Barcelona Travel Guide
March 5, 2010
This USA Today/Fodor’s Travel Guide to Barcelona is full of useful information. If you are heading to Barcelona, relax. It’s one of the easiest cities to navigate and a cinch to get around in. Barcelona is ringed by the hills on three sides and the Mediterranean on the other. It’s impossible to get lost there. An extensive, quick and clean metro system, public buses, and easy walking make the city user-friendly.
When I’m in Barcelona I do alot of my moving around on foot. Of course, I love walking, and when I’m on foot I come across little shops, unglamourous bars, old-world cafés and hidden Eixample courtyards. The prevalence of 19th and early 20th century architecture throughout the Eixample and surrounding neighborhoods make walking a visual initiation into Modernist architecture. And in the Ciutat Veilla, the medieval quarter, the buildings of the original walled city must be viewed on foot in the mainly pedestrian neighborhood.
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Women Traveling Solo
March 3, 2010
I get a number of questions from women traveling to Spain alone for all or part of their time there. The advice I give is mostly common sense. Stay away from deserted streets, especially at night. Grab a taxi if you feel you are in an unsafe place. Use a purse that closes with a zipper; no backpacks. Try not to look like a tourist. Look confident when you are on the street. These are all pretty tame suggestions. I don’t find it necessary to give any dire warnings, and I emphasize the fact that Spain is a relatively safe country to travel in. The streets tend to have people in them, except during the sacred hours of siesta. Dinner is eaten late–10:00 PM to 12:00 midnight–and people socialize in restaurants and bars. People are out, and where there are people, there is less crime. The biggest threat comes from pickpockets and purse snatchers. But those things are easy to guard against without having to wear your purse on your stomach. All you need is a small dose of savy. And I’m happy to note that none of the women who have traveled with Epicurean Ways have had any problems, and many have reported feeling safe even in Madrid and Barcelona.
Here’s a great article about women´s travel with advice from travel expert Marybeth Bond, author of 50 Best Girlfriend Getaways in North America.
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Otherworldly Culinary Adventures
February 26, 2010
The Explorateur, the travel blog for the globally curious, wrote about Epicurean Ways, describing our trips as “otherworldly culinary adventures” and “a pure dream for any foodie”. Give us a call, and we’ll tell you why these descriptions are accurate.
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Galician Stew
February 25, 2010
Make this traditional Galician Stew for a warming winter meal. It calls for pork, veal and chicken and requires slow cooking.
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Trips that Are Not on the Menu
February 22, 2010
I just read an article about restaurants in New York that have many dishes that don’t appear on the menu. Patrons who know to ask for them do so. An insider’s secret? Yes, and one that reminded me of how trips are requested with us. They are not on the menu. We organize countless trips, long and short, based on requests. Sometimes for two people, sometimes for 25.
The process is simple. Let us know what types of activities you are looking for and where in Spain you would like to go, if you know. Dates and the number of travelers. With that information we will send you a sketch, with ideas and options. From there we refine the ideas until the trip plan looks right to you.
We don’t charge for planning your custom journey. We do require a deposit for planning beyond the idea stage; that deposit is applied to the cost of the trip when you book. Now that you know the insider’s secret, give us a call and let’s start planning.
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More News on the World’s Best Restaurant
February 18, 2010
The news that Ferrán Adrià, owner of three time winner for Best Restaurant in the World elBulli, has decided to close the restaurant starting in 2012 stunned many in the food world. But the news continues to take twists and turns. There is Adrià’s revelation that he and partner Juli Soler will open a nonprofit culinary think tank in 2014, and offer fellowships to young chefs. Not a cooking school, but more of a laboratory for chefs and designers to experiment and collaborate. The most prominent chef to revolutionize modern cooking appears poised to continue in the culinary vanguard, this time without the public face of the restaurant.
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Mugaritz Restaurant Fire
February 18, 2010
Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz’s Mugaritz Restaurant in San Sebastián suffered a fire on Monday, forcing it to remain closed for the next 3 or 4 months. Mugaritz
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Epicurean Roads: Valencia
January 25, 2010
We are very excited about our 2010 culinary trip with Gerry Dawes. Join us for this insider’s culinary experience in Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and Madrid in October 2010. Meet forward-thinking chefs, visit off-the-radar wineries in Priorat, Jumilla and Alicante, see the saffron harvest, eat at contemporary restaurants and traditional tapas bars. You will find out the secrets of Spanish cooking back in the kitchens with some of the great chefs. A cooking demonstrations with two-star Chef Quique Dacosta of Poblet Restaurant in Denia and Chef María José San Román of La Taberna del Gourmet in Alicante will immerse you in contemporary cuisine. A paella-making demonstration in Valencia will yield up a range of paellas for tasting. Contact us at 866-642-2917 for more information or see Epicurean Roads of Valencia.
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A Beginner’s Guide to Sherry
January 20, 2010
A very brief introduction to Sherry.
A Beginner’s Guide to Sherry
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Olive Oil Flan
January 19, 2010
Here’s a fascinating recipe for Spain’s quintessential dessert–flan–made with olive oil. Flan is a lovely custard and always on the menu in Spain. Try this one, or send in your own unique flan recipe. Recipe is in Spanish.
