Spain Travel Guide
7/02/2008 at 9:15 AM
Tags: Spain Travel, Animals, Running of the Bulls, Festivals (all tags)
This Sunday is the annual start of Pamplona's Running of the Bulls, and just like in past years, we are totally not going to be there.
If you're crazier than us, then you need to know that the festival lasts for nine days (it's always July 6-14), and if you're happy to risk being gored by a very annoyed bull, you have to assemble by 7:30 am, ready for an eight o'clock start.
Also important to know: The bulls can get through the streets faster now thanks to some anti-slip surfacing one of the trickiest parts. Faster, we said. We're not sure that's a good thing. The last time a tourist was directly killed by a bull was in 1995, so perhaps it's all not as dangerous as we thought. But how about you guys report back: We'll be sitting this one out at home.
Related Stories:
· Pamplona Bull Run [What'sOnWhere]
· Spain's Running of the Bulls Launches Feminist Debate [Jaunted]
[Photo: jsprhrmsn]
by amandak
7/01/2008 at 12:35 PM
Tags: Culture Travel, Summer Travel, Music Festivals, Rock in Rio, Amy Winehouse (all tags)
Only a geographic imbecile would confuse Spain and Brazil, two countries dissimilar in size, language and continent. But if you're looking for the Rock in Rio concert taking place this weekend, better pack your Spanish-English dictionary: After three editions in Brazil, the fest is expanding its reach and has already held concert blowouts in Lisbon and Madrid.
Organizers are banking that the words "Rock in Rio" can become a brand like Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza, not just a callback to the home of samba and Gisele. This final weekend of Rock in Rio, held in the Madrid suburb of Arganda del Rey, will feature The Police, Franz Ferdinand, Amy Winehouse and Bob Dylan.
Tickets start at €65 ($102) a day.
Related Stories:
· Rock in Rio Music Fest Debuts in Spain [AFP, via Yahoo]
· Music Festival Travel: Pinging the Hills of Catalunya [Jaunted]
[Photo Ivete Sangalo last weekend at Rock in Rio: Ivete Sangalo Oficial]
by egw
6/12/2008 at 9:15 AM
Tags: Spain Travel, Exhibitions, Green Travel (all tags)
Spain's oldest town, Zaragoza, has been on the lookout for a tourism boost. And they're hoping to get it with the 2008 Expo which starts on Saturday and runs until September 14.
While the "water and sustainable development" theme doesn't sound too sexy to us, the 60 acres of exhibitions from 100 countries are meant to be focused on entertainment and education--only 20 percent of the space is allowed to be about selling stuff--and we're open to a bit of edu-tainment.
If you're one of the estimated 7 million visitors to Expo 2008, you'll get to see stuff like the multimedia iceberg show every night, the "air bound theater" of Hombre Vertiente and the midday Awakening of the Serpent parade. It's kinda like Disneyland with an environmental conscience.
Related Stories:
· Expo Zaragoza 2008 [Official Site]
· World Expo Zaragoza 2008 [GoNomad]
· Spain Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: aranmanoth]
by amandak
6/10/2008 at 3:45 PM
Tags: Music Travel, Music Festivals, Sonar Festival, M.I.A. (all tags)
Blow open the doors of this museum: Barcelona's Sónar Festival is around the corner! Held June 19-21 this year, the show encompasses concerts from acts as diverse as Matmos, Goldfrapp, M.I.A. and Justice, plus street fairs, film screenings and special events sponsored by the Barcelona Center of Contemporary Culture and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
There's a catch, though: During the fest, Sónar parties in the city by day and some kilometers distant by night in the Fira Barcelona. If you'd rather sightsee during the day, each section is ticketed separately (€30 [$46] for each day, €40-€48 by night), and transportation is included in the night tickets.
Oh, and as you can see in the photo, night events go on into the daylight in true Spanish style.
Related Stories:
· Sónar Festival [Official Site]
· Music Festivals coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: aqueousimages]
by egw
6/03/2008 at 4:30 PM
Tags: Sex, Sports Travel, Bullfights, Animals, Alaska (all tags)
Alaska, a Spanish pop singer from the 80s, is posing nude for a new ad campaign to protest bullfighting. The ads show the musical MILF naked with her back pierced by three spears along with the slogan "The Naked Truth." In retaliation, Spanish bullfighters will be hosting an exhibition at the EU Parliament in Brussels June 4 and 5 to showcase their sport for lawmakers.
Polls show that young people in Spain are losing interest in the violent sport. Alaska must be hoping that her nude pictures can persuade older Spaniards to join the cause.
Meanwhile, this weekend the Daily Mail released a series of awesome pictures showing matador Jose Tomas--the "David Beckham of Spanish bullfighting"--being gored by a bull. Even if you find bullfighting morally reprehensible, these pictures are worth a look. Animal activist types should even be able to enjoy them since they show the bullfighter getting hurt instead of the bull.
Related Stories:
· Spanish Pop Star Poses Nude to Protest Bullfighting [AFP, via Google]
· Alaska Gets Naked to Protest Bullfighting [Animanaturalis, in Spanish]
· Mess with the Bull, Get the Gore [Jaunted]
by Hunter Walker
5/29/2008 at 9:15 AM
Tags: Spain Travel, Train Travel, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers (all tags)
Spain is not the first country that comes to mind when we think of fast and efficient train service. (It's not even the second.) But apparently they've been hard at work developing a comprehensive bullet train network which is going to totally alter the way people are traveling around Spain.
By 2010, the trains zipping around the country will form the most extensive train network in the world, and airlines usually busy with domestic flights around Spain--Iberia, Spanair and Vueling especially--are getting worried.
The completed Spanish bullet train system will be five times bigger than Japan's, and already you can travel between Madrid and Barcelona in two and a half hours. LCC Vueling simply canceled this entire route for the summer. Are we really seeing the demise of European budget airlines? Or perhaps the Spanish are just taking a siesta from flying.
Related Stories:
· Spanish Airlines Feel Pressure [AFP]
· European LCCs Might Be In Trouble [Jaunted]
· Spain Finally Gets up to Speed [Jaunted]
[Photo: Chris Juden]
by amandak
5/01/2008 at 10:00 AM
Tags: Clubs, Nightlife, Night Clubs (all tags)
Barcelona's nightlife is notoriously hot and there is something to satisfy even the most professional partiers. But there are so many events happening simultaneously you can easily get overwhelmed and find yourself where many young travelers do: Running the Las Ramblas strip and eventually sharing pints with other foreigners at the the Old City's Travel Bar, a pub-ish backpacker den that should be avoided at all costs--unless you need to take advantage of its free WiFi.
Instead, we went in search of BCN's funkier side and sussed out two eclectic parties that kept us groovin' way too late (on a Wednesday, no less).
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by CourtScott
4/23/2008 at 4:30 PM
Tags: Attractions, Zoos, Animals, Videos (all tags)
Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, has just opened the first phase of a $94 million, state-of-the-art zoo called Bioparc Valencia.
The zoo spans 25 acres and is home to 4,000 animals from 250 species including the old zoo favorites and stand-bys: antelope, zebras, gorillas and leopards.
Yet it's not your grandparents zoo where you walk around and point at animals in cages. The Bioparc reproduces the vegetation, terrain and sounds of the animals' ecosystem while hiding all the man-made stuff like barriers so you can feel a little less guilty about observing animals taken from their natural habitats.
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by juliana
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