The capital of the Catalan region, Barcelona, is a global city, the major cultural and economic center of southwest Europe, and a place that welcomes innovation and transforms foreign influences. Gastronomically, food historian, Penelope Casas, in her book, “ Discovering Spain”, informs us that “ By favoring stews and ‘composite’ dishes featuring more than one main ingredient, and by joining the most unlikely and disparate elements, Catalans have created an imaginative, almost baroque-style cuisine. “Combinations such as, dried cod with honey, sweetened sausage (botifarrón dolça), goose with pears, chicken with figs, pork with chestnuts, and rabbit with quince and honey, all trace their origins to medieval times. Although the use of chocolate, tomato and peppers, typical of Catalan cooking today was a result of the Discovery of America”.
In Spain, but mostly in Barcelona, there is the tradition of “...
Because of Barcelona’s privileged location, its culture has been nurtured and influenced by commerce (textiles from the East), architecture (the Romanesque and Gothic styles were introduced here to the Iberian Peninsula), gastronomy (the Italian pastas that Marco Polo imported from China and the use of honey, fruits and nuts in composite main course dishes), the arts (Picasso and Dalí, started here before moving to Paris and revolutionizing the concept of modern art), architecture (the structural innovations of Gaudí and his religious symbolism) , literature ( Garcia Lorca’s poems and symbolic plays), all contributed to create a city that is vibrant and innovative, what has been called the Athens of Spain, a cultural center of creativity and invention.
Although Frank Ghery made Bilbao an architectural magnet, Barcelona has always been known for its innovative cuisine, but it became a gastronomical destination due to Ferran Adriá and...
Buenos Aires reminds me of Madrid, the wide boulevards, trees and large government and bank buildings. We stayed at the Hotel Sofitel Buenos Aires http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-3253-sofitel-buenos-aires/index.shtml a boutique hotel just off the Recoleta area, where you will find many embassies, deluxe hotels, outdoor cafes and fancy shops. It has 114 beautifully appointed rooms, and a gym. As a woman traveling alone, I liked that in order to go up to the rooms in the elevator, one must enter one’s room key. From this area you can walk to the famous cemetery where Eva Peron is buried.
Our Buenos Aires tour guide, Alejandro Frango was a fountain of information, not just of regular tourist information and history one can get from any tour book, but of in-depth facts and folklore. In the three hours we had him with a car/driver, we were taken to the most interesting places of each neighborhood: San Telmo, La Boca, Recoleta, etc. Two unusual thoughts he...
Porto put the “Portu” in Portugal, a name that harks back to its Roman origins, it is the economic capital of northern regions and is surpassed only by Lisbon, the capital, in terms of economic and social clout. It is situated along the banks of the Douro River, which winds down from Spain to end its course here, in the Atlantic Ocean, on the western part of the Iberian Peninsula. Its historic center is the Ribeira district (literally, river side) with cliff side tiled roof houses, winding roads, zigzagging staircases and churches with glazed tile façades, which has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage zone, to be preserved for posterity.
Porto is not only the cultural capital of the country, featuring modern architectural gems by the Portuguese Alvaro Siza and the Dutch Rem Koolhaas, both Pritzker Prize winners, it is also vying as a culinary Mecca that retains the essence of its cultural heritage along with serious international...
Art Fair Travel & Accommodations
We have secured an allotment of rooms in several hotels and special airfares for a number of upcoming art fairs. Click for more info:
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