Posts Tagged “Spain”
Spain in the Heart of Cardiff. 20 years ago, brothers and sister Tom Morgan, Owen Morgan and Natalie Isaac opened their first Spanish tapas restaurant, Bar 44, in their hometown of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Since then, they have opened another three sites, two in Wales and one just across the…
The mountains have been here for 80 million years; humans have been using the mountains for a lot less time than that, but nevertheless for a long time, historically speaking. The Romans used one of the peaks as a military fort. Later, in the 14th century, a monastery was built that gave birth to this…
I first met Nordés Atlantic Galician Gin a few years ago. I was dashing through an airport returning from a stay in this unique region of Spain. No, it wasn’t a purchase made after lingering research, but it turned out to be a wonderful choice. It was several weeks before I even opened the bottle,…
Barcelona is a beautiful city and famed for its buildings. Barcelona Sketchbook: Homage to Catalan Architecture allows the reader to view these façades in something of a different light and one that is awash with pastel hues and subtle shadows. Graham Byfield, the artist for this book, ambles with his keen eye through the Ramblas,…
We might well think we know everything about Mallorca – possibly spelled Majorca and often pronounced with a hard ‘j’! It’s evidently a tapestry of an island and so far we are just considering the name! This is a beautiful island which has laboured under the touristic yoke of cheap package tours and ‘English Pubs’…
This deceptively large hotel couldn’t have a better location. Hotel Bon Sol Resort and Spa is in Illetas, which is only 8 km (5 miles) from central Palma. One doesn’t need the extra expense of car hire: the bus stop is only a few yards away and an attractive €1.50 for a short ride into…
We have likely heard of it but if pinpointing this region on a map was a capital offence then it’s probable a few of us would be hung; but mention San Sebastián and more people will say that they know about it, and usually with regard to tapas. It’s an attractive seaside city and municipality…
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona. The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the largest on the Mediterranean, and is these days something of a work in progress. For those lucky enough to arrive by ship the impression is of a sprawling building…
Jose and Isabel Macicior have fast become the faces of bespoke food and culture trips to Spain and southern France. They have hit the ground running, and seem to have a finger on the pulse of high-end vacationers offering tours with Travels and Tapas! Food tourism is now big business and it’s raised awareness of…
You will appreciate from these articles that I consider Vigo in Galicia something of an undiscovered culinary gem. The fresh produce and seafood are outstanding but you will likely be staying in a hotel where cooking facilities are strictly for the professionals, so you will want to find the best and the most interesting of…
For those of you living in the south of England, you will already know about Vigo. You will swear that it is a parish formed in 2000, and a modern rural village built in the mid-20th century. The village lies on top of the North Downs and its name comes from the pub on the…
We all have prejudices. We don’t think that we do but that is in itself the nature of a prejudice. I was anxious that this region might be another version of a Costa-something, and I was not quite sure what a visit to northern Spain might hold in store. I have spent some time in…
Well, to be honest, I didn’t find the title very inspiring. Sounds like a hermit looking for religion and it probably wasn’t going to be a fun page-turner… but I was wrong. Sacred Sierra – A Year on a Spanish Mountain is light-hearted and thought-provoking. The author finds a 12 year old barman, and political…
This is another remarkable book from those nice people at Haus Publishing. This is truly quality food writing, travel writing, poetic writing, and thoroughly absorbing and charming. The author H M van den Brink isn’t famed for his food writing but he is nevertheless famed for writing. He published his first book in1993 but had…
We have what Jeni Barnett would call a “nearasdammit” son who is Catalan (note: I do not say Spanish). This has given us the advantage of having the address of our boy’s (well into his 30s now) favourite tapas bar in Barcelona. The Cerveceria Catalana is a bit off the beaten track (Carrer Mallorca) but…