Tarragona, Spain

Tarragona is to be found on the Mediterranean shoreline, about 60 miles southwest of Barcelona, Spain, in the area of Catalonia. Tarragona has about 110,000 people and it is the main city on the Costa Dorada. The coastal area of Tarragona reaches up to 212 km, whereby you can witness its unruffled blue waters. On the other hand, the domestic landscape is enhanced by the powerful luster of sunbeams. The sight of vineyards, hazel, almond, and olive trees give an atmosphere of charm and splendor.

The original name of the city was Tarraco. Previous settlers may have occupied the area, however the first Tarragona inhabitants were led by Gneus Scipio, who established a Roman military camp in 218 B.C. The force developed quickly and the place was declared a colony of Rome in 45 B.C. by Julius Ceasar. Tarragona was then considered as the key Roman town in Spain.

Tarragona , being situated in a very coastal spot, there is no doubt that the main menus will capitalize on SEAFOODS. The local cooking has FISH as core ingredient. One ver famous Tarragonian food product is the Romesco sauce (the first-rate olive oil from El Camp and the peppers grown in the vicinity, as well as the clandestine ingredient handed down from generation to generation of fishermen, are the indispensable components of this sauce).

The Tarragonians are honest, penny-wise, and generally hospitable even if they have certain reservations towards strangers…quite a universal behavior.

Mondays are hushed days in Tarragona. Shops and amusements are closed on Mondays. So never schedule a vacation in Tarragona on a Monday, unless you just want a relaxing escape form the jostle of the metropolis.

Today, Tarragona has gone a long way from its Roman history and is now comparable to other modernized cities. Still, it is an enriching hub for historians and archaeologists who persist on unearthing ancient Roman relics. Wine trade is also a major industry in this place.

read comments (4)

Act the Talk(Body Language is the Key)

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Traveling is so fun, but it gets tough when the language barrier sets in. English is the universal language, but many European and Asian countries do not know how to speak and understand English. What do you do when the locals don’t understand a word you’re saying? Simple…don’t use words. Yes folks, just like how the song goes, “you say it best, when you say nothing at all”. Use the facial expressions and your hands to convey your thoughts.

It’s a lot easier than scouring the English-(other language) dictionary all the time.

When you want to ask for a restaurant, or say that you’re hungry, you can either pat your stomach or open your mouth and let your hand do the eating stroke. When asking for time, simply tap your wrist. When you want to respond “I don’t know”, just shrug your shoulders and perhaps raise your eyebrows. Ask “Which way?” without saying a word by pointing your fingers in opposite directions with an asking look. “How much?” can be interpreted by rubbing the thumb and fingers together. When you want to express that you want just “a little”, just put the thumb and finger close together. And say “Oops!” by placing the hands close to the mouth and with eyes wide open.

Lastly, nothing beats the effect of a good SMILE. Universally, it communicates something positive, and you’ll get positivity in return. Of course it helps to learn a few foreign words that are most basic to your destination. Enjoy!

read comments (0)

Lag off Jet Lag

Traveling in different times zones can spell disaster. Disaster in your body rhythm, that is. “Jet Lag” is a common term for globe trotters, and it’s the most natural thing that can happen when crossing time zones, and there are ways to cope with it.

· Rest is important. Sleep early a few days before the actual travel date. During the actual flight, sleep as much as you can in the plane.

· Stay away from alcohol, tea, coffee and other caffeinated beverages. Drink plenty of water before and during the flight to avoid dehydration which is one of the bad effects of jet lag

· Eat light (avoid unfamiliar food) during the flight and first few days of arriving at your destination. To cope with jet lag means to adjust your body clock, and the last thing you’d want to do is to exhaust your body further by spending more energy on adjusting to unusual foodies (at least for the first few days).

· Do take a occasional breaks from your flight seat. Do some stretching, walk the aisles of the plane in order to fatigue, prevent blood clot, back aches, and swollen legs.

· Last but not the least, take time to rest a little bit when you arrive, and try to make your body clock adjust to local time by sleeping at the same time the locals do. If you’ve arrived during rush hours, still rest for a while until you get your bearings.

read comments (0)

From Spain with Love

Spanair S.A., a Spanish airline “Member of the SAS Group”, (and serving the public for two decades now by offering international, domestic, and chartered flights) announced their cheap flight promos. Now, from Spain, off we go to other parts of Spain and European destinations. HELLOWW SPAIN! HELLOWW EUROPE!

Bilbao – Munich 49 € Until the 1st of September
Madrid – Frankfurt 49 € Until the 1st of September
Madrid – Vienna 99 € Until the 1st of September
Zurich – Barcelona 45 € Until the 1st of September
Frankfurt – Madrid 49 € Until the 1st of September
Stuttgart – Madrid 49 € Until the 1st of September
Zurich – Madrid 53 € Until the 1st of September
Madrid – Granada Jaen 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona – Majorca 25 € Until the 30th of June
Madrid – Majorca 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona – A Coruña 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona – Jerez 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona – Vigo 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona – Santiago 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona – Asturias 25 € Until the 30th of June
Madrid – Vigo 25 € Until the 30th of June
Madrid – Pamplona 25 € Until the 30th of June
Madrid – Asturias 25 € Until the 30th of June
Almeria – Madrid 25 € Until the 30th of June
A Coruña – Madrid 25 € Until the 30th of June
Bilbao – Madrid 25 € Until the 30th of June
Malaga – Madrid 25 € Until the 30th of June

*One way prices, buying round trip. All INCLUDED.

http://www.spanair.com/

read comments (0)

Glorious Cadiz

Cadiz (pronounced as Cadith) is a marvelous town that has once served as home to bona fide voyagers like Ferdinand Magellan and Amerigo Vespucci. This place is often visited by tourists, as it is so close to another tourist favorite, Seville, which is another beautiful city of Spain. Cadiz is a preferred harbor amongst chic cruise ships.

Cadiz is located in Southern Spain in close proximity to the Rock of Gibraltar. The old city is small and very much echoes the Moorish era. The narrow streets are made up of cobblestones, well-preserved up to now. Their most favorite structure to flaunt? The twin-towered Cathedral, which is just a stone’s throw away from the harbor.

The Landward Gate, one of the city’s few 18th century walls, is still in place. Several of the aged buildings tell a rich association of Cadiz to other countries. Santa Cruz and San Felipe Neri, which were historically instrumental places for the changes of Spain’s Constitution, are the must-see churches of Cadiz are the churches of. The La Santa Cueva( home to quite a lot of paintings by Goya), and majestic mansions such as the Casa del Almirante and Casa de las Cadenas are other landmarks that are worth visiting.

read comments (3)

Quaint Almeria

Almería has centuries of history and it will surely be evident on the structures that you will see around. One good image is the Arab citadel that watches over the entire city. Almeria’s history is not just contributed by the Moorish occupation. This place also holds numerous archaeological indications of the various ancient cultures, including the Tartessos , Phoenicians , Romans, and Visigoths, who were drawn here by the natural beauty and useful maritime geographic location even before the Arabs came.

In 1522, Almeria was distressed by a seismic activity. Reconstruction and recovery did not arrive in Almeria’s favor until the 19th century.

With its interesting medieval architecture, Almeria’s old town is a delight to stroll through with its tranquil squares, archways and colonnades. The city also has a fascinating archaeological museum and unique cave dwellings in the hillside above the old gypsy quarter.

WEATHER

This is mainland Europe’s warmest and sunniest region, with over 3000 hours of sunshine a year. Until recently Almeria was less accessible than some other Spanish destinations, a fact which has undoubtedly helped to shield it from the excess of tourism and let it to become the unspoiled, peaceful place it is today.

Towns of Costa Almeria:

Adra, Agua Amarga, Aguadulce, Alba, Albox, Alcolea, Alhama de Almeria , Almanzora , Almeria, Almerimar, Antas, Arboleas, Bayarcal, Bedar, Berja, Cabo de Gata, Cabrera, Canjayar, Cantoria, Carboneras, Chirivel, Cuevas del Almanzora, Dalias, El Ejido, Finana, Gador,Garrucha,Gergal,Huercal Overa ,La Alfoquia, Laujar de Andarax, Los Gallardos , Los Lobos ,Lubrin, Lucainena de las Torres , Maria, Mojacar Playa, Mojacar Pueblo,Mojacar pueblo,Nijar,Olula del Rio, Oria, Palomares , Puerto Rey, Pulpi, Retamar, Roquetas de Mar, San Jose, San Juan de Terreros, Seron, Sorbas, Tabernas, Taberno, Tijola, Turre, Velez Blanco, Velez Rubio, Vera, Vera Playa, Vicar,Villaricos, Zurgena

read comments (0)

Bilbao–Guggenheim City

Bilbao, capital of Provincia de Vizcaya is situated in Northern Spain. It is made up of aged and contemporary segments linked by several bridges spanning the Rio Nervion.

The oldest component of the city is the Old City (known as the Seven Streets) has been under local security since 1972 due to its historical value. In here are the most imperative shops of the city, and it has a continual chain of bars and restaurants which bestows an extraordinary ambience.

At the very core of the Seven Streets is the Santiago Cathedral , which is the oldest sight that you can see in the vicinity. It has Gothic architecture and is definitely classified as a national integral piece in the history of art and architecture.

Bilbao lies within a huge iron ore mining expanse, near the Bay of Biscay, making it one of the major industrial centers of Spain and also an important seaport.

Bilbaínos are noted to be passionate with their ball games. They are also renowned for their warmth; a visitor to their territory is made to feel at home.

It is now a vibrant city of around 360,000 inhabitants. It forms the hub of the Greater Bilbao metropolis, which is habitat to almost one million people. The City of Bilbao is the Basque Country’s monetary and artistic centre. It is linked to the rest of Spain and Europe by an urbane highway network. It is also the permanent site of the International Samples Trade Fair . Bilbao is now considered one of the most exciting destinations in Europe.

For a long period of time, Bilbao was a very industrial area, one could see, even from miles away, the oven flames that were transforming iron into steel. Tourism was definitely not a foremost scheme of commerce, even if the inhabitants were mostly local tourists from other parts of Spain.

Bilbao, as industrialized as it is, has constantly comprised a unique appeal made possible by traces of earlier times, such as their old theaters, hospitals, mansions, and palaces.

With much gratitude to the construction of the famous Guggenheim Museum designed by the well-renowned Frank O. Gehry, people are now seeing Bilbao in a whole new light. More and more tourists are looking forward to visit Bilbao. Major developments such as metropolitan bridges, luxury hotels, sanitation moves, contemporary metro lines are now much anticipated, making the Bilbainos much more optimistic with reference to their homeland.

read comments (0)

Captivating Mallorca

Located in the middle of the West Mediterranean and about 60 miles off the coast of Spain, Mallorca (also spelled Majorca and read as MaYorKa) is said to be the largest of the 16 Balearic Islands. It measures 96 km at its widest point and 78 km long. This island covers an area of 3.640 km2, of which 554 km are made up of coastline. It owns varied scenery, and it has been a home to sundry cultures since olden times. Today, it has been a magnet to millions of tourists because of the mostly sunny weather and undeniably beautiful landscape. The continued visits of tourists even led to the birth of different lucrative businesses and became the main source of income for the island’s inhabitants.

Famous (and not-so-famous) European geniuses like Archiduke Louis Salvador of Austria, Chopin and Georges Sands, Robert Graves, Joan Miró are just some of the few who introduced themselves to the region. Many have spent their lives in the island. At present, Mallorca is slowly becoming a favorite destination to visit by some 7million tourists every year. Some opt to live permanently in the island (adding to the almost 600,000 population), making it a mixture of various people of different descents, mostly European.

Mallorca enjoys all the 4 seasons in a year although the typical weather is moderate and comparatively dry. Spring is a magnificent time to enjoy Mallorca’s natural reserves. It is a rather quiet season. Summer (from June to September) is definitely the unbeatable season that makes Mallorca famous to tourists. It is during this season that the sun fanatics flock the island. Autumn means the return of the perfect weather for walkers and nature-trippers. It is in this time of the year that the locals can show off their different home grown produce in the dynamic village markets. Winter season in Mallorca is to some extent subdued compared to the other seasons.

Mallorca does have first class hotels, shopping places, gambling locations, night spots, restaurants, top rated golf courses, museums, nature parks, fabulous beaches, and horse-riding clubs which are really a favorite among tourists.

read comments (1)

Let’s TRAVEL :-)

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”

~St. Augustine

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”

~Robert Louis Stevenson

“I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full.”

~Lord Dunsany


A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

~Lao Tzu

Much has been said about traveling, but the word is perceived differently by different people. To some, it may be a bothersome task of having to move from one place to another. To a few, it may be a luxurious time off from a stressful life. No matter how it is put to mind, one thing is for sure, traveling leads to learning. And that’s always a good thing.

Let’s explore this wonderful world. Let’s travel.:-)

read comments (0)