Oran is still off the beaten tourist track, which makes it all the more appealing when it comes to planning a trip which avoids scheduled routines and well-worn tourist prototypes. During the French colonial period it was the capital of the Oran Department, and it is currently an important port city and commercial hub and boasts one of the leading universities in North Africa. Sunni Islam is the official State religion, although there are Christian and Jewish minority communities. A visa is required when travelling there.

The Spain Brand in Oran

The capital of western Algeria, Oran occupies a privileged, strategic location in the Mediterranean basin. It is regarded by Spaniards as the most Spanish city in Africa, given the wealth of Spanish vestiges still present right across the region. Indeed, traces of Spain linger in local culture, language and gastronomy. The Oranians eat cocas, a sausage similar to Spanish sobrasada, and claim to have invented the paella, a word derived from the Arabic baiya, consisting of rice and seafood. The city also sports a bullring – now in disuse – which was inaugurated in 1954.

In geographical terms, Oran is the point in Algeria closest to the Iberian peninsula and indeed, on a clear day, the city of Almería can be seen from Oran, or vice versa. Its privileged position has enabled it to build up all manner of land and maritime connections. Its bay opens to the north-east, while the western flank is dominated by the steep Aïdour mountain. The city lies sheltered between the old colonial city and the new developments, which lend it a more modern air. Not to be missed is a stroll down the seafront promenade with its delightful panoramic view of the harbour and the old city. From here you can walk to the interesting Pacha Mosque.

You should not pass over the occasion to visit the famous Santa Cruz Fort. Built atop a mountain adjacent to the city, where it has served as a faithful lookout for over four centuries, this is undoubtedly the masterpiece of Spanish military architecture in the city, and also houses the well-worth-seeing Chapel of the Virgin.

The Place de la Perle (or Plaza de Armas), once the centre of Oran, while the city was under Spanish rule, is another of the prime sightseeing spots. Together with the Spanish Gate, the Casbah, the Porte de Santon, the St Philip Garrison and the Tambour de San José, it is one of the best preserved places from that period, from the 16th to the 18th century. Most striking is this latter monument, due to its important role in the Spanish history of Oran. Radiating from there was a network of underground galleries which ran underneath the old citadel and connected the Qasr el-Bey (Bey Castle) to the Santa Cruz Fort.

Historical District

The old town features an alcazaba (citadel), a fortified urban enclosure built to house the governor’s residence, to defend a specific area and its surroundings and to garrison troops, making up a small military precinct. The cluster of buildings forming this citadel includes an 18th-century mosque.

The district of Sidi El Houari, the patron saint of the city, is the oldest in Oran. There are guided tours of the walls and tunnels dating from the Spanish period, the Spanish Gate, the Madrid Ramp, la Blanca, la Escalera, the Casbah, etc. In this historical district you can also see the old Saint-Louis school, and the Pacha Mosque, built during the 17th century. Before leaving Oran, make sure you visit the marabout or Moorish shrine of the city’s patron saint, Sidi El Houari and make a wish, as tradition dictates.

This district also houses some of the city’s most important museums. The Ahmed Zabana Museum, formerly known as the Demaeght Museum, has archaeological, ethnological and natural history collections from the Maghreb on display, as well as an exhibition area devoted to Oran. In the archaeology section, the Carthaginian and Roman collections take pride of place. The buildings date from 1933, while in 1986 the museum was taken over by the Ministry of Culture and renamed. It comprises seven sections focusing on Oran and its surrounding region – fine art, the Moudjahid, numismatics, pre-history, old Oran, ethnography and natural history. Another prominent museum is the Moudjahid, located in the USTO district, which is dedicated as a memorial to the struggle for independence during the Algerian War.

Discover one of the best kept secrets of the Mediterranean! Check out our prices here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Photos by Algerian Embassy

Gijon Sound is a musical movement that arose in Asturias during the early 1990s to become one of the most popular scenes in Spanish indie music. While Los Planetas were starting to define the musical movement in Granada that would go on to counter another musical scene created in Madrid during the 1980s by the name of the ‘Movida Madrileña’, La Buena Vida was doing the same in San Sebastian and El Niño Gusano in Zaragoza – decentralising the focus placed by Spanish music on the capital city that had so greatly featured in the ‘Movida Madrileña’.

Many of you will remember the most iconic band of this sound, Australian Blonde, whose hit song Chup Chup was used for the film ‘Las historias del Kronen’ by Montxo Armendáriz and was even heard on the radio shows of Los 40 Principales. However, you may be surprised to learn that other bands of equal importance coincided in time and space with Australian Blonde, such as Penelope Trip, Manta Ray and Nosoträsh. Penelope Trip provided the space for many of the bands from the movement to rehearse and Nacho Vegas from Manta Ray used to provide drinks at La Plaza – a bar that became the temple where all indie musicians from Asturias would gather. Many of the musicians from the Gijon Sound movement studied at Oviedo University and spent a great deal of time on the Milan Campus, whose cafeteria often served as a meeting place for the bands of the 1990s. Besides the bands mentioned above, other Asturian bands like Doctor Explosión should also be recognised as, although they were not fully involved in the indie sound of the Gijon Sound, they were in the right place at the right time. Also worthy of special mention are the bands created by the girlfriends of the members of bands in the Gijon Sound movement, such as Undershakers or Nosoträsh.

Other lesser-known bands could include Screamin’ Pijas, Las Buges or Babylon Chat, one of whose tracks is included in our Podcast, or the noisy Eiminator Jr., a band who took their name from a track by Sonic Youth on their Daydream Nation album and whose sound is closer to noise pop than that of the Gijon Sound.

This brief journey through the Asturian sound would not be complete without mention of Paco Loco, the producer for most of the Gijon Sound bands, who has become perhaps the most reputable producer of Spanish indie music, the Astro music label and the Gijon International Film Festival, one of the benchmark film festivals in Spain and very closely associated with this movement. The film festival regularly includes courses, discussions, meetings with directors and daily concerts or live music parties. (www.gijonfilmfestival.com)

We now offer you a brief tour of the bars around Gijon where the Gijon Sound movement was most present, some of which still conserve the same musical spirit today. We also offer a podcast including some typical Gijon Sound tracks for you to listen to while you visit the bars we recommend here.

The small, cramped but charming bars and good music of Cimadevilla are an essential requirement for experiencing the nightlife in Asturias. Let us begin in the Plaza de la Corrada, more specifically at the La Plaza bar, spiritual home of the Gijon Sound. Very close to La Plaza, you will find Soho, which plays great Spanish music until four in the morning and then British music until the sun rises. Soho has a well-kept secret: a small upper floor accessed by climbing some steps that is easily among the best in the Gijon nightlife. We cannot fail to mention the most legendary bar in the city: Escocia. This bar has become a refuge for those of us in our early forties and still maintains the spirit of the Gijon Sound. El Patio de la Favorita is another trendy bar, with great music and a live DJ every night. On the way, between the Plaza de El Marqués and El Patio, and as long as you like a good gin & tonic, Lola Gin is a great place for you to enjoy a G&T with cucumber, lemon or lime.

1. La Plaza, Travesía de la Corrada con la de Atocha, Gijon
2. Soho, Calle de las Cruces, 33201 Gijon
3. Escocia, 7 Calle de Santa Lucía, 33206 Gijon
4. El Patio de la Favorita, 4 Calle Ezcurdia, 33203 Gijon
5. Lola Rojo Gin, 5 Calle de San Antonio, 33201 Gijon

Perfect plan to go with friends! Check our flights and sign up! 

Palermo strikes a curious balance between large shopping precincts and narrow streets exuding romantic decadence, between makeshift street grill-stalls throbbing with electronic music and leisurely faddish restaurants. The city is, at times, caught up in another era, but also in the present, while aspiring to a better future.

A city of contrasts, influences and cultural convergence, Palermo has a lot to say in gastronomic terms. Both pasta and pizza are a mainstay of local cuisine, as they are in the rest of Italy, although here they have been revamped, displaying surprising traits, and combined with other local dishes that draw heavily on the sea or trip and offal. And, it is immediately evident the moment you walk into any of its markets, a must-see attraction if you happen to journey here.

Vucciria, Il Capo and Ballaró

Palermo’s three markets. They open every day except Sunday, from early in the morning until nightfall. As the stall produce becomes depleted, they clear up and bolt the small garages that act as storerooms. The markets are best visited in the morning, if you want to enjoy them in full swing. There’ll be vegetables you have likely never seen before, as well as spices, cheeses, a wealth of different olives, peppers, huge swordfish heads…

You can try street specialities such as pane con la milza or pani ca’ meusa (a sandwich of spleen fried in lard, served up with caciocavallo or ricotta cheese and lemon), arancini (fried rice balls, usually stuffed with meat) and panelle (gram flour fritters).

You could also take a breather and enjoy a marsala (vintage wine) at such bars as the legendary Taverna Azzurra, in the Vucciria, a meeting point every weekend after nightfall, when the market streets have been taken over by the youth, birras, music, table football and grills stuffed with stigghiola (tripe seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon, with or without bread).

You can stroll through the markets, sip a marsala wine and eat stigghiola. But you can also trek across the whole city and take note of some of the eateries worth visiting.

Da Diego. Pizzas and more, on the Via della Libertá. Not a tourist in sight and filled to bursting. An assortment of thick-dough pizzas stuffed with ingredients. We go for the one with mozzarella, sausage, spinach and mushrooms, accompanied by some swordfish involtini (rolls) with aubergine sauce, and sfinzione (Sicilian pizza) stuffed with ricotta and pesto. This is a type of focaccia topped with a crust of tomato, caciocavallo cheese, anchovy, onion and aromatic herbs.

Trattoria Michele & Jolanda. Just like home. We expected home cooking and, boy, did we get it! There you’ll be welcomed by Michele in the dining-room and Jolanda in the kitchen, sitting down at the table as if she were a guest. We order caponata (aubergine and other vegetables in tomato sauce), caprese (tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil) and a cold pepper salad as antipasti. Then pasta alla norma (tomato, aubergine and other vegetables), accompanied by le sarde, a typical Palermo recipe based on fresh sardines and fennel. And, not to be disloyal to the traditional repertoire, we round it off with cannoli– crisp, rolled pastry wafers filled with ricotta cheese. If you’re looking for an entertaining, lively, tasty, homemade meal at a good price, don’t fail to come here. It’s on the Via Cappuccini 12.

Osteria Mangia e Bevi. Quaint and pleasant. Beyond the family milieu we come to a trendier restaurant, but without foregoing fresh, wholesome cuisine, of course. We can recommend this restaurant for its fresh pasta, its fried pasta and its agglassati – two traditional ways of using up leftovers from yesterday’s dishes. Ideal, too, for tasting local wines and a marvellous cannolo served in a glass.

Other Pointers

When it comes to lodgings, we can recommend the Castelnuovo area, set in a shopping precinct and just a stone’s throw from the old town. We stayed at the Hotel Politeama, which is functional and provides wonderful, congenial service and a breakfast not lacking in sweet, savoury, fruit, jams with a host of flavours, different kinds of bread and even cannoli! The hotel looks onto a large piazza and the airport bus stops right outside the door, giving you a headstart if you want to move about without wasting time.

If you have the odd day left over, you are encouraged to get out of Palermo and discover a bit of Sicily. To accomplish this it is wise to get in touch with Ulisse, which organises regular, private outings from there. They really look after you – you won’t have any language difficulties and will be spared hassles when you need to use public transport and pick your way through the island’s chaotic traffic.

A destination worth discovering – Check out our flights here.

Text and photos by Silvia Artaza (Gastronomistas)

“The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka (1883–1924), is undoubtedly one of the major works of the 20th century. Kafka took just 21 days to write it, yet nothing would be the same in literature after that, for, in this concise story, he soared to the heights of the genuine literary titans like Kleist, Dickens and Flaubert. Also the author of “The Trial” and “The Castle”, Kafka features among the leading figures of world literature. His theatre of operations and his inspiration were centred on Prague, the essence of which has thankfully has been preserved practically intact.

What is “The Metamorphosis” About?

“When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin”. Thus begins the “metamorphosis” of a man who “thinks about nothing but his work”. Gregor Samsa is actually a person who stands for all of humanity. One fine day Gregor discovers that he has turned into something repulsive which should be hidden from everyone else. But, what does that suffocating story actually refer to? The novel sets out to make us aware of what we really are. The transformation into an insect involves an awakening. It is only then that Gregor sees the profound metaphysical horror he is living in. And, as he is the only person that notices it, he becomes a social outcast.

Kafka’s Prague

Prague was the centre of both his literary world and his life – a mysterious city, but also a dazzling one for its entangled layout and fanciful architecture. In his short stories and novels, Kafka does not name the places he describes, except for a select few. Nevertheless, Prague emerges in his work as an ever-present, imaginary city charged with metaphor and allegory. Indeed, if we look at his writings closely, it is easy to retrace the famous author’s footsteps through the maze of streets in the old city and the picturesque spots where Kafka lived and wrote.

The Old City and its Square

Kafka spent most of his life in Prague’s Old City. U věže, the house he was born in, was located on the corner of Maiselova and Kaprova street. After the city’s facelift in the late-19th and early-20th century, the only part of the building still wrought in the original stone is the facade – emblazoned on it is a simple commemorative plaque.

While the Kafkas moved often, and usually did so within a few houses of the original one, the trail of Franz Kafka is present at virtually every step through the Old City, but mainly around the Old Town Square. For instance, in the period 1880–1896, the Kafkas lived in the charming Minute House, very near the City Hall, which stands out for its beautiful sgrafitto decoration. The future writer lived just a stone’s throw from the German Institute, the present-day Kinský Palace. His father, Hermann Kafka, ran a haberdashery on the ground floor of the same building. Today the palace houses the National Gallery. On Široká street, between the narrow Maiselova street and the luxury Pařížská Avenue, stands the must-see Kafka Bookshop, virtually next door to the Maisel Synagogue and within view of the High Synagogue. Travellers are also urged to visit the Church of the Holy Spirit and the Spanish Synagogue, on Dušní street, which houses the school that Kafka frequented.

In Kafka’s Footsteps – the Museum and Castle

The famous writer’s work brings to life both the old Prague Ghetto and the Malá Strana quarter and Prague Castle. The Franz Kafka Museum is located near Charles Bridge in Malá Strana. A Kafka exhibition entitled “The City of K” was organised by the Barcelona Contemporary Culture Centre (CCCB) in 1999 and, after touring New York’s Jewish Museum, it arrived in Prague in 2005. The exhibition was arranged in two distinct parts – the first showed how Kafka was influenced by the city and how it affected his life, while the second part reviewed the way Kafka describes the city without actually mentioning the names of places that emerge in his novels and short stories.

The characters in Kafka’s novels often follow routes leading up to Prague Castle. While it is often said that one of the places he lived and worked in was the tiny house at 22 de Zlatá Ulička – Golden Lane – the house actually belonged to his sister and Kafka used to sometimes take refuge there to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. The stories dating from that period were later published under the title “A Country Doctor”.

In 1917, the writer went down with pulmonary tuberculosis and later died in a sanatorium in Austria. His mortal remains lie in a family pantheon in the New Jewish Cemetery of Prague-Strašnice.

If you’re eager to experience a feeling of being shrouded in mystery, make sure you visit Prague. Check out our flights here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Czech Tourism, Nico Paix, Jose Mesa, Roman Boed