Tag Archive for: spanish culture

Cosmopolitan Girona is a vibrant city with much to offer:  a wide variety of retail options, top class restaurants, fascinating culture and excellent public transport connections.  It has all the vibes of city life but with a personal approach, as with its outstretched arms Girona pulls you in to its enchanting soul.

Through the heart of this up and coming city lies the River Onyar lined with its characteristic colorful houses,  dating back to the end of the middle Ages, and various bridges that criss-cross the old and new parts.

Over 1000 years of history make up the charming old part of Girona, located around the single nave Cathedral, the Jewish quarter, Sant Feliu church and Sant Pere de Galligants monastery.

In the patrimonial ensemble of the Santa Maria Cathedral of Girona the must see features are:
– The Gothic Nave, the widest in the world, without columns, at 22.80m (14th-16th centuries)
– The Creation Tapestry, one of a kind in Western Medieval art (11th-12th centuries)
– The Romanic Cloisters from the 12th century, and a collection of sculpture, painting, manuscripts, altar pieces and textiles (10th-12th centuries)

In the proximity of  the Cathedral are Sant Feliu church and Sant Pere de Galligants (now home of the Archaeology of Catalonia Museum), as well as the Arabian Baths.

According to legend, Saint Narcissus, the Bishop of Girona , and Saint Felix, his deacon, both died as martyrs, and the relics of Narcissus can still be worshipped in Girona Cathedral today.  Many miracles are attributed to this saint, such as that of the “Mosques de Sant Narcís” (‘flies of Saint Narcissus’). This legend stems from the time when the then King of France came to Girona with a powerful army, besieged the city and destroyed everything surrounding it. For the inhabitants, this was an inevitable catastrophe, because the French troops were much stronger and they were helpless. Until one day swarms of enormous and aggressive horseflies emerged from the grave of Saint Narcissus, which was sealed with a large, heavy stone slab. These flies traversed the walls of the city and attacked the French army.  Anyone who was stung by them instantly suffered a painful death. The surviving French enemies then fled back to their homeland. Since then it has been a superstition that the horseflies and flies are particularly numerous, keen to sting and agitated on Saint Narcissus Day, the 29th of  October.

As you wander through the enchanting streets of the Jewish quarter, one of the most important in Europe where a Jewish community lived for over 6 centuries, you will step back in time.  The city of Girona has long been home to myths and legends that are hidden away in its streets and buildings. Numerous symbols direct the curious to stories, which have lived on for very many years and been told in the city for generations.  The streets here are named after the medieval activity practised in them and the markets offered in them; l’Argenteria (silver), Mercaders (salesmen), Plaça de Vi (the wine square), l’Oli (oil), and de les Castanyes (of the chestnuts)…

 

At the heart of the old town lies the wide tree-lined avenue of  La Rambla.  Rambla de la Llibertat (it’s full title) is the main thoroughfare of the old town and starts at the Stone Bridge. Bordered by cafés and businesses, its arcades evoke the Middle Ages, at which point in history this street was the setting for an important regional market. The thoroughfare continues as the much narrower Carrer de l’Argenteria  leads to the Sant Agustí Bridge.

The 9th century city Wall has today been renovated and provides an exceptional route to follow some sections of the longest Carolingian walls in Europe.  Enjoy the views of the city and the surrounding landscape from the various watch towers which provide excellent vantage points.

From traditional stores to designer boutiques: prestigious international brands, avant-garde decoration, signature jewelry, original crafts, unique antiques, delicatessen products and many more , Girona guarantees a shopping spree will be pleasurable.

For wining and dining the city has many restaurants offering a wide range of fare: Catalan, Mediterranean, market and signature cuisine.  The gastronomy of this city has now become an international model of quality, with Michelin-starred restaurants that include El Celler de Can Roca, proclaimed by the prestigious Restaurant Magazine as the Best Restaurant in the World!

And, not to be forgotten are the museums of Girona recalling bygone days: The history of the Jews, Museum of Art, History of the City, Cinema Museum …… and the modern and cosmopolitan side of Girona on the retail and leisure side.

The city is completed with the Devesa Park.  Situated between the rivers of the Guell, the Onyar and the Ter, this fantastic city park extends for more than 40 hectares and is the most important Catalonian plane tree plantation. The plane trees that shade the famous Barcelona Ramblas came from this park and renowned poets have made it the subject of magnificent verse and songs.

Many of our Food & Wine Tours include private guided visits to Girona, Spain, in their itinerary.

Our Highlights of Spain Luxury Tour  is a complete tour including private visits in Girona, Barcelona, Seville, Toledo, Madrid and Medieval villages aswell as visits to Spanish wineries, winetasting, cooking classes, gourmet tastings and authetic meals.

As all our tours are exclusively private we can customize any tour to suit your preferences. Contact us for more information.

Salvador Dalí Domènech was born in May 1904 in Figueres, in the Empordà region of Catalonia, Spain.  In 1929 he fell in love with Gala, who became his wife 5 years later.  Throughout his lifetime Dalí experimented with many art forms, entered into the world of Hollywood and lived in the United States for 8 years.  He rubbed shoulders with many intellectual and artistic personalities such as: Federico García Lorca, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, the Marx Brothers, Sigmund Freud, Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock.

 

Today, in numerous worldwide cities, Salvador Dalí creations are proudly exhibited, but his life and the majority of his works can be enjoyed in three distinct locations in the province of Girona, Spain, where they are collectively known as the “Dali Triangle”:

Púbol Castle near La Pera, Spain

In 1969 Dalí purchased Púbol Castle, restoring and decorating it, for his beloved wife, Gala.  The castle became her fairy-tale residence during the 1970’s.   After her death, in June 1982, Dalí lost much of his will to live, and moved to the castle.  The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, had appointed Salvador Dalí the honourary title of Marquis of Púbol so it was only fitting that he lived there.  But, after a  fire in his bedroom, a suspected suicide attempt, in 1984,  he moved to Torre Galatea, in Figueres, where he lived until he died in January 1989.  The castle was opened to the public in 1996, and on display here are works that Dalí gave to Gala to decorate her home, along with a collection of her haute couture dresses, furniture and Dali’s treasured Cadillac.

Port-Lligat near Cadaqués, Spain
Salvador Dalí spent long periods of his youth here.  He gained much inspiration from the surroundings and the light, which is evident in his painting.  For over 40 years Dalí and Gala decorated the numerous fisherman’s huts, which they had bought at different times, and joined them together to make his beloved villa by the sea.  The house was opened to the public in 1997 and here can be found Dalí’s studio and library, along with the couples living quarters.

 

But, there’s only really one place where you can see the broadest range of Dali’s works, from his earliest artistic experiences and his surrealist creations down to the works of the last years of his life. of Salvador Dalí’s best works in a museum that he personally designed and was laid to rest at:  the Dalí Theater Museum in Figueres.

Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain


Built on the site of an old theater, the Dalí Theatre –Museum opened its doors in September 1974.  The Municipal Theater of Figueres was originally constructed between 1849 and 1850 but was destroyed at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939.  Only the basic structure was left standing as the auditorium ceiling had fallen in.  The access corridors of the boxes remained, and the arch and  lateral storerooms of the stage survived.  The vestibule and the foyer were the only parts that remained more or less intact, and the theater remained abandoned like this for decades.

The ghostly remnants of the Theater attracted Salvador Dalí and he decided, early in the 1960’s, to construct his museum inside the ruins of the old Municipal Theater of his hometown, Figueres.   Curiously, yet not coincidentally, the theater stands opposite the church where Dalí was baptized and  it was precisely in the hall of the vestibule of the theater where Dalí presented his first exhibition.

Today, the museum receives thousands of visitors who travel from all over the world to marvel at the wacky wonders housed in this art mecca.  This former city theater is now adorned with large bright white eggs and a pattern of golden bread, because he wanted visitors to do more than quietly stare at his work. He wanted them to be part of the experiment and have a chance to respond to his work just the way an applauding audience does.

In the case of the Dali Museum, you’ll want to have change on hand to participate. Otherwise, you may never know the glory of flooding a mannequin-filled Cadillac in the atrium, looking through binoculars that transform a painting of his wife Gala into Abraham Lincoln, or crucifixes made of the oddest things dancing to music.

The collection in the Dali Theater Museum is impressive, archiving works that show the evolution of this legendary artist from age 18, through his romance with his soul-mate Gala, up until Dalí’s last death-foreshadowing painting, The Happy Horse.  From strange and subversive, to beautiful and dreamy, his mostly surrealistic work makes each room of the Dali Museum an adventure revealing something impressive about Dalí’s deep and twisted mind.

Salvador Dalí Dalí Domènech is buried in a crypt in the basement of the TheaterMuseum.

 

At Gourmand Breaks we are huge Dali enthusiasts, why not let us take you to experiment the works of this wackily tormented genius on our Highlights of Spain Private Tour which includes a private guided tour of the Dali Museum as well as visits to some of Spain’s most emblematic landmarks, prestigious wineries and more!

Mushroom hunting

The mushroom hunting season in Spain is once again upon us and Autumn with all its glory and reddened leaves brings with it too the rain and dew necessary for wild mushrooms to thrive and grow.  The tradition of gathering mushrooms is deeply rooted in Spain but it is here in Catalonia and in the Basque country that mushroom picking is at its most popular.  On our Mushroom Hunting Getaway Tour  you can experience this fantastic tradition first hand with an expert who will have you foraging in the forest.  In our region, the mushrooms’ greatest fans revel in  hunting, recognition and consumption of the species.

Maybe the clue is in the scientific name “Lactarius Deliciosus” that this wild mushroom is edible.

It is worth noting that, in Spain, the boletus edulis mushroom, commonly known as Porcini, has made a huge comeback in recent years and is one of the most hunted of the mushroom species.  The most common to be spotted, however, are the Rovellón or Níscalo mushrooms.  In the kitchen, very often roasted or stewed, Rovellons can also be served to guarnish  a meat dish or stew.  Mushrooms are the most important ingredients for the preparation of many of our traditional Spanish dishes; in some they are the main, or even the only, ingredient.   What could be better than a dish of freshly picked wild mushrooms, gently but rapidly cooked in a combination of Virgin Olive Oil, Butter, Garlic and Parsley, which needs nothing more than a hunk of fresh bread and a glass of good wine?

But the interest in mushroom hunting is not merely limited to culinary or commercial reasons. Equally important, if not more so, are the leisure or sporting aspects which means that, when the autumn rains come, large numbers of people, families and friends, go into the forests to enjoy a pleasant walk while filling their baskets with mushrooms.  Cars seem to be abandoned in unusual spots along the country roads but their owners will be foraging in the forest nearby.

Spanish mushroom hunters often keep their picking location secret in order to avoid less enthusiastic pickers from pillaging the area for monetary gain.  Much like secret fishing spots, mushroom picking areas (which vary from season to season) are only shared with close friends or passed down by generations. As a matter of fact, in Spain,  friendships are known to have been broken on account of picking spots being revealed by unreliable partners or a picker being spotted on a week day at a location disclosed to him by a senior picker. In order to understand what is considered appropriate etiquette one should know that an amateur picker will not become the primary hunter in an area he has recently been introduced to by a senior mushroom picker!

It's not all about looking pretty, as not all the wild mushrooms you will find are edible. It is wise to go with an expert!

It’s not all about looking pretty, as not all the wild mushrooms you will find are edible.  It is wise to go with an expert!

The mushrooms that grow in Spain do include unfortunately, toxic species, some very dangerous. Ignorance and confusion with edible species that have a similar appearance, means that each year, when the mushroom season arrives, there are cases of poisoning, some even fatal. Enjoy your mushroom hunting, but it is important you go with someone who really “knows their mushrooms”!

Peep Oh!!! Mushrooms are more than likely hidden under braken, fallen leaves, broken branches or even enveloped in moss

Sometimes easy to spot, mushrooms very often hide

 

Enjoy a unique and authentic Gourmand Breaks private mushroom hunting and picking experience with a local expert on our Mushroom Hunting Getaway Tour

 

 

Saint George festivity in Catalonia

La Diada de Sant Jordi, also known as el dia de la rosa (The Day of the Rose) or el dia del llibre (The Day of the Book) is a Catalan holiday celebrated on April 23 similar to Valentine’s Day with some unique twists that show the ancient practice of this day. The main event is the exchange of gifts between sweethearts, loved ones and respected ones. Historically, men gave women roses, and women gave men a book to celebrate the occasion—”a rose for love and a book forever.” In modern times, the mutual exchange of books is customary though husbands and lovers still give a red rose to their wife or girlfriend. Roses have been associated with the day of Sant Jordi since medieval times, but the giving of books is a more recent tradition. In 1923, a bookseller started to promote the holiday as a way to honour the nearly simultaneous deaths of Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare on April 23, 1616. Barcelona is the publishing capital in both Catalan and the Spanish language and this heady one-two punch of love and literacy was quickly adopted.

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On February 14 of every year we give flowers, cards and make other affectionate gestures to those most dear, in honor of San Valentín. In Spain this day  is known as “El Dia de Las Enamoradas” the “ Day of the Lovers ”;  little by little the tradition of exchanging gifts, flowers and cards between partners and would be partners, on this special day, has been included into Spanish traditions. Read more

The Festival of Ratafia in Santa Coloma de Farners, near Girona, is celebrated on the second weekend of November each year, 2010 being its 26th year of celebration. Visitors can try different brands of Ratafia and taste dishes made with the spirit by local restaurateurs, while villagers are encouraged to enter competitions for the best home-made liqueur, Ratafia plays a huge part in the Spanish culture here.  The day is rounded off with some traditional Sardana dancing. Read more

One of the happiest events in Spain takes place every year on on the coast of Galicia in O Grove (El Grove),  where many of the 11,000 population earn their living from seafood.   The town has an annual festival in Honour of Seafood and to show off the excellence of the area’s shell fish and fish –  the Fiesta de Exaltación del Marisco (Seafood Festival) attracts more than 220,000 people every year from 4 – 14 October. Read more

In Calella de Palafrugell and other Costa Brava ports, to warm up after a day’s fishing and keep the conversation going, fishermen used to drink the classic cremat made with Cuban rum brought from Spain’s colonies. Cremat is prepared by heating rum and sugar with a stick of cinnamon, lemon peel and coffee beans. Then it is flambéed until the flames burn off the alcohol. The best time to try it is during the traditional havaneres singing in Calella de Palafrugell in July.

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suquet

The weather is warming up and what better than a delicious Suquet- Catalan fish stew when the sun is starting to shine but the wind is still a little bitter!   This recipe is delicious and you need serve it only with a green salad and some crispy bread – perfect for lunch or dinner and even better with a delicious glass of Spanish Wine – perhaps something from Emporda DO?

Tradition Spanish Suquet Fish Stew Recipe: Read more

 

Christmas is really a rather religious time in Spain. It officially begins on December 8, with the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is celebrated each year in front of the great Gothic cathedral in Seville with a ceremony called Los Seises or the “dance of six”.

A very important Christmas symbol in Spain is the Nativity scene, which can be seen in plazas in both cities and small towns throughout the country and which are also displayed prominently in the doorways and entrances of many Spanish homes.  In many small towns there may even be a live Nativity scene, with actors and actresses playing the parts of Mary and Joseph and the three wise men as well as live animals.

In Catalonia a very typical character is the “Tío de Nadal”. It is a hollow log, about thirty centimeters long with a broad painted smiling face, enhanced by a little red sock hat and often a three-dimensional nose.  Beginning with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), the tradition is to give the Tió a little bit to “eat” every night and usually cover him with a little blanket so that he will not be cold at night.  On Christmas day the Tió is placed partly into the fireplace and ordered to “poop” presents. To make him “poop”, he is beaten with sticks, whilst the family sing the various songs of Tió de Nadal.

Christmas Eve in Spain, called “Nochebuena”, just like in many parts of the world, is celebrated with two very important traditions, eating an enormous meal and going to Christmas mass.  There is a wide variety of typical foods one might expect to find on plates across Spain on this night and each region has its own distinct specialties.  Among typical dishes served on Christmas Eve and during the days that follow are roast lamb and suckling pig (typically served in the regions of Castilla León, Castilla la Mancha, and Madrid),  turkey or duck (commonly prepared in Andalucía) and an enormous variety of seafood, including shrimp, lobster, crab and various types of fish such as hake, trout, sea bream, sea bass and salmon (common in many regions, but mostly on the coasts).  For dessert, there is quite a spread of delicacies, among them are turrón and marzipan, desserts made of honey, egg and almonds that are Arabic in origin, as well as polvorones, delicious almond based biscuits and a variety of nuts and dried fruits.  To drink  –  a glass of cava, the Spanish equivalent of champagne.  After the meal, many Spaniards get their second wind and go to midnight mass, known as “La misa del Gallo”, or “Rooster Mass”, named such because the Rooster  is known as the first to announce the birth of Christ.

On Christmas day people spend time with their families, they eat another large meal, and children enjoy the gifts that they have received from “Papa Noel”, the Spanish equivalent of Santa Claus.  The custom of giving gifts on this date is not as popular as it is in many countries, as Spaniards traditionally wait until Three King’s Day to exchange gifts.

New Year’s Eve, or Nochevieja, in Spain, is quite an impressive spectacle.  In all plazas one can see a similar scene that includes church bells and grapes.   When the clock strikes 12, the church bells sound 12 times, and at this moment all Spaniards eat 12 grapes, one for each toll of the bell. This lively celebration will go on until the wee hours of the morning.

January 6 – Dia de Los Reyes in Spanish – is virtually as important as Christmas itself in Spain, especially for children, as this is the day when they get their presents! The fun starts the evening before, when the three kings Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthasar  lead their procession through the streets, throwing sweets to the children. The next morning, the children wake up to find their presents have been left

Everyone also eats Roscón, a sweet, donut-shaped bread (though much bigger than a donut) covered in glacier cherries and sugar, symbolic of the emeralds and rubies that adorned the robes of the three kings. A plastic toy is buried inside the mixture, so don’t dive in too quickly. He or she who finds the toy gets good luck for the next year (double the luck if they also ate the grapes on New Year’s Eve!)

Merry Christmas from Gourmand Breaks in Spain! If you would like to come to do a private tour around Christmas and New Year then there really is no better place to be for this festive season than Andalusia in our Highlights of Spain Luxury Tour– watch first hand the ceremony of Los Seises from Seville Cathedral or soak up the New Years eve atmosphere in Spain´s capital city, Madrid.