Marbella with Him & Her

Hogan Stand sponsors and Halloween in Marbella

Welcome to another fun episode of Marbella with Him & Her, the weekly podcast from Marbella. He is PJ Lopez, and she is Hannah Murray, and together they are an expat married couple that bring you some husband and wife banter. This week they begin with the BIG REVEAL! They have a sponsor for the podcast, the amazing Hogan Stand pub in San Pedro (@thehoganstand) where you can go and enjoy yummy food, live music, a weekly quiz (hosted by Hannah) and live sport. They also want to thank Meadhbh for recording the advert. 
Last Sunday Hannah headed up to Fuengirola to see a friend that was performing in the Salon Varietes production of Guys and Dolls. Simon was outstanding during his solo performance and really took everyone's breath away.
The week started with Hannah's usual Pilates session at Bootcamp Pilates where she did a lot of inner thigh work, and quite frankly has not stopped moaning since. Monday evening it was the cast party for the recent production of Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Crime which was at La Grappa, an Italian restaurant in Benavista.
Hannah talks about the amazing Halloween decorations at the local gym, which included a 'dead' body hanging from the ceiling. Wednesday evening, they headed out to a restaurant they had not been to before called Fons. It was to celebrate Sheila's birthday with a lovely meal. Listen and find out how they got on.
Thursday was a special quiz night as it was the annual Halloween quiz where many of the participants dress up (to varying degrees). Hannah and PJ both went in Halloween outfits, and they explain more about them in the podcast.
Some notable interviews Hannah did on TRE this week were with one of last year's celebrity race across the world (@raceacrosstheworld) contestants Mary Ellen Moriarty (@maryellenmoriarty_) where they talked about some of the personal challenges she faced and overcame. She also chatted to Prajakta Koli (@mostlysane) who has 8.5 million followers on Instagram and is an Indian actress, author and influencer about her book Too Good To Be True.
Hannah went to Estepona on Friday, and whilst there popped into the Pie Bar (@pie_bar_estepona) and bought two amazing pies, both different types of chicken curry. She also bought some incredible tasting Cumberland sausages, all of which were made on the premises.
The day of recording this week's podcast they had both been out with friends Jamie and Bev on their regular magical mystery tour, where they arrange a day out and lunch at a secret location. This time they headed off to East of Malaga to La Cala del Moral to Cueva del Tesoro (@cuevadeltersoro) which were some privately owned caves. They then headed across the road to a stunning bar and restaurant for drinks which had the most incredible views on what was said to be the largest rooftop terrace in Malaga (@restaurantelacaliza) but were the view 360 or 180 degrees? Listen and find out!
After that they went back along the coast for lunch to a place in El Palo just outside of Malaga City to a wonderful place called El Balneario - Baños del Carmen (@elbalneariomalaga) for lunch. It was somewhere Bev had discovered when she was an extra on Jilly Cooper's Rivals.
This week's Sur in English articles include to awful story of theft from an elderly man by an unscrupulous bar owner who had stolen money from a customer's card. They also discuss customer service in Spain and a new law introducing a time limit on responses, the auction of Elliott Wright's business in La Cala, Olivia's, and tourist numbers from this year on the Costa del Sol.
 

Guinness Stew in Marbella & Tommy Cannon's stories

Welcome to the latest episode of Marbella with Him & Her, your weekly podcast bought to you by PJ Lopez and Hannah Murray. Each week they look back on events and happenings in Marbella and the Costa del Sol with some light-hearted husband and wife banter.
This week they speak about theatre on the Costa del Sol and the latest International Theatre Studio (@internationaltheatrestudio) production of Inspector Drake, in which PJ did the tech (music and lights). They also give a mention to the other English theatre group Salon Varietes (@salonvarietestheatre), where Hannah is actually heading after recording this podcast.
They also discuss flying flags and in particular the Danish and how patriotic they are when it comes to celebrations.
Hannah gives a shout out to Marbella Netball Club who are looking for more ladies to join the team @netballmarbella They play every week at Laude School grounds and also have an active social group! She also rally calls anyone that loves to sing and would like to join the choir group run by Karen Danzig called the Del Sol Singers, who are deep into rehearsals of the numerous Christmas gigs they have lined up.
They are hoping that newly arrived to Spain Andrea McLean (@andreamclean1) will be listening after she liked Hannah's message about the podcast.
Some notable interviews Hannah did this week on her show on Talk Radio Europe included interviewing Oscar Wilde's grandson Mervin Holland about his book 'The Legacy of a Scandal', where they spoke about Oscar's sexuality and how thankfully things are so different now. She also speaks about her interview with the amazing Tommy Cannon who had lots of great stories about how he and Bobby Ball met and started their double act. There is a particularly good story about Robbie Williams and why he has written the foreword in Tommy's book.
Hannah mentions the Marbella Beauty Academy (@marbellabeautyacademy) and the massage and facial she had for just €30.
There is always some food talk on the podcast and this week it was about PJ's Guinness Irish stew that he cooked for friends Ross and Amy from his new cookbook. Then on the Saturday before Hannah's monthly quiz night at Urban Chai, PJ made Chinese pork mince wrapped in lettuce.
Sur in English articles this week include the special €12 deal at the bowling alley in the Marbella Arena, Malaga Airport numbers, increased tourism, rising cost of living and autonomo fees.
 

Feria in San Pedro, Marbella and Mattress Mick in Ireland

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.

Back to Marbella Life

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

From Marbella to Bucharest

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

La Sala, Clubhouse & Bowling in Marbella

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.
 

Ricky Hatton in Marbella & Van Gogh in Estepona

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!

Celebrity radio Interviews in Marbella, & more football injuries

Welcome to another episode of Marbella's number one podcast 'Marbella with Him & Her' After a week of travels, PJ and Hannah are back to the beautiful Marbella and San Pedro area that they are so pleased to call home!
In this week's episode they chat about going to see their super talented friend Karen Danzig perform at Dominion Beach in Estepona, under the stars and supposed blood moon. They had never been to this venue before and were impressed with the setting and food!
Hannah speaks about some amazing interviews she did last week which included one with biographer Lesley-Ann Jones who was approached by the secret child of Queen megastar Freddie Mercury to write about her story of being Freddie Mercury's daughter. The book was written from his diaries. It was simply called 'Love, Freddie'. Hannah also spoke with a regular guest of hers over the years, Dr Marc Abraham OBE, who was responsible for pushing through parliament Lucy's Law, which stopped dogs being sold through pet shops. He is now helping a friend in the USA to try and stop the supply of dogs in the USA through puppy mills. He has a great documentary out which is well worth a watch called 'Dogspiracy'.
Another great interview she did was with female rock legend Suzi Quatro about her latest poetry book. Listen how Hannah might have even convinced Suzi to change her will. She also chatted to Huey Morgan, of The Fun Lovin' Criminals, who liked a swearword! And as if that wasn't enough in terms of great interviews, she also spoke with her cousin Bill Holland about his book called 'Beyond our Kenneth', which is a follow on to Kenneth Williams' published diary.
It was quite a busy week back with the International Theatre Studio unrehearsed reading 'Happy Campers' at the Atalaya Golf & Country Club. Everyone was encouraged to dress up in Holiday Camp attire, needless to say PJ and Hannah were only too happy to oblige!
Later in the week there was a rather large group of friends that descended on their favourite Indian restaurant in San Pedro de Alcantara, Bombay Grill.
After a week of holiday PJ had gotten over his buttock injury sustained at football and was back between the sticks again for football training. It was essentially over 2 hours non-stop football and he has managed to injure the other buttock and also sprain his fingers. He is insistent it is because he has not used these muscles in many years.
The Sur in English articles this week include the increasing inflation on the Costa del Sol, experts warning of torrential rain in Spain this autumn and a serious debate on whether tortilla is better with or without onion.
As always you can follow them both on Instagram @pjlopez1marbella and @radiohannah

From Marbella to Murcia; Him & Her go on holiday!

It's another week and that means another episode of the Marbella lifestyle podcast Marbella with Him & Her presented by PJ Lopez (@pjlopez1marbella) and Hannah Murray (@radiohannah). It is a weekly insight into life in Marbella from husband and wife expats who made Marbella home over 20 years ago. PJ is a digital marketing consultant and Hannah is a radio presenter on Talk Radio Europe (@talk_radio_europe) and is lucky enough to interview some amazing people every week from authors of inspirational books to celebrities, sports personalities, chefs and even politicians. She also presents a TV segment in Spain's very first English language breakfast TV show that goes out on regional Spanish TV called Good Morning Spain (@goodmorningspaintv).
In this week’s episode they headed away from their usual setting of Marbella on the Costa del Sol to further along the coast to Villamartin in Torrevieja on the southern Costa Blanca. They had agreed to 'cat sit' for PJ's sister who was off to Italy on her vacation. Plans changed slightly as PJ's nephew was called into work at the last minute and was unable to go on the family holiday, which meant a slight change in plans for PJ & Hannah.
On route they decided to have a change from their usual roadside stop for a break and headed into a village on route. They chose a place called Baza where they managed to somehow sniff out the most expensive restaurant on the town for lunch called Kaliskka where they had a stunning dish and one not so appetising.
They also stayed overnight in Murcia city centre in an area called 'San Pedro' which was full of amazing tapas restaurants, needless to say a tapas crawl was on the cards for lunch! One of their favourite restaurants n the crawl was called La Tapa (@latapadelasflores) where they did some very interesting and delicious tapa dishes. Listen to the podcast to hear more about their Murcia visit and culinary adventures.
Hannah's colleague Linda from Good Morning Spain has been away working on a luxury yacht as a chef, first stew and pretty much everything else that needed to be done onboard. From a post she put up Hannah noticed that they had moored unexpectedly in Torrevieja port due to an engine failure. Off they went to visit her and were invited onboard the yacht for a tour and catch up. It was a great way for them both to show their Below Deck knowledge!
While away Hannah managed to get through lots of reading, which included Vogue Williams' book Big Mouth (@voguewilliams) She co-hosts one of their favourite podcasts 'My Therapist Ghosted Me'.
PJ's nephew now not away meant that PJ & Hannah decided to book a couple of nights in Roquetas del Mar, which was on the way home to Marbella. They headed off earlier than originally planned via the stunning city of Cartagena to a place called Aguadulce. It was a port within the Roquetas del Mar area of Almeria and they stayed in a lovely frontline port spa hotel. There was a bit of a pub crawl on day one where PJ found out about Hannah's hidden pool skills. After a spa and massage session of day two they had dinner in a wonderful Argentinean restaurant further along the paseo. 
Upon arrival back in San Pedro de Alcantara it was off to celebrate Meadhbh's birthday at the Hogan Stand (@thehoganstand). 
On Saturday, even with a hangover, Hannah got up and headed to Kova Beach Club (@kovabeachclub) for Lina's hen party (Mummy Marbella).
They also discussed some general news such as the passing of fashion icon Giorgio Armani, the tragic funicular rail crash in Lisbon as well as Sur in English articles about the Broccoli haircut, Comic Con in Malaga and a good Samaritan returning a lost wallet full of cash.
 

Marbella Reflexology and buttock injuries

Welcome to the latest episode of Marbella with Him & Her. If you like to know what is going on in Marbella then this is definitely the podcast for you! Follow PJ Lopez (HIM) @pjlopez1marbella and Hannah Murray (HER) @radiohannah.
This week they talk about PJ's buttock injury from his football training and Hannah's attempt to use her thumb to alleviate the pain! They also talk about Hannah's hair and feet. Not so strange as that sounds, it was about her visit to her wonderful and very reasonable hairdresser (thanks to Meadhbh and Aoife) and her appointment with Urshi at Aum Yoga (@aumyogamarbella) for some reflexology. While Hannah ties her best to keep it spiritual, PJ descends into the world of foot fetishes (listen to hear the details).
They also enjoyed an Indian takeaway from their favourite San Pedro Indian Bombay Grill and their new healthier way of ordering (@bombaygrill_sanpedro).
Hannah speaks about some of her standout interviews of the week on Talk Radio Europe (@talk_radio_europe). One was with Andy Saunders about restoring NASA images of the moon landing and other expeditions into space (@andysaunders_1). She also chats about her interview with Jane Scott Stuart about her book 'Not In The World' about her up brining in rural Kentucky in the 1930's.
Sur in English articles this week include the new opening hours of Mercadona supermarkets after the summer, an article about how summer's in Spain can boost happiness by 95% (also mentioned by Eva Longoria (@evalongoria) and the exciting news about the widening of the A7 between San Pedro and Puerto Banus-
Finally there is a shout out and congratulations to Liz Cudby (@lizziiibeth) who has won our Summer in San Pedro competiton on The San Pedro Guide (@sanpedromarbellaguide) and will get a €50 voucher from The Hogan Stand to be used on food and drink at their amazing venue in San Pedro (@thehoganstand).