of the trip so they went on the hunt for some traditional Romanian food which included soup at Ciorbarie (@ciorbarie), lunch in Brasov in restaurant Ograba which included the famous Romanian dessert Papanasi, a meal at the famous restaurant Caru cu Bere (@carucubere) and a meal in the oldest restaurant in Romania (200 years old) Hanu lui Manuc (@restauranthanuluimanuc). Culture was also a huge part of their trip with visits to the interactive Communist museum, an organised trip to see Peles Castle, the stunning town of Brasov and Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle) in Transylvania. they also checked out Casa Ceausescu, the former residence of the dictator and his family, and the parliament building which is the third largest in the world behind The Pentagon in USA and Thailands new parliament building. But it still remains the heaviest building in the world. They also took some time out to relax in Europes largest indoor and outdoor spa Therme Spa and found a great British pub quiz in Mojo (@bigbritishbucharestquiz) Listen to the Podcast for more information and useful tips about visiting Bucharest. They finish up by discuss a couple of articles from The Sur in English such as new Ryan Air routes, helicopter tours in Seville and the upcoming Gibraltar literary festival

Welcome to Marbella with Him & Her, the weekly podcast about Marbella they are all talking about, hosted by Marbella expats PJ Lopez (@pjlopez1marbella) and Hannah Murray (@radiohannah). This week they headed to La Sala with their house guests Chloe and Caitlyn for some Sunday lunch (highly recommended) and then on to The Clubhouse which is their sports bar underneath La Sala. It is a great place to take visitors with or without kids. They got stuck in to some pool, karaoke, and F1 simulators, spending the entire evening there until they headed upstairs for some live music and dancing in the main salon at La Sala. The also packed in some more fun activities going bowling at Los Arqueros Golf club. It is great value when you have 6 people as it is €60 per lane for an hour. Hannah did some interesting interviews on her Talk Radio Europe radio show during the week, including Karen Wolrond who spoke about her book 'In defence of dabbling' which celebrates being an amateur. She also interviewed Charlie Barlow about his book 'Dreaming of unicorns' PJ had afterwork drinks on Friday with work colleagues at Soho Market in Guadalmina, which is a great venue for lunch or evening drinks, before getting pizza with Hannah at Provo in San Pedro, which does delicious pizzas. You can also hear the correct pronunciation of Van Gogh, having asked three Dutch people from different parts of the Netherlands. This week's Sur in English articles included Spain being voted the healthiest nation in the world, followed up with another article on the fact that Spain has the highest life expectancy within the EU countries. They also discuss the new road signs that mean there are cameras on the traffic lights so jumping the lights will be filmed. More celebrities are heading to Comicon in Malaga with the announcement of Wolverine heiress Dafne Keen now on the guest list, which already includes Arnold Schwarzenegger and Game of Thrones, Hunger Games and Wednesday star Gwendoline Christie. As always if you have any comments, please get in touch with Hannah or PJ via their Instagram accounts and make sure you hit follow on whichever podcast app you use to listen.

This week on Marbella with Him & Her PJ Lopez (@pjlopez1marbella) and Hannah Murray (@radiohannah) share their busy week of fun and news from Marbella. Having celebrated their 8th wedding anniversary, they share their amazing meal at Chef by Divot and their new love for grilled avocado! They also visited the Van Gogh experience in Estepona which was an immersive showcase of the painter's work. They found it very educational and learnt a lot of new things about Van Gogh, some of which they mention on this week’s Marbella lifestyle podcast. Hannah shares some lovely moments about Ricky Hatton and the time that she interviewed him in the studio at Talk Radio Europe. On a completely different note, she shares a very funny moment when Franny Catz was in the studio and they were talking about orgasm faces and the sun, which involves quite a faux pas! This week also saw the arrival of the daughter of Hannah's best friend at school to visit us in Marbella. Chloe arrived with her friend Caitlyn for a few days which started with Hannah taking them on a tapas crawl and then to The Hogan Stand for Happy Hour, after which they headed back home for Karaoke (and a magnum of Whispering Angel). They also discuss a few articles from the Sur in English such as it being the hottest summer since 1916. They also chat about Malaga fashion week, which boasts the longest catwalk at 300 metres long. There is some chat about the Davis cup win for the Spanish over Denmark which was held in Marbella, but an exit in the Billy Jean Cup for the women which was played in China. Remember you can keep up to date with PJ and Hannah on their Instagram accounts and listen out next week for the rest of their activities with Chloe and Caitlyn!