Category Archives: Spain

Bilbao City Break

Last month, I took a quick solo city break in Bilbao – the largest city in the Basque Country and an excellent destination for great food and amazing art. I’d been to Bilbao a couple of times before and fully … Continue reading

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Best Restaurants of 2019

Here’s the last of my lists for the Best of 2019. Looking back over the year, I ate exceptionally well in a variety of places. It got gluttonous a few times but my 2019 dining style was mostly quality over … Continue reading

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Best Bars and Pubs of 2019

Thirsty for a drink paired with an appreciative welcome and maybe even camaraderie? Have a look my Best of 2019 list of my favourite bars sidled up to this year (with entries from across London as well Buffalo, San Francisco, … Continue reading

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The Inside Track on the Ultimate in Slow Cooking at Europe’s Biggest Annual Snail Festival, l’Aplec del Caragol (City AM)

Since its humble beginnings as a small riverside picnic among friends in 1980 to the grand foodie fiesta it is today, l’Aplec del Caragol occurs every May, about 100 miles northwest of Barcelona in the provincial town of Lleida. The party offers townsfolk and visitors alike a chance to enjoy a weekend celebrating one of the region’s favourite foods: snails. Continue reading

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Best Restaurants of 2018

There’s one list left in my Best of 2018 series, and it’s a doozy: best restaurants of the year! Continue reading

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Best Hotels of 2018

Next up in my Best of 2018 series is a short list of hotels that impressed me most. I took rooms in lots of hotels over the course of 2018. Most were perfectly fine, and I would be cool with … Continue reading

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Beyond Barcelona and Costa Brava: A Road Trip is the Best Way to Explore Catalunya (Metro)

If you love visiting Barcelona and the Costa Brava, but have started to develop a been-there-done-that attitude toward the big city and coastal pleasures of Catalunya, you might want to consider delving deeper into the region. The interior of Catalunya offers a distinctively exotic edge that’s anything but a watered down version of Spanish and French cultures. Continue reading

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Love Madrid I Fine Food Art of Ramón Frexia

Demi Perera recounts one more moreish moment in Madrid as her series about the Spanish capital continues. The grand finale of my exquisite culinary tour of Madrid with Luxury Travel Advisors was an unforgettable 20 course meal crafted by chef Ramón … Continue reading

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Love Madrid I Private Tapas Walking Tour

Demi Perera’s tour of Madrid with Luxury Travel Advisors continues on a bright Sunday morning in the bustling centre of Puerta del Sol, Madrid with a privately guided walk with tapas stops at some of the city’s most iconic and historic venues. Continue reading

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Love Madrid | Chef’s Table Tour

In the first post of her series about falling in love with Madrid’s gastronomy, Demi Perera begins her Love Madrid journey at Mercado de San Anton to gather provisions for creating a sumptuous Spanish lunch to share with friends. Continue reading

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Vaca y Marela | #TCTalks Episode 9

The ninth episode of TCTalks gets to the meat of the matter with Clifford Jones about his holistic agricultural project in rural Galicia: Vaca y Marela. In the interview, Clifford explains what makes this verdant corner of northern Spain such an amazing place for food and why beef from the region is so highly prized. Continue reading

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Best Bars of 2017 (Excluding London)

If your preferred mode of travel involves sidling up to a bar, you’re going to love this ‘best of’ list of bars visited during my travels in 2017. Continue reading

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Best Restaurants of 2017 (Excluding London)

Best restaurants in the world? Here’s a taste of the ones I got to try. Continue reading

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Infographic: 22 Interesting Facts about Mallorca

Do you know how Mallorca got its name? Or when the first human inhabitants arrived on its shores? Got any idea how many restaurants are on the island or just how many glorious hours of sunshine it gets each year? Continue reading

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Interactive Map: The Best Sunset Spots in Ibiza

To help get you ready for your summer holiday, the folks at SkyParkSecure have shared this fun and interactive map featuring the best sunset spots in Ibiza. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia: Bullish on the Best of Galicia

My end of April graze across Galicia to help a friend with a bit of recon for an upcoming foodie endeavour was a delicious way to delve deep into one of Spain’s most bounteous and beautiful regions. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia: Árbore Da Veira

Chef Luis Veira’s frisky if restrained approach toward haute cuisine highlights immense culinary talent and an especially inventive palate through a light-hearted approach that refrains from straying beyond the bounds of elegance and formality. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia: Casa Rita

Casa Rita is a rustic and “típico gallego” tavern, with a touch of Art Deco in its décor and a few homey and cheeky embellishments here and there. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia: Casa Marcelo

For fine dining that’s as fun as it flavoursome, Casa Marcelo in Santiago more than fits the bill. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia: O Gato Negro

Similar in feel to other Spanish cities renowned for their tapas such as San Sebastian and Madrid, Santiago de Compostela has its own classic collection of old school bars and taverns serving small plates of regional dishes. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia: Mercado de Abastos

Santiago de Compostela may be best known as a city of architectural excess in the name of Catholic grandeur. But just as key to what makes it such a fine destination for any sort of pilgrimage is the humble foodie action happening on the ground at Mercado de Abastos. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia: Benboa

Next stop on my Graze Across Galicia is Benboa at the pretty little port of Corrubedo. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia: La Bodeguilla de San Roque

For classic Galego fare, San Roque in Santiago de Compostela is a safe and savoury bet. Continue reading

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Graze Across Galicia with Vaca y Marela

I spent the end of April grazing across one of my favourite foodie regions of Europe – Galicia – helping an amigo get a little closer to making his dreams a reality and discovering why this picturesque and verdant corner of northwestern Spain is an ideal setting for what he’s cooking up. Continue reading

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Barcelona Uncovered with Avis

Avis has teamed up British travel writer Ben Holbrook to tour of his chosen home and uncover the best of Barcelona to help you experience the city like a local. Continue reading

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Tio Pepe Challenge 2017

The Tío Pepe Challenge is an international cocktail competition offering bartenders and mixologists around the world a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and creativity preparing a signature drink with sherry. Continue reading

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Best Bars of 2016 (Excluding London)

What a year! Ready for a drink? Might I recommend having it in style at one of these fabulous bars? They’re the best I came across in 2016. Continue reading

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Best Restaurants of 2016 (Excluding London)

There’s a whole lot of New Orleans in this list – which makes sense given the focus of my September foodie safari spent there. Indeed, some of these NOLA restaurants are remarkably close neighbours; two are just across Magazine Street from each other. But this year wasn’t only about luscious Louisiana cooking. I had great dining experiences in other corners of America too, and across Europe. Continue reading

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Feeling Fino | Outro

As I wrote in my introduction to this series of posts, visiting Jerez felt like a dream. Being able to experience the city with hometown hero Tio Pepe made it one of the tastier dreams to come true for me as a writer since I started this blog. Continue reading

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Feeling Fino: Win a Bottle of Sherry, Retro Poster and More from Tio Pepe

Hola! I hope you’ve been enjoying my series of posts about visiting Jerez de la Frontera in the sunny south of Spain to discover what makes Tio Pepe such a flavoursome and refreshing drink. Would you like to discover the taste for yourself? Keep reading? Continue reading

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Feeling Fino: Bars and Restaurants in Jerez

I ate, drank and propped up bars with such pleasure during my short stay in Jerez. For a town of hardly more than 200,000 residents and not an overwhelming lot of tourists passing through, there’s an awesome lineup of dynamic restaurants and bars. With memories of authentic Spanish food and drink, served with warmth and pride in evocative settings, my heart (and appetite) remains in Jerez. Continue reading

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Feeling Fino: Montesierra Jamon Iberico

Since the late 1800s, family-owned Montesierra has been sourcing free range, acorn munching Iberian pigs from the dehesas (wooded scrublands) of the Sierra Morena mountains and curing them without additives or preservatives (just salt and mountain air) in the village of Jabugo and the city of Jerez. Continue reading

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Feeling Fino in the Viñedos and the Bodegas of Jerez

Key to understanding what makes a great wine so distinctive is discovering where it’s grown, produced and aged. In the case of Tio Pepe – that means discovering the wonders of Jerez, from the vineyards on its outskirts to its cellars in the heart of town. Continue reading

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Feeling Fino in Jerez with Tio Pepe

Warm summer nights with a cool breeze blowing in from the nearby Atlantic, rapturous flamenco performed live and rumbling from the stage of an age-old bar with a reverberant and heartfelt wallop, irresistible tapas after irresistible tapas devoured al fresco with ample sherry to wash it all down – Jerez de la Frontera in the far south of Spain is a dream. Continue reading

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Infographic: Visiting Mallorca on a Budget

Dreaming about having some fun in the sun with your toes in the sand? Why not take your vacay on the Spanish island of Mallorca? You can do it on a budget and still have a blast. Continue reading

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