ABOUT US
We are Brian and Olivia, hailing from Co Clare, Ireland and Bedford, UK, respectively. Currently living in Bedford, a medium sized market town, around 50 miles north of London.
We are Brian and Olivia, hailing from Co Clare, Ireland and Bedford, UK, respectively. Currently living in Bedford, a medium sized market town, around 50 miles north of London.
Our love for Spain started many years ago; inspired by the writing of Hemingway, Orwell and Laurie Lee as a teenager, family holidays in Menorca, to living with Spanish friends at university. Our first trip together was to Sant Pol in Catalonia. Visits to nearby San Feliu de Guixols, the local markets and eating the best quality produce at the simple eateries. All inspired our love for the area.
The more we travelled in Spain, the more we became fascinated by this vast and varied country, so rich in history and natural beauty.
We were fortunate enough to spend some considerable time living in Arcos de la Frontera, a pueblo blanco (white village) in Cadiz province, Andalusia. We met welcoming people and attended the liveliest fiestas. We ate the finest seafood from the bay of Cadiz, sampled the gamut of fabulous sherries – Andalusia was everything, and more than we could have hoped for.
On our return to the UK, we established and ran a successful tapas bar in Bedford, called Andaluz. This was the perfect opportunity to share our love for the authentic food and wines from the region of Andalucia. We were incredibly fortunate to meet many like-minded people, who shared our passion for Spain and all things Spanish.
Several years ago, we had the opportunity to return to Catalonia. We worked for a travel company; organising cycling and walking tours for international customers. Whilst living there, in the town of Palafrugell, we soon became aware not only of the beautiful landscape; of sea and mountains, but also the quality and sheer abundance of local produce and producers. Combined with the artistic nature of the region and the friendliness of everyone we met, we were well and truly hooked.
Last year, September 2019 we took a 5 month road trip back to Spain exploring new areas, building new connections and trying new things. This was the beginning of Taste Adventures and you can read back to our original ‘About Us’ here, written just before we set off.
Heres a snap shot of what we got up to on our trip…
And so, borne of our love of food and travel, Taste Adventures is a space to share information, tips and stories with like minded folk. We champion independent businesses, buying local and we are all about real food and real people. We are able to support and advise on bespoke holidays, trips and activities in Catalonia and south west Spain (as we have lived and worked in both areas) – get in touch if you’re planning a visit and we will see if we can help.
We would love you to join us on this journey and we welcome your ideas and suggestions. We post regular blogs and we thrive on interaction, so please get involved!
Feel free to ask us any questions and of course, to share our page and posts with others you think may be interested.