Category Archives for "Spain"

NO8DO, NO8DO, NO8DO.

It’s everywhere in Seville. But what on earth does it mean?

Tapas isn’t a stereotype in Seville, it’s a way of life. You’d be hard pressed to stumble for more than about 100 metres without finding a place that serves up a plate of sliced jamon washed down with cerveza. Here’s how to find the best tapas in Seville.

Welcome to the city where orange blossom mingles with fountains in quiet courtyards while passion flames in the streets. Home to flamenco, inspiration for Carmen and the springboard for Columbus’ voyage to the new world, Seville never bores her guests. After half a decade living there, here’s my guide to the best things to do in Seville, Spain.

Menorca suffers from something called Spanish Myth Syndrome: the unshakable viewpoint held by millions back home that there’s nothing more to Spain than simple sunshine, sea and sangria.

I’ve written about…

Menorca threw several surprises my way when I visited. Wild flowers, for one, with fields flush with poppies, violets and periwinkles all dancing like hippies in the sun. There were bronze age settlements for another, and olive oil-soaked cheese, cured lovingly by hand and made from milk gathered freshly that morning.

When friends first ask about what they should see and do in Seville, I start with the traditional list. After that, though, we get down to spilling my true secrets. My tips and tricks for soaking up the seduction of Spain’s hottest city and living like a local in the heart of Andalusia.

A number of things are wrong. To begin with, I’m standing in a field surrounded by darkness, my mind pulling the duvet covers back over its head and mumbling into its pillow. Second, I’m…

Everything you need to know about shopping in Seville, including where to buy authentic Seville souvenirs

What to eat in Tenerife – Tenerife Food GuideWhat is typical Tenerife food? Forget jokes about Full English Breakfasts and fish and chips for a pound, the real cuisine in Tenerife stretches back over centuries.Your Guide to Food in Tenerife ​The Top 10 Foods to Try in Tenerife​ GofioBarraquitoRopa VIejaPuchero Roast Chestnuts  Almogrote Papas Arrugadas Tenerife Honey Tenerife Wine Mojo   […]

There’s no doubt about it: Seville is one of Spain’s most exciting cities, a place with intoxicating heat, history, architecture and food. From cosy hotspots in the centre of town to fortress-like luxury in the hills. Here are the best places to stay in Seville after years spent living there (and reviewing hotels for a living.)

Known for its sunny package holidays, the subtropical island of Tenerife hides its unusual things to do in plain sight. Unusual Things to do in Tenerife With two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and food, landscape and culture aplenty, Tenerife offers so much more than simply lying on the beach. And hardly […]

It all started with the police check last night.

Torchlight zig-zagged across the car and we huddled in the backseat.

“You are English,” said the policeman. “And yet you say you want…

Pedro Martina’s sun-worn face lights up as he grabs my shoulder and points into the distance.
“Three of them are under the water now,” he says. It’s certainly not the first time Pedro has hunted whales…

As you’d expect from a UNESCO World Heritage City, Toledo Spain has plenty of things to do. It’s only an hour or so from Madrid so attracts plenty of day trippers. But there’s a better way to see the city and explore its unique sights: stay there. Here’s how to make it happen and what […]

Every coast is salty. But northwest Spain’s Galician coastline seems the saltiest of all: its landscape licked into shape by the churning, whirling waves, its cuisine at one with the sea and its architecture, history and general attitude shaped by the way that surf reaches the shore.

This is a place to experience the real side of Spain, away from tower blocks, fake paella and concrete-edged, crowded hotel pools.

Don Quixote and Cervantes SpainHow to Explore Don Quixote’s SpainDon Quixote’s Spain served as a fitting backdrop for the world’s oldest novel: one ill-fated quest to restore chivalry to the world. Poetically, today’s La Mancha still reflects that pioneering literary age. From the “Don Quixote windmills” to the home of Cervantes himself, grab a sidekick […]

A NEW LOOK AT SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN’S BASQUE COUNTRY San Sebastian Hipster Things To Do One of the greatest thrills that travel through Europe offers up has to be the mix of cutting edge new with achingly rustic old. Cobbled streets, peeling paintwork and flavours and fashion that stretch back through millennia connect us to […]

Unusual things to do in SpainSun, sea, sand, plus a dazzling display of unusual things to do. That’s Spain for you: ski slopes, Picasso, and Barcelona’s ceramic lizard mixed in with paella, flamenco and convivial, tasty tapas. Every country is misunderstood to one degree or another. But I still remember my surprise on arrival at how vast and […]

Half the thrill, for me at least, of eating in San Sebastian is the way in which you do so; the other half involves the flavour of the food itself.

Fun and interesting facts about Spain49 Interesting Facts About SpainDid YOU know that Spain has bars you can ride up to on horseback and order a cerveza without needing to dismount? Or that artistic genius Dali built a fairytale castle to house his work? Or that chefs from here regularly grace the “best in the […]

The Golden Triangle in Madrid takes three heavyweight art museums as its points and spreads out leafy avenues and tasty tapas bar in its core. Here is a land of war and peace, rags and riches, Picasso, El Greco, Goya and more. It’s the perfect place for beginners, with so much arranged into an easy […]

 Tasting churros and chocolate at the oldest chocolatería in Madrid Churros y chocolate, you either love it or you hate it as the marmite ad says. But (as I suspect is the case for marmite too) if you hate it, it’s probably because you’re doing it wrong. Bad churros is flaccid and stodgy. Good churros, served fresh and […]

In the “literary quarter” in Madrid, poetry spills across the streets in flattened golden letters. Bodegas serve cerveza, bitter green olives and fried potato til near the break of dawn. And nuns still keep their silence behind the red brick walls of a nunnery that’s centuries old.

Things to do in Barcelona  You’ll never find a shortage of fun things to do in Barcelona, no matter the stories of overcrowding you read. Truth it, there are still so many ways to explore this beautiful, creative city at the heart of Catalunya in Spain. The classical things to do here are great. But read on […]

Driving in Spain can be an absolute joy, provided you can handle the cities. This Spain road trip planner gathers together my personal and professional experiences of driving through the Iberian peninsula to help you plan your fly-drive journey.

City view of Girona – A Place in Spain with So Many Things to DoI love the medieval city of Girona, although a city this size scarcely seems large enough to be a city at all. I love the way its cathedral rises out of the earth to greet you as the plane swoops in […]

In the space of five minutes, we’ve travelled through five countries: Mexico, Peru, Lebanon, Morocco and Korea.

“I’m not a cook. I’m a fixer man.”

It’s a striking opening line from anyone, but coming from Fabián Martín, it sounds particularly ominous…

In the scorching cauldron of Andalucia, the Sierra Nevada mountains rise up to tickle the skies and gather enough snow to cover the peaks for most of the year. Beneath them…

Everything’s still, save for a breeze so slight it’s invisible until it reaches the window and makes the curtains sigh. I hear railway sounds from another century, a whistle and muted metal clanging, before the landscape of northern Spain picks itself up and learns to glide by.

I’m not used to seeing hedgerows at right angles and beaches with vertical shorelines…