Spain Travel News 09/07/2010
- Spain Gourmetour
In this issue of Spain Gourmetour, we stroll around the august palaces, churches and convents of walled-in Ávila, and penetrate into the sinewy alleys and splendid squares of medieval Cáceres.
- A whale of a time
A Total of 22 whales have been officially counted in the Straits of Gibraltar this summer.
In a project, organised by CIRCE (Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans), almost 100 volunteers came from as far as Brazil to count the whales.
In total they recorded 20 Humpback whales and two Sperm whales, which according to a spokesman for CIRCE was roughly the same as last year.
- Slicing Spanish Ham
This is the first book to show how to slice
Spanish ham. Master slicer Jose Angel Muñoz
from Granada, guides you, step by step,
through the fine art of ham slicing
- Ronda’s Magical Feria Goyesca
Once a year, Ronda sees a return to tradition with its annual Feria Goyesca. A fairly recent festival, at least in Andalucian terms, it has become an event that has captured the imagination of Spain with its traditional dress, important bullfights and its ageless glamour.
- Catalan Cuisine becomes a brand name
The Catalan Institute of Cuisine Foundation (FICC) recently announced that the words “Cuina Catalana” will become a brand name and a distinction to be awarded to restaurants demonstrating loyalty to the traditional way of doing things in Catalan cooking. According to the ABC newspaper, the brand is kicking off with a few hundred restaurants — which “honor Catalan culinary heritage with their dishes” — to be the first to carry the Cuina Catalana brand name.
- In the Garlic Book
In the Garlic is a quirky and vibrant A-Z guide packed with helpful information, insights, anecdotes, stories, jokes and fascinating nuggets that illuminate the mysteries of everyday life in Spain. From saint’s days to sausages, bureaucrats to bollycaos, languages to lotteries, Galicia to the Guardia Civil, and telephone companies to Pérez the tooth mouse, In The Garlic is an essential companion for anyone living in or moving to Spain or simply with a passion for the country and its people.
- Arroces or Arroses, in Catalan/Valenciano
Gerry Dawe shares with us the background and cooking methods of various rice dishes from Catalonia and Valencia, including paella and arroz con leche.
- Annie Bennett meets Pedro Almodóvar for a tour of Lanzarote | Travel | The Observer
A decade ago, film-maker Pedro Almodóvar took a photograph of El Golfo beach in Lanzarote.The image, which he called The Secret of El Golfo, niggled away at him for years, eventually inspiring the story that would become Broken Embraces, his latest film, on general release here from 28 August.
- hat holiday feeling | Chris Marshall
An amusing piece by Euro Weekly News columnist, Chris Marshall, on the annual holiday that Spain workers have, and how they utilize them to bum around on the beach.
- Cabernet Day is Here: Where to find Great Cabernets in Spain | Catavino
The 2September was declared “Cabernet Day” by Rick Bakas of St. Suprey vineyards, an interesting initiative to explore one grape with an online community in a global venue. Here’s an article on where to find great Cabernets in Spain.
- “Mañana” – The Andalucia Guide & Diary
Next week brings the annual Luna Mora arts festival to the village of Guaro, near Malaga. The festival runs over the middle two weekends of the month, 10 & 11 and 17 & 18 September; with a Moorish style street souk and the whole village is illuminated with thousands of candles.