
Fiestas and Siestas Miles Apart
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Richard Southworth
-
By:
-
Alan Cuthbertson
About this listen
Ever wondered how easy it would be to start new life in a different country? Fiestas and Siestas Miles Apart is a humorous look at what happened to the Cuthbertson family, Alan and Heather along with daughters Stacey and Ashlie when they decide to sell everything, including the family stationery business, load the family car and move from England to Spain.
Unfortunately half way through the process the girls have other ideas and take off on their own adventure across Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand. The naivety of the un-streetwise pair is shown in the emails and texts received by their parents, who themselves are finding Spanish life a very steep learning curve. Who knew fried sparrow was a delicacy? And Alan's first hunting trip is not a completely successful expedition, but a very funny one. Eventually the Cuthbertson family finds the house and village of their dreams, but this is just the beginning of their adventures in Spain.
©2013 Alan Cuthbertson (P)2016 Alan CuthbertsonListeners also enjoyed...
-
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Lisette Lecat
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mma "Precious" Ramotswe sets up a detective agency in Botswana on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, making her the only female detective in the country. At first, cases are hard to come by. But eventually, troubled people come to Precious with a variety of concerns. Potentially philandering husbands, seemingly schizophrenic doctors, and a missing boy who may have been killed by witch doctors all compel Precious to roam about in her tiny van, searching for clues.
-
-
Transcends its Genre
- By Gene on 12-07-03
-
The Bone Clocks
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Leon Williams, Colin Mace, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following a scalding row with her mother, 15-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: A sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew only as "the radio people," Holly is a lightning rod for psychic phenomena. Now, as she wanders deeper into the English countryside, visions and coincidences reorder her reality until they assume the aura of a nightmare brought to life.
-
-
Not Short Listed, This Time
- By Mel on 09-23-14
By: David Mitchell
-
The Crow Trap
- A Vera Stanhope Mystery
- By: Ann Cleeves
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey on the Northumberland countryside. Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal....For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double-betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide.
-
-
Different but loved it
- By Audrey L Reader on 08-06-17
By: Ann Cleeves
-
I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist, presenter, broadcaster, husband, father, vigorous all-rounder – Alan Partridge – a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future. Gregarious and popular, yet Alan’s never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma? Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile....
-
-
An Anglican giant among pygmies
- By John on 06-20-12
By: Alan Partridge
-
Alan Partridge: Nomad
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Alan Partridge: Nomad, Alan dons his boots, windcheater and scarf and embarks on an odyssey through a place he once knew - it's called Britain - intent on completing a journey of immense personal significance. Diarising his ramble in the form of a 'journey journal', Alan details the people and places he encounters, ruminates on matters large and small and, on a final leg fraught with danger, becomes not a man (because he was one to start off with) but a better, more inspiring example of a man.
-
-
Pointlessness is the point
- By Michael on 10-21-16
By: Alan Partridge
-
The Runaway Wife
- A Laugh Out Loud Feel Good Novel About Second Chances
- By: Dee MacDonald
- Narrated by: Diana Croft
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One evening in early August, while mashing potatoes for dinner, Connie McColl decides she’s had enough. Sixty-six-year-old wife and grandmother, Connie packs a bag, gets in her little green car and drives off on a journey from England to Scotland to rediscover lost friends and herself.
-
-
Laugh out loud
- By JEYCEE on 07-12-18
By: Dee MacDonald
-
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Lisette Lecat
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mma "Precious" Ramotswe sets up a detective agency in Botswana on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, making her the only female detective in the country. At first, cases are hard to come by. But eventually, troubled people come to Precious with a variety of concerns. Potentially philandering husbands, seemingly schizophrenic doctors, and a missing boy who may have been killed by witch doctors all compel Precious to roam about in her tiny van, searching for clues.
-
-
Transcends its Genre
- By Gene on 12-07-03
-
The Bone Clocks
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Leon Williams, Colin Mace, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following a scalding row with her mother, 15-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: A sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew only as "the radio people," Holly is a lightning rod for psychic phenomena. Now, as she wanders deeper into the English countryside, visions and coincidences reorder her reality until they assume the aura of a nightmare brought to life.
-
-
Not Short Listed, This Time
- By Mel on 09-23-14
By: David Mitchell
-
The Crow Trap
- A Vera Stanhope Mystery
- By: Ann Cleeves
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey on the Northumberland countryside. Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal....For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double-betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide.
-
-
Different but loved it
- By Audrey L Reader on 08-06-17
By: Ann Cleeves
-
I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist, presenter, broadcaster, husband, father, vigorous all-rounder – Alan Partridge – a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future. Gregarious and popular, yet Alan’s never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma? Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile....
-
-
An Anglican giant among pygmies
- By John on 06-20-12
By: Alan Partridge
-
Alan Partridge: Nomad
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Alan Partridge: Nomad, Alan dons his boots, windcheater and scarf and embarks on an odyssey through a place he once knew - it's called Britain - intent on completing a journey of immense personal significance. Diarising his ramble in the form of a 'journey journal', Alan details the people and places he encounters, ruminates on matters large and small and, on a final leg fraught with danger, becomes not a man (because he was one to start off with) but a better, more inspiring example of a man.
-
-
Pointlessness is the point
- By Michael on 10-21-16
By: Alan Partridge
-
The Runaway Wife
- A Laugh Out Loud Feel Good Novel About Second Chances
- By: Dee MacDonald
- Narrated by: Diana Croft
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One evening in early August, while mashing potatoes for dinner, Connie McColl decides she’s had enough. Sixty-six-year-old wife and grandmother, Connie packs a bag, gets in her little green car and drives off on a journey from England to Scotland to rediscover lost friends and herself.
-
-
Laugh out loud
- By JEYCEE on 07-12-18
By: Dee MacDonald
-
Pushing Rubber Downhill
- By: Adam Piggott
- Narrated by: Davis Aurini
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Adam Piggott rode his motorbike across Australia chasing a girl he barely knew, he didn't understand much about anything at all. He wanted to change his life, but he didn't know how or what to change. The girl was the catalyst that forced him out of his comfortable existence. This is the story of how a young man with no direction ended up working as a river guide in a range of exotic locations around the world.
-
-
book had no storyline
- By Tony Molano on 02-16-19
By: Adam Piggott
-
Lie in Wait
- By: G. J. Minett
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Owen Hall drives into a petrol station to let his passenger use the facilities. She never comes back - and what's more, it seems she never even made it inside. When Owen raises a fuss, the police are called - and soon identify Owen himself as a possible culprit, not least because they already have him in the frame for another more sinister crime. Owen's always been a little different, and before long others in the community are baying for his blood. But this is a case where nothing is as it seems - least of all Owen Hall....
-
-
LIE IN WAIT..
- By ZacharyKindle Customer on 08-06-17
By: G. J. Minett
-
Free Country
- A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain
- By: George Mahood
- Narrated by: Kris Dyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The plan is simple. George and Ben have three weeks to cycle 1000 miles from the bottom of England to the top of Scotland. There's just one small problem - they have no bikes, no clothes, no food, and no money. Setting off in just a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts, they attempt to rely on the generosity of the British public for everything from food to accommodation, clothes to shoes, and bikes to beer.
-
-
So much fun!
- By Misty D. on 01-07-21
By: George Mahood
-
One Day I Shall Astonish the World
- By: Nina Stibbe
- Narrated by: Joanna Scanlan
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Susan and Norma have been best friends for years, at first thrust together by force of circumstance (a job at The Pin Cushion, a haberdashery shop in 1990s Leicestershire) and then by force of character (neither being particularly inclined to make friends with anyone else). But now, 30 years later, faced with a husband seeking immortality and Norma out of reach on a wave of professional glory, Susan begins to wonder whether she has made the right choices about life, love, work, and, most importantly, friendship.
-
-
The Conundrum of the Friend Who Hurts You
- By Laura M on 03-12-23
By: Nina Stibbe
-
A Risk Worth Taking
- By: Robin Pilcher
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the dot-com bubble burst, Dan Porter is laid off from his job and must decide what is truly important. His wife of twenty years, Jackie, a beautiful and successful managing director at a clothing designer shop, no longer connects with him. His teenagers, Josh, Nina, and Millie, are distant and confusing. Jackie is tempted by the attentions of a younger man at her office, and thanks to an opportunity suggested by a magazine article, Dan finds himself contemplating a drastic change in his life.
-
-
Terrible Book, Self-absorbed Ass
- By Michael A. Alderete on 05-27-04
By: Robin Pilcher
-
My Big Greek Summer
- A Feel-Good Funny Romantic Comedy About Second Chances!
- By: Sue Roberts
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carefree, 30-something Mandy thought she’d be married to first love Danny forever. So when she discovers her heartthrob husband has had a fling, she realizes it’s time to make some big changes. But what will Mandy do now she’s single for the first time in her adult life? Determined to find her spark again, Mandy hops on a plane, ready for adventure and a second chance at happiness. Escaping to a sun-drenched Greek island, the glittering blue seas, golden beaches, and delicious cocktails are exactly what she needs.
-
-
Nice easy listen!
- By Brenda on 11-06-19
By: Sue Roberts
-
A Carrion Death
- Introducing Detective Kubu
- By: Michael Stanley
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Smashed skull, snapped ribs, and a cloying smell of carrion. Leave the body for the hyenas to devour - no body, no case. But when Kalahari game rangers stumble on a human corpse midmeal, it turns out the murder wasn't perfect after all. Enough evidence is left to suggest foul play. Detective David "Kubu" Bengu of the Botswana Criminal Investigation Department is assigned to the case.
-
-
Hot and Arid
- By Robert on 11-06-08
By: Michael Stanley
-
How Did All This Happen?
- By: John Bishop
- Narrated by: John Bishop
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you're a man of a certain age you'll know there comes a point in life when getting a sports car and over-analysing your contribution to society sounds like a really good idea. With a good job in sales and marketing and a nice house in Manchester that he shared with his wife and kids, John Bishop was no different when he turned the dreaded 4-0. But instead of spanking a load of cash on a car that would have made him look like a senior stylist at Vidal Sassoon, he stumbled onto a pathway that ultimately lead him to become one of the nation's best loved comedians.
-
-
Heartwarming and Funny
- By Nancy Burnett on 12-01-22
By: John Bishop
-
Restless
- By: William Boyd
- Narrated by: Rosamund Pike
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"I am Eva Delectorskaya," Sally Gilmartin announces, and so on a warm summer afternoon in 1976 her daughter, Ruth, learns that everything she ever knew about her mother was a carefully constructed lie. Sally Gilmartin is a respectable English widow living in picturesque Cotswold village; Eva Delectorskaya was a rigorously trained World War II spy, a woman who carried fake passports and retreated to secret safe houses, a woman taught to lie and deceive, and above all, to never trust anyone. Three decades later the secrets of Sally's past still haunt her.
-
-
Favorite Book of 2007
- By Susianna on 12-27-07
By: William Boyd
-
I Predict a Riot
- Murder, Extortion & Carrot Cake
- By: Colin Bateman
- Narrated by: Adam Moore
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Walter has a rubbish job, so has Margaret. But when they meet through a dating agency, neither is who they seem. Margaret's married for a start, and Walter's encounter with her husband, Billy, leaves him black and blue. Billy's a dodgy accountant for politician and racketeer Pink Harrison, who is about to come unstuck.
-
-
PICK ME PLEASE PICK ME WE'LL HAVE LOTS OF FUN
- By Louise on 10-19-08
By: Colin Bateman
-
Snare
- Reykjavik Noir, Book 1
- By: Lilja Sigurdardottir
- Narrated by: Suzannah Hampton
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a messy divorce, attractive young mother Sonia is struggling to provide for herself and keep custody of her son. With her back to the wall, she resorts to smuggling cocaine into Iceland and finds herself caught up in a ruthless criminal world. As she desperately looks for a way out of trouble, she must pit her wits against her nemesis, Bragi, a customs officer whose years of experience frustrate her new and evermore daring strategies.
-
-
Really good. Interesting.
- By Dana on 01-12-18
-
My Good Life in France
- In Pursuit of the Rural Dream
- By: Janine Marsh
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One grey dismal day, Janine Marsh was on a trip to northern France to pick up some cheap wine. She returned to England a few hours later having put in an offer on a rundown old barn in the rural Seven Valleys area of Pas de Calais. This was not something she'd expected or planned for. Janine eventually gave up her job in London to move with her husband to live the good life in France. Or so she hoped. While getting to grips with the locals and la vie Française, and renovating her dilapidated new house, a building lacking the comforts of mains drainage, heating, or proper rooms.
-
-
Really funny, delightful, informative
- By mz on 10-02-18
By: Janine Marsh
What listeners say about Fiestas and Siestas Miles Apart
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Midwestbonsai
- 02-03-17
I laughed at many of the anecdotes
Alan and his wife, a British couple, decide to sell everything and move to Spain. Their two daughters, in the meantime, head towards Australia and New Zealand to spend a whole year down under.
This was a very light listen with hilarious moments, and correctly structured, having the emails from their daughters Ashleigh and Stacy placed in between chapters. Contrary to other books about English-speaking people in other countries, this one did not have too many expressions along with their translation, which made it smoother to the listener.
I was very interested in reviewing this book, and see what image of the Spanish people the author would give. Despite being done with great care I have to warn the readers that this book is a very particular subset of the Spanish population. I agree that if you go to very small villages (some houses did not even have a road but a path leading to them) you will meet people like the one described in the book, but life is very different in towns and large cities. Cuthbertson mentions that Spanish people do not consider animals like family members, and I have to say that it is like this in small villages where people still farm for a living, but not in other environments. Also, the myth about Fiestas and Siestas is just not true out of this kind of places. There were also many generalizations, also because of the same reason, just having met a very particular subset of people.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book and laughed at many of the anecdotes. I know people from places like the one Cuthbertson describes and I could see similar things happening.
Another aspect is that I did not see a real effort from the couple to learn Spanish for good. They got along with broken Spanish and it is true that they did not really need more since looking for a job was not part of their plan. It is just that properly learning the language of the country where you live seems a useful way of occupying your time, apart from spending it between bars and fiestas.
Richard Southworth delivered a pleasant narration, and you could very well imagine that you were listening to Alan Cuthbertson himself. He had some issues pronouncing some words in Spanish, which could have also happened to Cuthbertson, so I do not really know how to evaluate this. I would have expected a better pronunciation, but it is also true that many of the sentences in Spanish in the book were incorrect.
This was an enjoyable listen, light and humorous. Just do not expect a very rigorous portrait of the Spanish people.
Audiobook was provided for review by the author.
Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog
[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful