Two clichés about Santander. One is 100% true. The other is gradually becoming less so. The first (true) one – you simply have to visit Santander, as it is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain. The second (dispensable) one – you have to eatrabas(deep-fried squid rings). Well, no, you don’t need to because the Cantabrian capital’s culinary offerings have grown in quality and diversity, something we went to try out on our palate.

Umma

Modern, informal cuisine tends to be a ploy. On the pretext of being modern and informal – wham! – they pull a fast one on you. This is not so with Umma. On the contrary. The dishes are recognisable, the produce good and, above all, the sense of taste is above average. Well above average. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez has turned an erstwhile family restaurant into one of the must-visit eateries of Santander. His flair for toying with new ingredients in the same dish, balancing them and bringing out the best in each recipe is prodigious. He takes it in his stride, and it stands to reason, as he has done it all at Noma (Copenhagen), Mugaritz (Rentería) and Cenador de Amós (Villaverde de Pontones, Cantabria), all distinguished by the Michelin Guide and the magazine, Restaurant.

Star dishes; each better, tastier and more dazzling than the next, refining and updating the flavours of Cantabria. Starting with the scrumptious croquettes – round, crisp on the outside, and creamy, almost liquid, on the inside. Then the Santoña anchovy pizza, pork jowl, Gomber cheese, black olives, rocket and dried tomatoes, and ending with two symphonic dishes – beef tongue, mushroom and hazelnut carpaccio and organic eggs with jerky and mushrooms. Take note of the home-brewed beer and the wines, far removed from the wine-cellar establishment. Noteworthy, too, are the exhibits gracing the walls, and the jazz and soul concerts held on Thursday nights.

Umma is what the Japanese exclaim when they like something a lot, and umma is what you’ll say on leaving the establishment after lunching or dining there.

Average price: €35-40 (lunch menu, €18; fast-good menu from Tuesday to Friday, €14, and tasting menu, €39).

Mexsia

When you enter Mexsia and catch sight of the glasses placed any old how, teetering on the edge of the table, you think, “This must be a special place”. Well, yes, because, as you came in, you noticed the background music and the lighting that made you think you were in a pub, rather than a restaurant. Maybe, no… well, yes – this is a gastropub. It is the brainchild of Óscar Calleja, holder of a Michelin star at Annua (in San Vicente de la Barquera). Mixture, fusion, delight. Mexico and Asia – “Mexsia”. Pungent, spicy sauce, like serrano-chile green gazpacho and charcoaled scallop, shrimpaguachile with Chamoy sauce – a fine dish with citrus accompanying excellent produce; exciting like fried maki in tempura with spider crab, masera and avocado pear, or like singed salmon nigiri with crisp nori algae. Sharp, like the homemade nachos served with three, likewise homemade sauces…

Average price: €25-30 (fast-good lunch menu from Tuesday to Friday, €15, and tasting menus for €25 and €30).

El Remedio

They might as well have called it El Paraíso, because the spot where the restaurant is located is paradisiacal, dream-like, marvellous, beautiful… A 19th-century hermitage, a deep green meadow, a cliff, with the sea in the background – unsurpassable! Here, you can live out the Stendhal syndrome for yourself. But, El Remedio is also a good name because, while you are there, you forget about all your concerns; so, it is a remedy for all ailments, albeit a temporary one.

While splendid when the sun shines, in a storm it must be spectacular. A gift on the eyes and the soul, bolstered by the cuisine of Samuel Fernández, attached to the land and sea seen from his restaurant. You must order the megano (a tiny squid done on the griddle) with potato in squid ink, scallop with boletus sauce and cured bellota ham (with a long, intense flavour), dried beans with field mushrooms, a finger-licking, long-simmered stew, fried bull’s tail with beetroot mustard and barbecue sauce. And, all this eaten while gazing out over the horizon. And dreaming away…

Average price: €40.

Goodness me – what gastronomic diversity! Why wait to relish it all? Check out our flights here.

Text and photos: Ferran Imedio (Gastronomistas.com)

Each November San Sebastián hosts what for me is the best footrace on the national circuit, the Behobia-San Sebastián classic. It covers the 20 kilometres separating the Irunese town of Behobia on the French border from the capital. It is a veritable sports festival which this year chalked up its 51st edition, with some 30,000 runners signed up.

I took part in the race, but not on foot, as I chose to do it on skates. Indeed, it has a skating section and also features a Behobia Txiki version for children up to the age of 13. The latter takes place the day before the main event. There is also a much shortened version for teenagers from 14 to 18 years known as the Behobia Gaztea which covers the final 4.4 km of the main race. Lastly, organisers provide a Behobia for runners with disabilities; so, all in all, it caters for everyone. For the main event your physical preparation should be thorough and you must book your number and accommodation well in advance. The race itself includes continual climbs, so it can turn out to be really tough if you start out running above your rhythm.

More Than Just the Behobia-San Sebastián Classic

In my last London post I encouraged you to discover cities by running them. For an urban race in Donosti I would recommend the route of “the three beaches”. Starting at El Peine de los Vientos, Chillida’s sculpture at Ondarreta, you traverse the Paseo de La Concha as far as La Zurriola beach, crossing the Bulevar and the Kursaal bridge. The same route is also suitable for roller or inline skating.

But, apart from running through the city, San Sebastián also lends itself to interacting with its environment through such activities as these:

Surfing at La Zurriola. Zurriola beach, in the district of Gros, attracts foreigners all year around. The international atmosphere stems from the quality of its waves. There you will come across the friends of Pukas who have spent years promoting surfing in the Basque Country. They now also have a school in Barcelona. If you’re going to surf there for the first time, please place yourself in the hands of an instructor, as it is not an easy beach.

Kayaking and SUP at La Concha. You can hire equipment for kayaking and stand up paddling at the same facilities in Club Fortuna on La Concha beach. From there you can paddle carefully to the island of Santa Clara in Donosti’s old harbour. La Concha is noticeably calmer than La Zurriola and affords some spectacular views over the whole bay.

Swimming at La Concha. If you fancy open waters and have a wetsuit, you can extend your swimming season. La Concha is a calm beach, as long as you stay within the bay. There are changerooms with lockers where you can shower and leave your clothes. The lockers operate with a magnet key which is easy to wear while you are swimming.

Mountain biking or hiking in the monte Ulía.Anyone who has run the Behobia will recall (for better or for worse) the final climb known as the Alto de Miracruz, which comes after the final descent down Ategorrieta avenue. There, on the right, after passing the Arzak restaurant, is the climb up to Ulía. You can drive to the upper picnic area or walk up. The mountain is full of footpaths and tracks, so you can have a delightful time mountain biking, running or simply walking. At the very least, you will enjoy the views and the promenade leading to Pasajes de San Pedro and the Trintxerpe fishermen’s quarter.

If by chance the weather lets you down and you have to resort to indoor sport, you can use the gym at the Club Atlético San Sebastián for doing your gym routine (cycling, running, lifting) or, if you are looking for something different, go up to the Pabellón del Club Fortuna Pío Baroja to practise your skills on their climbing wall, using either a rope and safety harness (sports climb) or just climbing shoes. The hall is provided with safety mattresses for low-height climbing.

As you see, it is well worth coming to San Sebastián to do sport, even if you aren’t competing. However, if you have the urge to compete, take note of the following dates and events (in chronological order, after Behobia) and start booking your ticket at Vueling to enjoy them.

San Sebastián Marathon – end of November.
Lilatón – the first week in March, coinciding with International Women’s Day. The race is open only to women.
Onditz Memorial Triathlon – and women’s Triathlon in June.
La Concha Swim Crossing – in September.
Cross de las tres playas – in October.

Text by Raúl Casañas

Images by Iaona Manolache, Pello Sosoro

Apart from this conjunction in location and time, can an event like Sónar 2017, with the most advanced music proposals, be related to a figure who was able to capture and assimilate the essence of upcoming trends for nearly half a century like David Bowie. We believe that it can indeed. At My Vueling City we lay several bridges between the two and single out items in this year’s Sónar programme which embody the ever-restless spirit of “The Thin White Duke”.

Rebel Rebel
Bowie’s demeanour was always tinged with a heady potion of defiance against established values. He never settled in to any set aesthetic, as evinced in his constant regeneration – at every new release, he rebelled against the previous one, which accounts for his endless change of image.

The exhibition, David Bowie Is, opens at the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona on 25 May 2017. Produced by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, it has already attracted over one and a half million visitors in the eight cities where it has been hosted so far, including London, Berlin, Paris and Chicago, making it the most visited exhibition in the 164 years since the inception of the V&A.

On display at the exhibition are over 300 objects, including photographs, record covers, handwritten letters, original costumes, stage designs and hitherto unseen material from Bowie’s concerts over the last five decades, on loan from the David Bowie Archive. David Bowie Is takes an in-depth look at the way David Bowie’s music and radical individualism have inspired others by defying conventions and seeking freedom of expression.

The Impact of Sound, and Sight Too
This year Barcelona is hosting two events related to music, and also to advanced thinking and the creative avant-garde. On the one hand, the largest exhibition ever dedicated to Bowie and, on the other, the world’s largest electronic music festival. We all know Bowie’s prowess in the musical sphere, in terms of his great ability to assimilate styles and his insatiable effervescence, which kept him constantly in touch with the latest trends until the end of his life. Indeed, the standard bearer of glam rock also flirted with more advanced genres, notably ambient music and drum and bass. Here then are some of the proposals in this year’s Sónar programme which we feel are imbued with Bowie’s spirit through and through.

Arca
Arca undoubtedly condenses the cryptic essence of Bowie’s final studio album.Blackstar and Arca speak the same language – both are solemn; both seem to know the afterlife. Of all the world’s festivals, Sónar was singled out by Arca, the unclassifiable musician and producer, for a live presentation of his newly released work which redefines him as an even more complex and evolved figure. This show will also feature the presence of and visuals by Jesse Kanda.

Moderat
Bowie moved to Berlin in the second half of the 1970s and there he became steeped in the high-calibre art and music scene. Those were the years of his collaboration with Brian Eno, during which he released the trilogy of Low, Heroes and Lodger. Moderat clearly dovetails to perfection into this pure Berlinese tradition – pop and electronic music with tunes in black and white. Moderat started out as a collaborative project between Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary (Modeselektor) on the one hand, and Sacha Ring (Apparat) on the other. The idea was to work together whenever their respective projects left them enough spare time.

Nicolas Jaar
Bowie incorporated the new dance and experimental music trends in the 1990s, as evinced in such albums as Earthling and Outside, with a nod to drum and bass, electronic metal and even avant-garde jazz. Nicolas Jaar is a musician who merges seamlessly into that philosophy of musical defiance which cannot be stuffed into any specific stylistic straitjacket and also imparts a political or poetic message to his creations.

Phosphereby Daito Manabe
Music was Bowie’s great passion throughout his long career. He collaborated with the great stars of pop and rock, notably Queen, Lou Reed and Mick Jagger, and those of contemporary music such as Philip Glass, but that was not the only discipline he excelled at. He also collaborated with such top-notch artists as Tony Oursler. So, it can’t be ruled out that Bowie might have authored the background music to Phonosphere, by Daito Manabe, one of the most acclaimed digital artists in the world. This installation is an important step forward in new kinds of immersive creation and will be one of the highlights of Sónar+D 2017. This monumental structure is a robotic hybrid architecture in which synchronized mirrors, smoke machines, beams of light and up to 24 video projectors combine to create an unprecedented spatial experience, drawing from the world of new contemporary dance music, as well as the vocabulary of projection mapping.

Boris Chimp 504
Space Oddity was Bowie’s first big hit. The single was released at a time when humanity was in the grips of space exploration in the guise of journeys beyond the stratosphere. With his Multiverse, Boris Chimp 504 takes us back to that period. This audiovisual, real-time performance emphasises the relationship between audio synthesis and graphical language, with the story of the first ape to be sent to the moon in 1969 as the point of departure.

Book your Vueling to Barcelona and score a luxury double in its most highly evolved aspect – Sónar – while looking back to the figure of The Thin White Duke at the exhibition, David Bowie Is.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

By Tensi Sánchez from actitudesmgz.com

t gives me great pleasure to debut as a writer for My Vueling City and, naturally, my first post is about Bilbao. Without boasting or bragging too much, it must be said that no other European city has anything of which “My City” could be envious of. See for yourself as you read on.

Bilbao has been able to reinvent itself to an extent that few other European cities have achieved. In less than fifteen years, Bilbao has gone from being an industrial city to a city where the focus is on services, and the constant change continues to this day.
There is no surprise then that the majority of large international companies have set up shop in Bilbao; the regional capital of Biscay. Bilbao can also claim to have put itself on the map as an architectural benchmark.
Residents and visitors alike can enjoy a highly varied lifestyle that includes a great combination of the modern, the traditional, good food and shopping.
Just one weekend is time enough to immerse yourself Bilbao’s lifestyle. Here are a few suggestions about my favourite places in the city.

Everybody knows that good food abounds in these lands and this is precisely one of the strengths in Bilbao. Restaurants can be found dotted all over the city and cater to a wide range of culinary tastes. Exploring the many options is a delight for all the senses as you are seduced by the cuisine and often spectacular visual treats.

Here are some great examples: Un Señor de Bilbao, La Cuchara de Valentina, Nerua, La chuleta sin espina and Shibui, the latter being the only place in the city to offer haute cuisine, Japanese-style.

Bilbao is also the perfect city for trend setters and trend followers. A clear example of mixing the modern and the traditional can be found at Enkarterri Concept Store; clothes, furniture and food, all franked by the Basque label.

When talking about fashion and design, I must mention Persuade, the quintessential temple to avant-garde fashion and, dare I say it, the most amazing shop I have ever seen in my whole life ( although not suitable for all budgets), and Shopa, which specialises in design, clothes, books, wine and much more, is located inside the iconic La Alhóndiga leisure building and was designed from start to finish by French industrial designer, Philippe Starck.

And finally Lu:la, Narata, Serie B, Charada, Cultto and Ah Moda are shops that exude fresh and different fashion.

After a hectic morning of shopping, treat yourself to brunch in Plaza Nueva in the old town. You cannot come to Bilbao and leave without trying the famous Basque pintxos! Just take a short walk and you’ll see for yourself that there are countless bars just waiting to be discovered.

Visiting one of the many contemporary art galleries is another option but Epelde y Mardaras is undoubtedly the most peculiar. Located in an enormous flat dating back to 1840 with the chance to order lunch or dinner, it really is an incredible experience.

For vintage style at its purest, go to Almoneda Campos – an intriguing shop full of all kinds of items from times gone by. However, if you’re looking for something more exclusive and modern in terms of decoration and design, I have two excellent suggestions: Urbana 15 and Mosel.

Enjoying a carefully-prepared evening drink is a must in this city. My favourites are to be had at Corto Maltes, La Gallina Ciega, El txoko de Gabi and, of course, on the terrace at Hotel Domine with those marvellous and unbeatable views of the Guggenheim Museum – the perfect place to round off an evening in Bilbao.

And if that’s not enough for you, there is always an online agenda of cultural and leisure activities happening in Bilbao, ilovebilbao.com. I recommend you sign up for free before planning a trip to Bilbao because it will help you find information about everything that is going on, up to a week in advance.

Vueling offers a large selection of connections to the city so there is no excuse for not planning your “perfect weekend”. Bilbao is in Fashion… ¿What are you waiting for? Book your flight now!

By Tensi Sánchez from actitudesmgz.com