In our last post about Ibiza we went in search of the island’s culinary delights, coinciding with the #IbizaSabor2017 event, and found that it features a whole world of flavours waiting to be discovered. On this occasion we delve into its facilities for promoting well-being and present them in the form of places and activities for nurturing our body and mind to the full, turning our visit to Ibiza into a restorative experience. Fancy discovering this with us?

Take it Slow

By this stage everyone knows that yoga is highly beneficial to both body and mind. A few asanas to tone our body, a good set of stretching exercises and a decent spell of meditation give a boost to our everyday well-being. If on top of that we do it in a setting in the heart of nature, the experience can be absolutely arresting. This is what you’ll get at YogaRosa Retreats, the ideal place to pamper yourself on a yoga retreat in a dream environment where you will also come across Austrian chef Philip Gandler, who adds a touch of experience to the wholesome cuisine. Another place to get rid of stress through yoga is Ibiza Retreats, a painstakingly renovated property located just 5 to 10 minutes from Santa Eulàlia, Santa Gertrudis, San Lorenzo and the turquoise waters of Cala Nova beach, where they schedule nearly 30 retreats between late February and the end of October.

Discovering Rural Ibiza

You might be surprised to learn that there is life beyond Ibiza’s beaches and discos. Venturing inland reveals a host of beautiful rural areas where you can enjoy an alternative experience to the usual Ibizan sojourn. You could elect to stay in accommodation like Can Pardal, an exquisitely restored 16th-century Ibizan house in the north of the island set amid olive groves and fruit trees. Or else visit an organic farm, Can Obrador, located on the Camí des Pedrisset, on the main road between Ibiza and Santa Eulàlia, where you can learn the workings of environmentally-friendly farming systems, or see the Can Caus organic farm in operation up close.

My Life For a Spa!

Fast-paced modern living makes it well nigh impossible to pamper yourself so, why not use your getaway to Ibiza to treat yourself to a spa treatment in amenities where you will emerge feeling renewed? There are various hotels on the island which include a spa among their services, as at Migjorn Ibiza, featuring a spa where they apply geothermal, Thai, chocolate and essential oil techniques. Other venues include La Posidonia, with views of the Mediterranean from their spa which alone make the experience worthwhile, and the evocative spa at the Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, where you will come out feeling like new.

“Mens sana in corpore sano”

Sports enthusiasts will find that Ibiza has myriad open-air spots, full of magic and charm, where they can engage in sporting activities. The beaches are one of the main draws, where you can dive in crystal-clear water, go on a kayak tour, have a whale of a time doing kite-surfing, sail around the coastline or while away the time doing paddle boarding. You can also sign up for a bicycle tour of the island, go rock climbing or simply enjoy the island’s natural beauty while hiking along its footpaths.

Book your Vueling to Ibiza and discover the wellness awaiting you there.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

If you go to Málaga in February, you are likely to be rewarded with a festive surprise over and above the city’s historical heritage, its incredible variety of museums, its beaches and its cuisine, in the shape of their Carnival. Indeed, when it comes to carnivals, Malagueñans would not be outclassed by the famous Carnival of Cádiz.

This year, from 30 January to 7 February, Málaga will be decked out in all its fancy-dress finery and turned into a veritable fiesta, a tribute to one of the raciest celebrations of the year – Carnival. But, what makes these festivities so special as to become a must-see?

1. A Splendid Climate

Situated in the south of Spain and bathed by the increasingly warmer waters of the Mediterranean, Málaga has a mild winter, enabling people to enjoy any outdoor activity to the full. This is also true of Carnival, known locally as the Fiesta del Invierno Cálido (Warm Winter Fiesta).

2. Murgas, Troupes and Quartet Gatherings

One of the highlights of this carnival are the gatherings of murgas, comparsas and quartets in the Teatro Cervantes, where they compete to be the wickedest band on stage and to see who delivers the wittiest song lyrics. While we’re at it, if you’re thinking of attending any of these performances, be sure to book ahead to avoid missing the shows.

3. Culinary Schedule

It couldn’t be otherwise – gastronomy plays a crucial role in Málaga’s Carnival, where traditional fare takes pride of place. The dishes you are most likely to encounter include berza (collard greens), potajes (vegetable stews), noodles, rices and paella, while the ongoing carnival background music is provided by the songs known as coplas.

4. Parades, Goddesses, Drag Queens and Even a Flower Fight

No carnival worth its salt could be without its parades, designed to delight the crowds with the colourful display of their variegated fancy dresses. One of the Malagueñan traditions that has endured to the present is the Flower Battle, which takes place in the Alameda Principal, at which petals and coloured paper flowers fly in all directions. The event has its origins in the 19th century, when the working classes took advantage of the carnival atmosphere to “assault” the privileged classes by throwing flowers at them as they filed past in their posh floats.

High notes of the parades include the election of the Carnival Gods and the Drag Queen Gala.

5. The Anchovy Burial

The anchovy, a fish which abounds in Málaga, is the protagonist of the last day of Carnival. At the “Anchovy Burial”, known here as the boqueroná,a procession is held at which a huge anchovy-shaped figure is paraded through the streets, from the central Calle Larios to La Malagueta Beach, where it ends up being torched.

Málaga – Aside from Carnival

Once you’re in Málaga, frenzied carnival merrymaking permitting, do take the chance to visit some of the many marvels to be seen in that beautiful city. We can wholeheartedly recommend Málaga Cathedral, built on the orders of the Catholic Kings when they conquered the city; the Alcazaba, a formidable Moorish fortress dating from the 11th century, the Roman Theatre and the beautiful Atarazanas Central Market, built over a former Nasrid naval shipyards of which the original marble door has been preserved. And, as befits the birthplace of Picasso, make sure you visit some of the art centres, which have turned Málaga into one of the favourite destinations of art lovers.

Put on your fancy dress and take a Vueling to Málaga to delight in its magnificent Carnival.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Fundación Carnaval de Málaga

As in much of Spain, Holy Week unfolds with great intensity in most of Sicily. This comes as no surprise – the processions of penitents commemorating Christ’s Passion and Death were brought to the island by the Spanish in the 16th century.  While they abound across Sicily, the processions that arouse the greatest expectation are those held in villages like Enna and Caltanissetta, both of which lie about an hour’s drive away from Catania.

But all Sicily’s beautiful, timeless villages preserve their deep-rooted traditions, each with its own character. A holiday on the island during Holy Week could combine sightseeing in coastal towns, discovering local architecture and tasting their delicious cuisine. And, during the festivities, the religious guilds stage spectacular Easter processions in which the Baroque aesthetic prevails.

If you want to savour some of these ancient festivals, go to Prizzi on Easter morning. There they celebrate the Ballo dei diavoli (dance of the devils). In this folk tradition from the Middle Ages, death, dressed in yellow, accompanied by devils clad in red, roam the town heckling the passers-by, who can only get rid of their tormentors by giving them a donation. This takes place just when the madonna and child make their entry. This curious form of revelry, a mix of the religious and the profane, represents the eternal struggle between good and evil.

A similar event known as the Diavolatais held in Adrano.The main square or Piazza Umberto provides the backdrop for this battle between good and evil, represented by Lucifer and his devils on one side and St Michael the Archangel on the other.

Another picturesque celebration is the Madonna Vasa Vasa,in Modica, in which the faithful crowd around the floats on their way to the church of St Mary of Bethlehem to witness the traditional bacio di mezzogiorno (the noon kiss) between the Virgin Mary and the resurrected Christ. Vasa means “kiss”. Dressed in mourning, the Madonna is carried through the streets of Modica in search of her son, to the rhythm of drumming. Throughout the procession, the people sing, dance and drink to celebrate the event. While strolling through the winding streets of Modica’s charming historical centre, visitors will eventually come across the striking Baroque architecture in the area around the Castle of the Counts of Modica, listed as a World Heritage site since 2002.

One of the oldest and most enigmatic celebrations is the Procession of the Mysteries, held in the historical centre of Trapani. Full of light and emotion, this procession consists of twenty float groups depicting the Passion and Death of Christ which parade through the streets for 24 hours, starting on Good Friday afternoon. The figures are borne on the shoulders of the massari to the rhythm of a traditional music known as annaccata.

As in all traditional festivities, Holy Week in Sicily has its characteristic confectionery. The colomba pasquale (Easter dove), also known as the palummeddi or pastifuorti, is eaten in the home. This typical sweet is usually shaped like a dove or rooster, although new shapes are emerging all the time. It consists of flour, sugar and cinnamon, topped off with a hard-boiled egg as a symbol of Easter and rebirth. A similar pastry is the cuddura, typical of the Calabria region. Based on flour and water, it is similarly adorned with hard-boiled eggs. The casatta siciliana is another cake eaten at Easter, although it is sold in pastry shops all year around. If you would like to taste some of these delicacies, the best assortment is to be had at Pasticceria Irrera, on the Piazza Cairoli 12 in Messina, and at Caffè Sicilia, on Corso Vittorio Emanuele III, 125 Noto de Siracusa.

Go for it! Check out our prices here!

Text by ScannerFM

Image by Clemensfranz, Carmelo Giuseppe Colletti, Rmax75, Giovanni, Traktorminze

On 8 December 1991, Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Shushkevich signed the so-called Belavezha Accords. Established in 1922 after the February Revolution, the treaty was endorsed by the presidents of the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Belarusian SSR, thereby marking the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Twenty-five years after the demise of the Communist utopia, the capital of the now extinguished “Red Empire”, of Bunker 42 in the Garden of Fallen Monuments, still hides corners evocative of its former proletarian grandeur.

Bunker 42

Bunker 42 still lies in the heart of Moscow, alongside the Taganskaya metro station, in building 11 at 5 Kotelnicheski Street, 65 metres underground. Once guarded and maintained by a contingent of over 600 soldiers and officials, Bunker 42 was an ultra-high-security shelter for top-level party members in the event of a nuclear war. It now forms part of the State Central Museum of the Armed Forces. Visitors can tour the endless secret tunnels and see for themselves what was then a sophisticated network of communications, and even venture into Stalin’s study.

The White House of Russia

A privileged witness to the end of the Soviet Union, the White House of Russia was the Communists’ answer to their American counterpart. Designed by Dmitry Chechulin and Pavel Shteller, building work got under way in 1965, but the edifice was not completed until 1981. It then became the seat of the legislative power of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR, effectively the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Russian Federation, until 1991. With his back to its entrance, Boris Yeltsin faced down the Soviet tanks that had rebelled against the then president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, an act which marked the beginning of the end of the Communist regime.

All-Russia Exhibition Centre

Presided over by a Vostok R-7 8K72 rocket, what is now a convention centre and amusement park was one of Moscow’s main tourist draws during the Communist era. Built in 1939 as an Agricultural Exhibition, it was gradually transformed into a huge park intended to exalt and glorify the economic, scientific and technological achievements of the various republics making up the Soviet Union.

Stolovaya 57

There are a number of restaurants that relive Soviet cuisine 25 years on. Two classics from that period have survived in the iconic GUM galleries – Festivalnioye Café and Stolovaya 57. Then there are hangouts like Detir Ayka (25 Nikitski Boulevard), featuring a Communist menu with such delicacies as stewed fruit, soups and semolina porridge, washed down with shots of vodka or GlavPivTorg. The locale is housed in the former Transport Ministry building which, apart from providing Communist-style cuisine, features a vast library with the complete works of such illustrious figures as Marx, Engels and Lenin.

The Seven Sisters

These high-rises plot one of the most characteristic flourishes on the Moscow skyline –

Moscow State University, Hotel Ukraina, Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Apartments, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kudrinskaya Square Building, the Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel, and the Red Gates Administrative Building. The seven buildings in Russian Baroque and Gothic style would have been eight, had the construction of the originally planned Palace of the Soviets come to fruition. The Seven Sisters were built in the 1940s and 1950s to commemorate the 8th centenary of the founding of Moscow.

Lenin’s Mausoleum

The embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin is kept in Red Square, the site of formidable, solemn Red Army parades. Built on the orders of the Soviet State in 1924 following the death of the father of the Revolution, his tomb was designed by the architect Alexey Shchusev, who was inspired by the Pyramid of Zoser and that of Cyrus the Great in Pasargad. Despite Boris Yeltsin’s attempt at having it closed down, Lenin’s Mausoleum is still open to the public free-of-charge on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Moscow Metro

It provides the best way of moving about the Russian capital on account of its exceptionally low price and high frequency of trains – one every 40 seconds at peak hours. Over and above its efficiency, the Moscow underground is an authentic, highly impressive work of art. Inaugurated in 1935, the first line linked the Sokolniki and Kievskaya stations. For its grandeur and its enduring aesthetic sublimation, it is a veritable palace of the proletariat.

FSB Museum

Officially dubbed the FSB Museum (FSB stands for Federal Security Service), it has nevertheless been known locally as the KGB Museum ever since it opened in 1989. Located in the former seat of the Committee for State Security (KGB) in Lubyanka Square, the exhibition features gadgets associated with espionage that seem to have leaped out of the television series,The Americans,including explosive devices, cameras concealed in beer cans, etc. The FSB Museum transports visitors back to the days of the Cold War and the atmosphere of double agents infiltrated in enemy territory.

Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines

Soviet youths also spent their time playing with gaming machines, although they were of course all Soviet-made and extremely expensive, costing from 2,500 to 4,000 rubles. Espoused by three nostalgics for Communist arcade machines, the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines brings together such gems from that era as mini-skittles, machines for killing aliens (with a capitalist ideology, I would imagine) and the popular shaibu-shaibu ice-hockey game. A whole journey back in time, before which you need to first change thirty rubles into three of the old Soviet kopeks. The collection keeps growing.

Sculpture Park in Krymsky Val

Colossal statues of the Communist leaders were one of the most characteristic sights in squares and parks in Soviet cities. These massive effigies gradually disappeared from the urban environment with the fall of the USSR in 1991. The endless collection of sculptures eventually found safe haven in the statue park of the Krymsky Val Museum. The catalogue runs into over 700 statues sculpted in stone or bronze, prominent being that of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a monument in honour of the revolutionary of the same name who was the first director of the Cheka. Needless to say, there are several imperial effigies of Lenin and Stalin, oblivious to the passage of time.

Come and discover the surviving vestiges of Communist Moscow – book your Vueling here.

Text by Oriol Rodríguez for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Kirill Vinokurov, Dennis Jarvis, David Orban, Rob, Jason Eppink, Helena Volkova