One for the Road: Moon Spain Handbook

by Kelly Amabile on

One flip through the first few pages of the Moon Spain Handbook and I’m itching to get back there. The intro to this new book begins with a colorful overview of a country bursting with life — the Plaza Mayor, Costa Brava, La Rioja, Galicia. A smart color-coded map marks Spain’s regions in a rainbow, an appropriate way to introduce the diversity that exists throughout this Iberian gem.

The guide starts with a short summary of each region, followed by a few suggested itineraries. It then gets meaty, beginning with the very heart of Spain. After dissecting nightlife, shopping, accommodations, sports, cultural offerings and food (of course!) for Madrid, the guide moves on to do the same for Castilla-La Mancha, Cataluna (including an expanded chapter on Barcelona), Aragon, Valencia, Andalucia, the Islas Baleares and other regions. The 900-page handbook wraps up with a section of county background information – logistics, cultural tidbits, history and popular festivals. It’s comprehensive, but still lightweight enough to accompany you on a visit to any or all of these areas.

Moon’s Spain handbook is one of three European guides that were released recently — a first for the popular guidebook series. Ireland and London were also published this spring.

Dalí’s Spain in Detail

by Neil Woodburn on

I don’t know what it is about Spain that attracts artists with bizarre, revolutionary designs, but Picasso, Gaudi, and Dalí all fell in love with this wonderful country.

Last week we wrote about the extraordinarily odd Dali museum in Figures, Spain and now the Times (UK) has trumped us. They’ve dedicated an entire page to the Spanish artist and all the places where he lived, played and was inspired by in Spain.

Edward Owen writes about Dalí’s “beloved corner of northeast Spain” as well as his outlandish museum in Figures. Stephen Burgen highlights the artist’s wild student days in Toledo, while Graham Keeley “explores Dalí’s favorite haunts in Barcelona.”

Yes folks, it’s a Dalí love fest at the Times! So, read your fill, grab a bottle of absinthe and then head on over to every artist’s favorite Spanish speaking country–but don’t drink too much, otherwise the clocks begin to melt.

Europe From A Backpack

by Willy Volk on

Have you visited a foreign destination, had a frightening, enlightening, or just plain-old-fun time, and then — later — wished you could share your experience with others? That’s how Europe From A Backpack started. While backpacking through Europe, the founder thrilled at the experience and decided to collect other backpackers’ stories about the place.

The books in the Europe From a Backpack series are not quite guidebooks. Rather, they’re first-person accounts of travelers’ experiences in Europe. In other words, they’re more like a collection of short fiction. Since its inception, the series has expanded to include Italy From a Backpack and Spain From a Backpack.

Publishing travel writing for the “Budget, Independent, and Youth Travel” market, ..From A Backpack books are for people who want to backpack in Europe but don’t know what to expect; for people who want to re-live their backpacking adventures; and for people who just love travel writing. Want to see what the books are like? Check out some of the sample stories they have featured online.

[Via Backpackers]

Where on Earth (Week 10): Dalí Museum, Figueres, Spain

by Neil Woodburn on

Where on Earth indeed! Who else but Salvador Dalí could design such a bizarre building?

The eccentric Spanish artist personally dreamed up “the largest surrealistic object in the world” in Figueres, Spain to house his artwork after he died.

The Dalí Museum contains 4,000 works of art and is undoubtedly the largest such collection in the world.

When I was younger, I was a big fan of the artist’s surrealist landscapes and paintings and was therefore excited to learn about this museum just a two-hour train ride from Barcelona. It’s an easy day trip to what is one of the most unique museums in the world. The whole structure is in fact a Dalí creation and when I visited I felt as though I’d stepped right into one of his paintings.

But it’s not all paintings hanging on walls. As you can see from the photo above, Dalí focused on the three-dimensional aspects of his art in creating his museum; everywhere I turned while walking through it, I was confronted by so many bizarre sculptures, statues, eggs, and other surrealistic eye-candy that I was starting to wonder if I was actually on drugs instead of in Spain.

Congrats go out to Goran, Jim Rennie, and Rich for all nailing the location last Wednesday. Good work guys!