Archive for 'Events in Spain'

As heatwaves continue throughout the globe this August, you may find yourself doing two things: planning your next getaway so you can enjoy the summer weather at your leisure rather than suffer from it at work and looking for the right foods to keep you contentedly full and cool. Well, why not combine the two and plan a trip to Spain and learn how to make a delicious gazpacho to enjoy while your brain cools down enough to actually organise your getaway?

Native of the region of Andalusia, the dish can be readily enjoyed in eateries all over if you have found a vacation rental in Spain or a vacation rental in Portugal, as it is common throughout both countries. However, if you want to try the true original of the species, then you should browse our vacation rentals in Andalusia and seek it out the place in which it was born. However, if you can't head out right now to try the real deal but have always been curious about this iconic Spanish dish, then why not read on to our recipe and try making it at home for yourself?

Move over, French Toast, we've got a new breakfast favourite: Spanish Toast! Spanish Toast, or Torrijas, is a delicious bread pudding recipe from Spain that is traditionally made by soaking stale bread in milk or wine with honey and spices then dipped in beaten egg and fried with olive oil. In doing this, the fibres of the bread break down and this leaves the final product crispy outside and smooth inside. As a final touch, the bread is then typically sprinkled with cinnamon – sounds delicious, right?!

Dating back to at least the fifteenth century (the first written record of torrijas that we know of is by Spanish composer, poet and playwright Juan del Encina in his Cancionero, published in 1496: "En cantares nuevos/ gocen sus orejas,/ miel y muchos huevos/ para hacer torrejas,/ aunque sin dolor/ parió al Redentor"), this classic and traditional Spanish sweet is typically made to celebrate Lent and Holy Week. In fact, should you wander the streets of any given Spanish city at Easter, you will likely find that street food stalls are selling the treat, that it is available in supermarkets, that it can be ordered in cake shops, and that some bars and restaurants will also be selling it.

The popular seaside resort town of Alicante is famous for her excellent beaches, her great weather, her charming old town with its brightly coloured buildings and pretty winding streets and alleys, her numerous parks and open spaces, her palm tree flanked shopping streets, and her vibrant nightlife. If you have found a vacation rental in Alicante and are exploring everything that she has to offer, then you will likely work up an appetite and find yourself in need of sustenance. The best part of renting an apartment or villa is that you have access to a kitchen and if you’re a travelling foodie, you’ll probably want the chance to play around with some local ingredients during your stay. To source the freshest food in the prettiest of surroundings, just head to the Mercado Central de Alicante (Central Market of Alicante) and shop the various stalls that are housed within.

Located on the central shopping street of Calle de Alfonso X the Wise, the Central Market of Alicante is an architectural gem that was built under J. Vidal Ramos between 1911 and 1912. With an elaborate and ornate façade featuring modernist-inspired elements, the building is on a rectangular plan and built in the style of a basilica, with a tacked-on addition to the south-west corner that is topped by a semispherical cupola and called La Rotonda.

If you are interested in the arts and have found a vacation rental in Barcelona, you won’t be short of cultural things to see and do from museums and galleries to explore to concerts to listen to and plays to watch to performances to attend. If you want your culture served with a side of an incredible architectural gem then there is an obvious destination to be sure to visit while in the city; the Palau de la Música Catalana.

This historic beauty is a wonderful and integral cultural institution in the city that is still a vibrant centre for music, dance, and other performance and has a busy schedule of events that take place right throughout the year. A visit ensures a wonderful evening of both incredible art and architecture, combining the stunning setting with some sort of performance. One can simply take a guided tour of the architectural gem but, in our opinion, you should try and see a performance in the auditorium as that is when it shines the most.

There are few things that perfectly represent being on holidays as well as having the luxury of endless time to spend wandering around a market, looking at things, taking in the atmosphere of a destination, sampling products, and grabbing a bite to eat. Rarely do any of us ever have the time in our day-to-day lives to properly enjoy a market in the same way. If you have found a vacation rental in Valencia, in particular, you should really set aside a morning or lunchtime to visit the city's most famous market, the beautiful Art Nouveau Mercado Central.

One of the oldest markets still in use in Europe, the Mercado Central is an official Heritage of Cultural Interest site, as designated by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. It was designed in 1914 by Francisco Guardia and Alejandro Soler, was then inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII in 1928 and was completely renovated in 2010 to preserve its incredible beauty. Probably the most important example of Valencian Art Nouveau in the city, this gem is one of the key 20th-century architectural works in Valencia.