Eating in the street is all the rage. It is becoming more popular by the day and Restaurant Day, which emerged in Finland but is celebrated in various cities around the world, contributed to it in large measure. The event takes place every three months and is a magnificent expression of urban culture, as its origins lie in volunteering and citizens’ own initiative. Any person, or group of people, can open their own pop-up restaurant, an expression fast gaining currency – you choose a spot, set up your stall, impress, sell and dismantle it, all in a single day. It could be in a park, on a street corner, in a courtyard or even an apartment or office. What is the goal? To promote a culinary experience and, above all, to have a good time in community… and all for a modest price. One’s imagination is the limit!

Any individual or group of friends can come together for a few hours to prepare and offer one, two, three… five or up to ten different dishes. Sweet or savoury, whatever catches one’s fancy or, to be sure, whatever you can do best. The better the product you make, the more portions you sell and the more business you do. And, apart from the pleasure involved in the culinary experience, it goes without saying that nobody wants to lose money. You can even make money!

Restaurant Day is a veritable gastronomic experience for those who set up their own pop-up restaurant and also, apparently, for the thousands of potential customers who, in a matter of minutes, can savour dishes from the five continents. It is common to find youngsters selling Mexican dishes alongside another group making sushi, and a nearby family preparing a scrumptious paella, accompanied by various potato omelettes.

The driving force behind Restaurant Day is the Finn, Timo Santala, who decided to launch this initiative after a trip to Thailand, where street food is a common practice. It is also a way of cutting down on the bureaucratic red tape involved in opening a restaurant. The first Restaurant Day, or Ravintolapäivä, was held on 21 May 2011. Just 45 pop-up restaurants took part, distributed between thirteen towns in Finland. The second time around, the number registering for the event rose to 200. The last edition, held on 16 May 2015, saw the participation of nearly 2,500 restaurants in 34 countries. From Finland to Italy, Portugal, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Britain, Poland, Hungary, Russia, Belgium and the Netherlands. The fact is that people are taking a greater interest in the venture day by day, and becoming more open to preparing and tackling new cuisines and new flavours – restaurants serving foreign cuisines are always the most readily accepted everywhere!

In short, Restaurant Day is a great way for making people aware that they are the real citizens and owners of the towns they inhabit. The thinking behind this growing movement is that it is up to them to make the towns they live in a much better place. Despite attempts by administrations, particularly in Finland, to control the level of street-food hygiene and to levy taxes on the initiative, they were forced to back down due to the popularity of the event. Thus, the organisers have managed to maintain the civic spirit of the original proposal. It is therefore a great opportunity for anyone wishing to fulfil their dream of opening a restaurant, even if just for one day!

There is now even an app which enables you to find the nearest spot for a pop-up restaurant linked to theRavintolapäivä. The next stagings of this event are scheduled for 16 August and 21 November 2015, and Budapest will be one of the cities with greater participation of Europe. 

Check out our flights here.

Text and images by Marc Carol and Jordi Casino (Barcelonahelsinki)

Saint Ranieri is the patron of the Tuscan city of Pisa and of travellers. Spectacular celebrations in his honour and commemorating his death are held each year on 17 June and the previous day. The highlights are the Luminara di San Ranieri and the Regatta Storica, staged in some of the city’s most emblematic spots.

Luminara di San Ranieri – Pisa by Candlelight

On 16 June, as the sun begins to set, Pisa comes alight with the Luminara di San Ranieri. Thousands of lights appear in windows and on cornices, illuminating the outlines of buildings, churches and bridges and setting up a unique and very beautiful effect. Some 70,000 candles, known as lampanini or lumini, placed in cups and on candlesticks, are consumed in this spectacle of light. The display is magical and a stroll along the banks of the river Arno and across its bridges as you contemplate the reflections of the lights playing on the surface of the water is an unforgettable experience.

That night is the ideal time for visiting the city’s landmark buildings which, being lit up, provide an extraordinary sight. The 12th-century city walls on the Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of the Miracles) frame a monumental complex consisting of the Duomo and the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Baptistery and the Monumental Cemetery – a whole historical complex enhanced by the candlelight. At 11 p.m. a great fireworks display starts up at the Cittadella Vecchia (Old Citadel), painting the sky of Pisa in a host of colours. That is when everybody congregates around the river Arno as it affords the best view of the spectacle.

Regatta Storica di San Ranieri 

On the following day, the feast of Saint Ranieri, the celebrations continue across the whole city, featuring music, dancing and banquets. Another noteworthy event in honour of the saint takes place that same day, the Regatta Storica di San Ranieri, a race between rowing boats representing Pisa’s four historical districts – San Francesco, San Martino, Santa Maria and Sant’ Antonio. The boats are reconstructions of the stefaniane, a typical rowing boat used by the Order of the Cavalieri di Santo Stefano.

Apart from the Leaning Tower, What Else is there to See?

Pisa is the jewel of Tuscany, a destination that attracts thousands of tourists eager to soak up its art and historical heritage. The birthplace of Galileo Galilei has a lot to offer, apart from the Leaning Tower. Corso Italiai s the city’s shopping precinct, the ideal place for picking up an Italian fashion garment or for enjoying the café terraces. Borgo Stretto, too, with its elegant bars and haute couture stores. This medieval alley eventually leads into the Piazza dei Cavalieri (Knights’ Square), the city’s historic centre. The square boasts centuries-old buildings, such as the Palazzo della Carovana, also known as the Palazzo dei Cavalieri, built as the headquarters of the Order of the Knights of St Stephen, which now houses one of Italy’s most prestigious universities, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Opposite stands the Palazzo dell’Orologio (Clock Palace) with its two medieval towers. Legend has it that this palace was built over the remains of the Torre della Fame (Tower of Hunger) where, as cited in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, the Conte Ugolino della Gherardesca was imprisoned, together with his sons, accused of treason by the archbishop. The key to their cell was thrown into the river Arno and they all died slowly of hunger.

Incidentally, Piazza Dante is another of the city’s landmarks. It provides smooth access into the alleyways of the medieval city with its countless bars and restaurants serving Tuscan cuisine. The food is excellent in Pisa and, by avoiding the more commercial circuits around the Leaning Tower, is not necessarily expensive.

Text by Scanner FM

Images by Fabio Gismondi | elenavataga | Federico Caboni | Alex | Alessandro | Guillaume Baviere

Movie tourism is a fun way to explore a city, discovering the places where some of our favorite scenes were filmed and where our favorite actors ever acted.
No one can deny the close relationship between Sicily and the cinema when 60 kilometers from Palermo, we come across a city like Corleone that makes the island a world tourist destination for curious and moviegoers.
Let us therefore take a tour around the locations of one of the most famous trilogies in movie history!

1.- Massimo Theatre

The Masimo Theatre in Palermo is located in Piazza Verdi and is the largest of the opera houses in Italy and the third largest in Europe, a neoclassical building dating from the nineteenth century.

On the front steps of this Opera House in Sicily, Coppola filmed the final scene of the film The Godfather III, one of the highlighted moments, in which Mary, Michael Corleone’s daughter, is killed by a gunman while the Intermezzo for Pietro Mascagni Cavaleria’s Opera Rusticana is played on the background .

2.- Villa Malfitano

This neo-Renaissance villa style is found in Via Dante Alighieri, 167 and is home to the Whitaker Foundation. The art collections compiled by the owner during his travels, like furniture, paintings, porcelain and Flemish tapestries from the sixteenth century garnish the rooms in the inside. Its beautiful garden is rated 5 hectares with curious plants from around the world, such as Tunisia, Sumatra, Australia, and some 150 different kinds of orchids. You can visit Villa Malfitano every morning from Monday to Saturday

Here took place the toast to Anthony‘s debut as opera singer. Anthony is the son of Michael Corleone.

3.- Castello degli Schiavi

Castello degli Schiavi, a Sicilian villa into decay already used in 1968 by Pier Paolo Pasolini to shoot some scenes for the movie The orgy is located  in Via Marina Fiumefreddo,  in the other end of the island. But surely, appearing in The Godfather I and II, has made the castle famous. Coppola used it for various scenes, especially is remembered for being Michael Corelone‘s death place.

4.- Corleone

Even if the name makes this famous family come to your mind, Corleone was not the real place for the film’s shooting. Want to know why? By the time of filming “The Godfather”,  a judge’s murderer was nearby so they had to find new location for filming scenes corresponding to Corleone. They finally took place in two small coastal towns: Savoca and Forza D’Agro.

Despite his fame, today Corleone is a key city in the fight against the Mafia. The proof of this is Laboratorio della Legalità, a museum center founded by organizations involved in fighting the mafia, and dedicated to Magistrate Paolo Borsellino, killed during the mafia’s massacres. At the time, this building provided shelter to Bernardo Provenzano, the head of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra until his arrest in 2006.

Do not leave Corleone without trying their famous cannoli, a Sicilian origin dessert prepared here as nowhere else! This is a tube-shaped pasta filled with sweet creamy made of ricotta . “Leave the gun, take the canoli” says Peter Clemenza in a movie scene.

5.- Other Sicilian movie sites

If you are interested in this type of film tourism, you can also get close to Chiusa Sclafani, the magical village that inspired Giuseppe Tornatore to create Giancaldo in Cinema Paradiso as well as Bagheria, Castelbuono, Cefalu, Palazzo Adriano  or Santa Flavia de Sicila.  Piazza Bellini in  Palermo was the scene of some sequences for Talented Mister Ripley.

Imagen de Michael Urso

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.

Chamonix, the rakish star of the French Alps, is the perfect spot for a winter getaway where you can get the most out of the snow in every possible way and with splendid views of the highest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc. Situated just 16 kilometres from Switzerland and 11 kilometres from Italy, this destination draws snow sport devotees from everywhere, as well as those eager to go on outings in the superb natural surroundings, relax in a spa and even do a spot of shopping in the town of Chamonix.

The Best Black Pistes in France

Snow sport enthusiasts will find a veritable paradise in Chamonix as they ski against the spectacular backdrops, either of Mont Blanc or the valley where Chamonix is located. The 115 kilometres of ski runs – 12 for beginners, 26 blue, 20 red and 12 black – are a delight for any skiing or snowboarding devotee. While it is acclaimed for its large number of pistes with a high difficulty rating, suitable only for the most intrepid skiers, it also has areas where young children or learners can enjoy snow sports.

The Aiguille du Midi, at an altitude of 3,842 metres, is the objective of choice for those less fearful of heights, as well as others seeking out the most precipitous down slopes which only specialists can handle safely. It is well worth going up in the cable car and overcoming one’s fear of heights, if only for the superb panoramic views of the French, Italian and Swiss Alps to be had from here. The Brévent-Flégère pistes are more accessible and also afford magnificent views of Mont Blanc.

Heady Scenery

Those less inclined to do sport can rest assured that you don’t need to ski in order to enjoy the views, which can be reached by going up the comfortable cable cars. Mont Blanc, at a stunning altitude of 4,810 metres and famed for being the cradle of mountaineering, is the main focus of attention for visitors to the area. As mentioned earlier, both Aiguille du Midi and the peak of Le Brévent are perfect vantage points for viewing the scenery. Other panoramas worth considering here are provided by the glaciers. A standout example is Mer de Glace, located on the north face of Mont Blanc, which is 7 kilometres long by 200 metres deep, making it the longest glacier in France.

De Luxe Après Ski

Unlike other Alpine ski resorts, which feature only a few villages with limited aprés ski facilities, after a long, hard day of skiing or scoping the area in search of sensations, Chamonix boasts a whole town full of amenities for rounding off your day. You can go shopping, have a drink while listening to live music, or replenish your strength by trying some culinary classics of the region of Savoy, like raclette or fondue. What more could you want?

Book your Vueling to Geneva, which lies just 88 kilometres from Chamonix, and indulge in a surfeit of snow at the foot of the highest peak in Europe.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Christian Bertram