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)

In general the rule is that the further north you go in Italy, the more entrenched is the habit to enjoy the appetizer. Not surprisingly, the Piedmont area is known for the production of vermouth with brands such as Martini, Cinzano and Carpano.

The vermouth was invented in the cellar of Antonio Carpano’s in Turin in 1786 and from there the Piedmontese nobility made it fashionable. There are other versions that trace their origin to Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician who mixed white wine with plants like the wormwood to create a beverage for medicinal purposes. But it was not until 1838 that the brothers Giuseppe and Luigi Cora began to develop it industrially and distributed it worldwide.

Now the word vermouth has a more generic meaning. It refers both to the drink and to eat a tapa before lunch. In Italy the starter is not at noon as in Spain, but after work. It usually starts from 18:00 and end at 21:00 AM and is an economical way to take a break from work while sipping a drink and snacks, which can be alcoholic or not.

A very common option is the spritz, -with aperol, champagne, an orange slice and ice- the Negroni -with gin, campari, vermouth and an orange slice- the mascerotti -with wine, soda and champagne- or the Amaretti di Voltaggio, which goes along with their famous focaccia, savory pastries and other delicacies.

In Genoa, a port where botanical species from around the world arrived, the habit is strictly fulfilled and the tastiest appetizers are prepared. Here vermouth is a deeply ingrained habit, a social act that almost no one renounces. A moment to enjoy after work, listening to the tinkling of ice crashing.

You can have it in the historical premises or in the modern establishments that agglutinate especially in the Piazza delle Erbe, San Donato, Via San Bernardo or Porto Antico area.

Here’s the theory, now let's put it into practice!

Pasticceria Liquoreria Marescottis Cavo
Via di Fossatello, 35R and 37R

In the old town of Genoa, -the largest medieval quarter in Europe- you can find this historic café, bakery and liquor store. A local that dates back from the eighteenth century, which retains its old Charles X style furniture and a floor designed by Rubens himself. Tourists come to the establishment to observe the "prettiest pastry Genoa", to try their high quality confectionery and the Marescotti appetizer, a herbal vermouth.
You must keep an open mind to find the restaurant on the first floor because they have no sign.

Le Corbusier
Via di San Donato, 36R

Another historic local is Le Corbusier, specialists in cocktails-some self-created- and that has gained prestigious national and international awards. Martini itself can be found in twelve different variants.

Caffè il Barbarossa
Piano di Sant Andrea 23
www.cafeilbarbarossa.com

With an enviable location -very close to the house where Christopher Columbus lived-, and one of the most fun places to enjoy the most original appetizer in Genoa with its pleasant outdoor area, especially during summer.
The Caffè Barbarossa offers a wide range of whiskeys, cocktails and international wines and sparkling Genoese, in their restaurant, you will find vegetarian and vegan dishes. Look closely at their walls where the original rates of the brothels of the historical town hang.

Libreria delle Erbe
Piazza delle Erbe, 25R

An old bookstore downtown now transformed into a modern place. It still retains the spirit of the literary coffee -to consult and buy books-but, while enjoying cultural interventions you can also have a good coffee, snacks, cocktails, wines and beers.
They have a full weekly program of activities for lovers of art and culture.

Picture by Termolan

We’ll be there. If you want to come too, check out our flights here.

Antwerp lies 50 kilometres from Brussels and is a must-see city if you happen to be in Flanders. There you will find all the ingredients for enjoying a splendid getaway – streets brimming with fashion, a magnificent historic centre with beautiful buildings, including the Rubens House museum, and a culminating tour of the district where 85% of the world’s diamond trade is concentrated – not bad, is it?

One of the best ways to “drop in on” the city is by train as you will be greeted right away by the spectacular Central Station. Built from 1895 to 1905, it consists of a large, formidable structure crowned by a huge dome and decorated in twenty different types of marble, which has earned it the nickname of “marble temple”. No wonder it is regarded as one of the finest stations in the world.

After such a grand reception, the best thing is to head for the city’shistoric centreto rake up vestiges of its splendid past. A must-visit site is the Grote Markt (Main Square), framed by 16th- and 17th-century guild buildings, with pride of place going to the Antwerp City Hall. In the centre of the square stands one of the icons of Antwerp – the fountain of Silvius Brabo. Sculpted in bronze in 1887, the theme relates to the origins of the city. Legend has it that a giant named  Druon Antigoon, who guarded the bridge over the river Scheldt, used to charge a toll for any boats wishing to sail by. Any boatman who refused to pay the fee would have his hand cut off and thrown into the river. One day, the Roman centurion, Silvius Brabo, who had grown tired of this situation, cut off the giant’s hand and threw it into the river, giving rise to the origin of the name Antwerp (Ant= hand, werpen= to throw). No wonder then that a typical local confectionery called handjes is shaped like a hand, in memory of the legendary event.

Pressing on with our downtown walk, we recommend stopping to visit the Cathedral which houses one of Rubens’ masterpieces, The Descent from the Cross. Another sight worth visiting is the Gothic Church of St James, part of the branch of the Road to Santiago which starts in the Netherlands.

Another major landmark in Antwerp is the Rubens House (Rubenshuis), where the painter spent the last 29 years of his life. Now a museum, it successfully conveys how this artistic genius lived and worked. Rubens was one of the favourites of King Philip IV of Spain, his leading patron.

Among the curiosities of this city, which has earned it worldwide fame (notwithstanding its harbour, which is one of the major ports in Europe), is its important role in the diamond trade. The figures talk for themselves: 40% of the world’s industrial diamond is marketed in Antwerp, as is over 85% of rough diamond and 50% of polished diamond – nothing to be scoffed at! The district where all this activity takes place lies south of the Central Station. There, sightseers can visit the Diamond Museum and brush up on their knowledge of this luxurious, highly valuable mineral.

More suited to a variety of budgets is Meir, the city’s most important shopping street, where you can find all sorts of brands sold from the interiors of beautiful 18th- and 19th-century town palaces. Fashion and design are also major players in Antwerp, so be sure to head for Nationalestraat to visit MoMu, the Fashion Museum.

Let yourself be carried away by the charms of this beautiful city – book your Vueling to Brussels here.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by tom hartley

Any sojourn in Madrid should include a brief escape to one of its best known parks, El Retiro. This huge green area, opened to the public in 1868, is not only effectively the city’s lung. It is also a well-trod social meeting point for many a Madrilenian, and tourists too. It also provides an immersion in nature, and is a well-known venue for sport and for hosting contemporary art exhibitions. Following is a rundown of the main reasons for counting this park among the highlights of your visit to Spain’s capital.

1. A Short Walk From Downtown Madrid

Having a 125-hectare park in a big city is quite a luxury – having it just a stone’s throw away is even more so. Indeed, any day of sightseeing in Madrid can easily be rounded off by taking a pleasant stroll through these splendid gardens, relaxing on the grass as you take in your natural surroundings or having some refreshment at one of the kiosks in the park. What more could you ask for?

2. Put a Garden in Your Life

Like any great green expanse, El Retiro boasts several landscaped areas in different styles which are well worth visiting. The most prominent ones are La Rosaleda, the French Parterre – site of the Ciprés Calvo (Bald Cypress), Madrid’s oldest tree – and the gardens of Vivaces, Cecilio Rodríguez and El Arquitecto Herrero Palacios.

3. Nature and Much More

To take literally the saying, no todo el monte es orégano (“not all the hills are oregano”, although this actually means “it’s not all plain sailing”), in this case not all of El Retiro are trees. Among the many sights you will across on your walks there is the Crystal Palace and the Velázquez Palace, annexes of the Reina Sofía National Art Museum which both act as exhibition areas. The park’s walkways and squares are also adorned with a large number of statues and fountains and you should also make a point of seeing its centrepiece, the “Estanque Grande” (Great Lake), surmounted by a statue of Alfonso XII.

4. One Big Outdoor Gym

El Retiro is a great spot for doing sport. At any time, but particularly at weekends, it is common to see people doing all kinds of sport in the park, from running to tai chi, yoga, kung fu, cycling, skating and even rowing on the Estanque Grande. Don’t hesitate to put on your sporting gear and take the chance to get fit in such agreeable surroundings as these.

5. In Search of Lucifer

If you happen to go to El Retiro with a local, it’s more than likely he or she will end up taking you to one of its landmark pavilions, especially the one housing theFountain of the Fallen Angel.This sculpture, the work of Ricardo Bellver, is one of the few extant depictions of Lucifer, which is why it tends to attract numerous passers-by. Executed in 1877, it was inspired by some verses in John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667).

6. A Romantic Boat Ride

A perennial classic is the Estanque Grande, the veritable nerve centre of El Retiro. Here you can boldly treat your partner to a romantic ride in one of the rowing boats moored along the jetty.

Now that you know some of the reasons why you should include El Retiro on your Madrid itinerary, you can book your Vueling and look forward to experiencing it first-hand.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by bjaglin, Alex Bikfalvi, Teo Ruiz