Barcelona has Restaurant Week, Valencia has Cuina Oberta

For the last week almost 30 top restaurants around Barcelona have been celebrating Barcelona Restaurant Week by offering a selected menu for just 25 euros. This weekend is the last weekend to take advantage of this great offer (at least until next year). But if you aren't in the northeastern area, you can also check out the restaurants in Valencia, which through November 27 features 82 restaurants that are offering set menus for lunch (25 euros) or dinner (30 euros) to tempt the palate. This is another initiative of the Valencian community to draw visitors' attention to the mouthwatering diversity of the region's cooking, which extends well beyond the   measures of Paella. 

But Cuina Oberta, like the gastronomic selection of the region, also extends beyond the borders of the kitchen. This weekend you can take a workshop on cooking, tour local wineries or even head down to the Albufera for a Paella cooking (and eating) class.

If you can't make it this weekend, fear not! As the world opens its eyes to the delights and diversity of Spanish cuisine, these events will become more accessible and more common, meaning more eye-opening and mouthwatering ways to spend your vacation in Spain!

For more information or to design your private guided tour in Spain, contact The Spanish Touch at 888-480-0013.

Thanksgiving in Spain

With the Thanksgiving festivities rapidly approaching, I find myself thinking about my youth, about the dinners spread over groaning tables and 20+ people gathered together for a day of friendship and sharing. Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, but that doesn't mean that the Spanish are not open to trying new things. And any holiday which involves food and friends is certain to go down like a great glass of cava.

Every year we host a Thanksgiving Day feast (okay, so it's on Saturday, because everyone here has to work Thursday and Friday), and you would be amazed at the reception it gets. The most fun is the turkey which, as a native of the Americas, is anything but a traditional dish on the old continent. In fact, the word for turkey in Catalan literally translates as "rooster of the Indies".

On behalf of the entire crew at The Spanish Touch, I also want to say how thankful I am to be doing what I do, and that I am able to help people enjoy the best of what Spain has to offer is a wonderful way to celebrate Thanksgiving!

Ice Skating in Barcelona? 'Tis the season!

This year in the city of Barcelona there is a plan to set up the Mediterranean version of Rockefeller center's ice rink in the center of the Plaza Catalunya. While many of the details are still unconfirmed, it appears as if the skating rink will be set up in the center of the square, which is right at the top of Las Ramblas, and is one of the main plazas in the city. The idea is to offer people the opportunity to step onto the ice from December 2 through January 9, including all the major holidays of the season. As of yet Barcelona city hall has yet to confirm the plan, but if it proceeds it will add another aspect to an already vibrant holiday scene in the capital of Catalunya.

For more information or to plan your private guided tour in Spain, contact The Spanish Touch at 888-480-0013.