In a bid to promote the cultural value of Spain to tourists, the Spanish Minstry of Tourism has turned to famous chef Ferran Adria as it's new ambassador of tourism.

With Spain falling to the number 3 spot of popular holiday destinations behind the US and France and holidays to Tenerife, Majorca and the other Spanish islands suffering from increased competition from cheaper destinations such as Turkey and Egypt, the tourist authorities in Spain have mobilised a new campaign to target traditionaly weak markets for Spain.

The Portuguese parliament has approved a bill which will legalize same-sex marriages. The bill now needs to be reviewed by parliamentary committee and reapproved by parliament (the Assembly of the Republic), before it is brought into effect by final ratification by President Anibal Cavaco Silva. It could be law before the planned visit to Portugal in May of Pope Benedict XVI, who the BBC calls a "staunch" opponent of gay marriage.

A couple of airline news stories I am running together. The one affecting passengers most directly is that budget airline Flyglobespan has gone into administration, leaving thousands stranded and more without a Christmas flight. And a strike called by BA cabin crew has been declared illegal because of a technical flaw in the ballot.
 

A goal scored against historical Philistinism. As a result of pressure from the public, the archaeological remains corresponding to a part of Muslim mediaeval Murcia are to be conserved in situ. The extraordinary find emerged during preparatory excavations for a car park in the Jardín de San Esteban, next to the seat of Murcia's regional government. The authorities had wanted to press on with the car park anyway, but civic protest, orchestrated by the Plataforma Ciudadana para la Conservación del Patrimonio Arqueológico de San Esteban and culminating in a human chain around the site, has forced them to back down. The 13th century streets discovered include the remains of 50 houses, seven mansions and a mosque.

The Museo Romántico, closed for renovation for the last nine years, will open to the public again on December 3rd. I remember it as one of the most charming of Madrid's lesser museums, though its new name - Museo Nacional del Romanticismo - is truly horrible.