One of the classic routes to discover Andalusia’s essence is the white villages one, which runs through about 20 locations in the provinces of Malaga and Cadiz.

Traditionally, Andalusian houses are painted white or whitewashed to avoid,as far as possible, the hot Andalusian summer. This way to relieve the heat, joined with the affection their inhabitants use to decorate streets, squares and balconies with flowers and plants, make these towns picturesque postcards.

The route of the white villages heads to special beauty and natural environment areas as the Parque Natural de la Sierra de Grazalema -Biosphere Reserve. The ideal is to try to visit all the beautiful villages, since each has its attractions and special characteristics. But if you only have two or three days, there are some stops that, in our opinion, are of main interest.

Arcos de la Frontera is one of the most common places to begin the route, as it is located near Cadiz and the Jerez airport, while the beautiful Ronda would be the natural endpoint. In Arcos de la Frontera you can admire the Basilica of Santa Maria from the Plaza del Cabildo and continue with a walk through the steep and narrow streets with baroque facades scattered through the town, up to the walls of the Castle of the Dukes.

Another town that should not be missed is El Bosque. It lies at the foot of the mountains, starting the stretch of the Sierra. It is a good place to gather information about the Grazalema Natural Park in the Tourist Center and an excellent area for trekking.

Although it requires a little detour, Ubrique is a worthwhile stop. It is the leather city, where you can buy a nice piece of tanned leather done as in the Arabic tradition.

Along the way, we find other locations that do not belong to the official route, but that are worth a visit. For example the strech to Benmahoma, that passes through forests of pine and eucalyptus and whose top rewards us with spectacular views. Before arriving in Ronda, we can not miss places like Zahara de la Sierra and Alcalá del Valleo or Setenil de las Bodegas, with their houses carved into the mountain and along the river.

Ronda, the Dream City - like the poet Rilke called it-, is the usual destination to complete the route; an ancient city seated on a stone plateau.. Worth walking calmly to appreciate all its nooks and monumental works. It preserves traces of its Moorish past, being one of the last strongholds before the Reconquista, which are reflected in the so-called ancient Arab city or Arab Medina, along the Guadalevin shore.

It is divided by a gorge over 100 meters above El Tajo and crossed by three beautiful bridges. Dating from the eighteenth century, the main one is the most iconic landmark of the city.

Besides its cultural interest, this Andalusian architectural gem has many restaurants where you can enjoy delicious recipes and products from the Serrania.

Picture Zahara de la Sierra vy Grez | Olvera by Tomas Fano | Villaluenga by El Pantera

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A few days ago, after Banksy had updated his website, we noticed that his work is now displayed at various points in “The Jungle” refugee camp in Calais, one of the largest camps in western Europe. Despite his identity still being cloaked in anonymity, Banksy is currently one of the most highly valued artists around. His sharp, critical wit is undoubtedly the hallmark of his work.

Noteworthy among the four new artworks he posted is the one showing Steve Jobs carrying an early-eighties Macintosh, with a sack slung over his shoulder, reminiscent of the bags the forced migrants often take with them on their harsh journey. This is clearly a reference to the whole migratory movement being enacted from Syria to Europe. Jobs was, of course, the son of a Muslim Syrian immigrant and was adopted by a middle-class family of Armenian origin. That is the conceptual link Banksy draws between Steve Jobs and the Syrian diaspora.

Another Banksy offering in the same area makes reference to a famous work by Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, painted between 1818 and 1819, depicting a group of castaways in danger, packed onto a drifting raft. This alludes to the dangerous voyage embarked on by many of these refugees who risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean on flimsy rafts. In this version, the castaways are crying out for help to a modern cruise ship speeding past near the horizon. The artist had previously drawn attention to the issues surrounding the refugee crisis in a work entitled, Dismaland.

In addition to these artworks, members of Banksy’s team set up 12 permanent installations in Calais, and a makeshift children’s playground in the camp precinct. The materials used were either sourced locally or were remnants of the Dismaland project brought here for the purpose. This new project is known as Dismal Aid.

A Much Frequented But Little Visited City

Calais is primarily a city of passage. Some 15 million people are estimated to pass through it each year as it is a compulsory way station for access between France and England. In contrast, comparatively few people actually spend some time visiting the city. However, we can wholeheartedly recommend this city in the north of France, with little over 75,000 inhabitants and just 34 km from Dover, as a tourist destination. Its charm lies not in its architecture or monuments but in its privileged siting on the seaboard and the majestic Côte d’Opale.

The city is not celebrated for its grand monuments or buildings, but it does have such landmarks as the Musée Mémoire 1939-1945, dedicated to the Second World War and housed in a bunker, a sculptural group by Rodin known as The Burghers of Calais, located opposite the City Hall, and the Cité Internationale de la Dentelle et de la Mode, the city’s Lace Museum. On display is a century-old mechanical loom with 3,500 vertical threads and 11,000 horizontal ones. Calais’ genuine heritage lies in its natural surroundings and local scenery is stunning. Come armed with your camera as the views are breathtaking. The attractive seafront is dotted with striped changing booths which take you back to the early 20th century. The sands stretch westwards for 8 km along the dune-filled Blériot beach, so named as it was here that the pioneer aviatorLouis Blériottook off on the first ever solo flight over the English Channel in 1909.

By the way, when you feel like having lunch or dinner, be sure to head for the Histoire Ancienne, a bistro specialising in regional and French dishes, some cooked on an open wood fire. This very pleasant, Parisian-style restaurant was opened in the 1930s. Prices are affordable, with dinner ranging from 19 to 28 euros.

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Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Rob Sinclair, Carawah, Olivier Duquesne

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. 

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

Holy Week coincides with the onset of spring, a season associated with milder temperatures. Although you should still pack some warm clothes – jerseys, jacket, raincoat, gloves, cap and scarf – it’s unlikely to snow in Warsaw, unless you’re in the higher mountain areas. And, by early April, the days are quite long and sunny. Unlike in other European countries, during Holy Week in Poland both the Thursday and Friday are working days and most of the museums and shops are open to the public. Visiting hours at churches may be different, however, as in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, where the largest Good Friday procession of all Poland is held.

As in other areas where the Catholic festivities are traditionally observed, Palm Sunday is celebrated here in style. Like in Spain, in Poland the faithful carry palms, but here they are far more elaborate. Dried flowers and paper flowers go into their careful making by hand. They are so popular here that many towns and villages organise palm contests. We recommend taking the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Łyse, in the region of Masovia, where you can find palms of up to 6 metres high.

Cultural activity also revolves around Easter. The keynote event is the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival. Held in Warsaw, as well as in Krakow and Gdansk, it attracts classical music virtuosos from all over to perform a number of works based on Holy Week themes. The festival alone makes it well worth visiting the city. Over the festive period churches host classical music concerts. The programme features religious works, pride of place going to the staging of the Lord's Sepulchre. This is undoubtedly a good reason for visiting the holy precincts of Poland’s capital city. Even under the Communist regime the uncensored sepulchres stood for the most important political events of the time.

Another high moment of the holy celebration is the blessing of the food. Starting on Easter Saturday morning, crowds of people congregate at the churches bearing adorned baskets containing, in addition to the classical hand-painted Easter eggs, bread, salt, pepper, sausage and an endless assortment of Easter pastries to have them blessed. Once the ritual has been completed, they may then eat meat. In bygone days the baskets’ contents were indicative of the purchasing power of the various families – the greater the amount and variety of food, the high their economic status.

Easter eggs are decorated in different ways and this is often the favourite activity of the younger members of the household. Once boiled, the easiest thing is to colour them with polychromed powders dissolved in water. These colours are sold in small sachets at this time of year. A more natural technique is to boil the eggs in a pot with onion skins, giving the eggshells a dark tinge and, the more onion skin you use, the darker the colour. After the eggshell has dried out, it can be drawn on or incised using a sharp needle.

Easter Monday is noticeably more playful in character and closely linked to rural traditions. In Polish it is known as Lany poniedzialek – “Water Monday” – as Slavic tradition has it that throwing water over the girls is believed to ensure their health and fertility. So, make sure you keep your eyes skinned because even today you can have a bucket of cold water thrown over you.

Cuisine is important in Poland at Easter and tables are decked out with Easter eggs, symbols of a new life. Confectionery also plays a major role, particularly mazurek, a cake based on butter and very thick cream, eggs, sugar and flour. It is also stuffed with nuts, chocolate and fruit (orange or lemon). Another cake typically made during this festive season is kaimak. Although similar to mazurek, the dough contains liquid toffee.

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Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Polish National Tourist Office