We help you escape

The Olive Press Travel site has gone up to a whole new level!

AS the world descends on the costas…we’d like to give you some alternatives. For those of us lucky enough to live here, now is the perfect time to explore some of the quieter - and cooler - corners of Spain. This issue we suggest the Costa de la Luz, a world away from the sweaty bun-fights in Marbella, Javea or Torrevieja in summer.

But equally, how about the moderate climes of Galicia or the mountains of Extremadura? We have researched and published hundreds of top-quality articles over the years.

Even better, they can all be found in one place: in the travel section of the Olive Press website. Chock full of ideas of where to visit, where to stay and where to eat.

Regular visitors to our website - check out ‘Olive Press Travel’ at theolivepress.es - may have noticed a difference over the past few weeks.

things other people don’t want to do, or always ends up with the blame. Pringado can also be someone generally failing at everything and with the worst luck. It could be translated as the US English ‘loser’ or ‘sucker’ or ‘chump’.

EXAMPLE Es un pringado, no le tienes que dar pena. (He’s just a loser, you don’t need to feel bad for him.)

11. Desgraciado This is an insult many Spanish people take immense pride in saying. There’s little worse than being a desgraciado or ‘wretch’. The word literally means ‘without grace’ and will generally be hurled in the direction of anyone acting without care or concern for others.

EXAMPLE Olvídalo, no es más que un desgraciado. Forget about him, he’s no more than a wretch.

12. Cabrón

Literally this essential Spanish insult means a male goat. If you’re not aware, male goats can be either aggressive or careless or annoying or all three.

A very common insult in Spain that can also be used to insult someone you’re envious of.

EXAMPLE

¿Has visto que el cabrón tiene un Range Rover? Vamos a pincharle las ruedas.

(Did you see the male goat now has a Range Rover? Let’s puncture his tyres.)

We have brought on board well respected travel writer Sorrel Downer - whose work is often featured in the Guardian - to drive the site on.

Ensuring it is full of not just excellent photos and well-informed articles but also useful information for any would-be traveller.

Tips on the most interesting museums to visit to reviews of the country’s best restaurants and hotels, the Olive Press always sends out staff and contributors to actually visit the places they write about.

This makes our site authoritative in a way that cut-and-paste merchants from lazier websites can’t hope to match.

At the moment we have two interns from America’s Princeton University - Isabel Max and Regina Roberts - who are sharing their journeys around Spain with our readers (you can read about their trip to Tarifa in this issue.)

Many more journeys are lined up in the coming weeks including special spots to cool down for a cooling dip, a trip to Nerja and a Best of the Islands special, plus much more.

This top quality content has not gone unnoticed among travel writers.

Indeed, seasoned author Paul Richardson is so impressed that he has agreed to serialise his latest book, Hidden Valleys, about life in Extremadura, in the Olive Press this summer - a real honour for us.

So what are you waiting for? Visit theolivepress.es and the whole of Spain is at your fingertips.

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:

1- Around 200 members of a rainbow hippy family kicked out from Andalucia’s major national park

2- A VICTIM’S PLEA to Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner: You’re a loser. I survived and am loved and free

● BALLAST is one of those unusual words that is both a noun and a verb. The definition of the noun is heavy material (e.g. rock, soil, or iron) placed in such a way as to improve stability, control and balance. As a verb, it means to steady or fill in.

● BACALAO al Pil Pil is a Basque regional specialty with a fascinating story of origin. During the Second Carlist War (1846) a restaurateur named Simon Gurtubay ordered 20 to 22 Norwegian cod. There was a mix-up and he received 20,022 Norwegian cod. By coincidence, the order arrived on the eve of the Siege of Bilbao. Having only a few simple ingredients to hand (namely olive oil, garlic and peppers), he not only concocted his famous recipe, he helped save the city from starvation!

3- Rejected Schengen visa applicants lash out at ‘merciless’ Spain and other countries

4-Shark sighting forces bathers out of water at Costa Blanca beach in Spain

5- IN PICS: Costa del Sol in the 1970s

FLOATING: Violette

Enchanting display

MADRID was treated to a unique and enchanting display when French pianist Violette Prevost captivated hundreds with a floating piano performance.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, a mesmerised audience gathered around the Pradolongo artificial lake in Usera to witness an extraordinary concert.

Ethereal

The renowned musical ensemble known as Piano du Lac orchestrated the event, their only stop in central Madrid during their summer tour across Spain. Prevost took to her ethereal floating stage and blended classical melodies with contemporary compositions.