Tapas. The word, or rather, concept means a lot of different things to a lot of people. Literally meaning a lid, a tapa is a small plate of food served in a Spanish bar. The practise of eating tapas has its own verb “tapear” and in Spain it is normal practise to meet friends in order to “tapear”. (In fact, it...
Tucked in the very dry south eastern corner of Spain, amidst what is known as the “Mar del Plastico” or “sea of plastic”, (basically miles of greenhouses), Almeria gets overlooked by many overseas visitors, who fly into the airport and head straight on to the nearby costas. We first became acquainted with this small and friendly city, several years ago when...
We began our tour of Valencia as we begin most town and city tours; by heading straight to the Central Market. This gives us a feel for the city and its people – there is something so interesting about seeing what local people are buying and eating. Also, it usually a good focal point and a means to orientate yourself...
Love him or loathe him, its impossible to ignore Salvador Dali. We’ve been staying in the heart of what is known as the Dali Triangle; Figueres, Portlligat and Pubol, the locations of his homes and studios. Therefore, we couldn’t leave here without a few words on the subject… Born (and now resting) in Figueres over 100 years ago, his legacy is everywhere;...
Our recent “research” into one of our favourite Catalan topics (ie a bar tour of Barcelona) was curtailed by a nasty stomach bug, hrrmmpphh! However, it’s fair to say we have put some considerable effort into researching this particular topic over the past couple of months. What has become abundantly clear is that cava is a drink enjoyed by everyone, at...
My Girona (Or my 8 top reasons to visit this city) I’m a big fan of second cities. This Is Barcelona’s little sister and I have to say, I really like this city. It’s small, it’s welcoming and seems to be largely unspoilt by mass tourism. With its shadowy web of cobbled streets and medieval buildings, to its ochre coloured modernist mansions. From...
When we first arrived in Arcos de la Frontera (Cadiz province), some 14 years ago, its fair to say we knew no one, had no knowledge of local culture and our Spanish was minimal. So, in a bid to remedy this, we developed a simple strategy; choose and frequent a local bar, sit at said bar (Brian calls this “bellying...
The tradition of eating a large, cooked meal at lunchtime is happily still alive and well in Spain. No soggy prepacked sarnie at the PC for these guys! Not only has this been proven to be a more healthy time to eat the main meal of the day (the Spanish have always known this and the working day allows for...
The tradition of buying wine “loose” (en granel), from specialist wine cellars is familiar to us from our travels in Andalusia, where from time to time you come across a simple cellar/bar (usually in a sherry producing town), with 6/9 barrels where you can buy locally produced wine to take away, or sometimes drink in. Our favourite example being Bodega El...
We first visited the beautiful town of Pals whilst working for a cycling/walking holiday company, several years ago. Pals was one of a series of impressive medieval towns and villages that our customers passed through (albeit very briefly) and though we were aware of the rice fields and the rice dishes of the area, we had little opportunity to explore...
When in Catalonia, Aperitvo (or perhaps more accurately, aperitiu in Catalan) time, is officially my favourite time of day. In common with their neighbours across the border, in France, the Catalans like to meet for a drink “to open up the appetite” before a large meal. Traditionally, this would have been after Mass and before lunch on a Sunday. However,...
I have a confession – For many years, I had heard about, read about and had seen with my own eyes, the popularity of the fish and seafood “Marisqueria/Freidura” eateries in Cadiz province. I learnt that fried fish is the speciality of Cadiz, but even so, it took me a long time to venture into one…. At this point, I must...