An old Spanish proverb says "spring alters the blood." However, not only does it alter the blood, but also our diet. Spring is full of fruit and vegetables that give their best with the first rays of sun. One is the modest 'calçot', a type of fine onion with a delicate flavour. Eating it is a kind of ritual to start the spring in the warm areas surrounding the Ebro River as it passes through Catalonia. Beware, like every initiatory ritual, it has its rules: of course you can eat it in private but it certainly does not taste the same. Tradition has it that calçots should be eaten in the town square at a table with one’s neighbo

    Take oil, egg yolks, vinegar and salt. Break the eggs and place the yolks in a bowl, add a little vinegar and salt. Proceed to beat well, steadily, and when you see that it is stiffening, pour the oil in a very thin jet to produce the emulsion and the mayonnaise. This is the simple recipe for the manual preparation of one of the sauces most used in the world and whose origin has been a major headache for scholars of these things since the early twentieth century. The prevailing theory on the origin of mayonnaise has one cardinal year: 1756. At that time France invades the port of Mahon, on Minorca, and the then Duke of Richilie, Louis François Armand du P

If there is a landmark event in the world of Habaneras, it is undoubtedly the Cantada d'Havaneres of Calella de Palafrugell. For 46 years, on the first Saturday of July, this small coastal village in the province of Gerona is adorned from top to bottom to pay tribute to a musical genre deeply rooted in the fishing villages along the Catalan coast. And if it is a tribute to a genre as strongly bound to the sea as the Habanera, the stage has to be consistent with the spirit and character of the sea. Port Bo beach, with its pristine white seafront buildings, arcades facing the sea, traditional fishing boats beached on the sand ... perfectly meets these requirements. And when the first no

Asturias has a dichotomy: while Oviedo and its 225,391 inhabitants is the place where policy is made, Gijón, with 277,559 registered people, is the cultural capital of the Principality. Mining has been losing weight in the city’s economy and in its place, cultural events and festivals have invaded its every day. Rare is the week of the year when Gijón does not have a meeting, an event or an awards show to help attract fans of different arts to the city. The origin of this shift in how to feed the city can be traced to 1963. That year, the City of Gijón, along with the former Caja de Ahorros de Asturias, organized the International Competition of Childr

Does art have a flavour? In Bilbao, works of art and cuisine share the same house, maybe because they are both art. Painting and food. The first is presented in halls and the second is served in the cafeteria of the same museum. The Guggenheim asks on its web site what art tastes of. There are two answers. On the one hand they say that art tastes of crab, good cod, tuna belly or Bresse pigeon. These are some of the dishes served in the Nerua restaurant run by Josean Martínez Alija, which has been given a Michelin star. On the other hand, they say that at summer lunches and dinners art has a more informal flavour, though also one of haute cuisine, at the Bistró Guggenhe

Despite being one of the most visited cities in Spain, Palma de Mallorca is still an unknown quantity to many tourists. Beyond its coves and crystal clear waters, this city has one of the richest and best cared for historical centres in Spain. There have been several architectural styles that have shaped the city, but there has certainly been one which has imposed: the Gothic. This style was used in the area beyond the time limits that corseted the rest of Europe. Here you can admire Gothic buildings built in the sixteenth century. The Cathedral and its famous rose window, nicknamed the Eye of the Gothic, are the most emblematic. Other examples are found in the market, numerous castles