Barcelona Recommendations

Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (Altare della Patria) Living next to an international airport opens the floodgates to visiting the rest of Europe at a reasonable cost. In the United States it is rare to find roundtrip flights for $50, but in Europe, this can be sought out frequently. I took advantage of the low fares and decided to spend a weekend in Rome, Italy. While visiting the walking museum of Rome, my roommates purchased a round-trip flight to Palma de Mallorca, Spain for only 28 euros!  Flying within Spain is also extremely affordable and an efficient way to see the whole country. The European Open-Skies Treaty of 1992 enabled airlines to fly anywhere in the European Union without government approval. Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, and Norwegian along with other airlines took advantage of the Open-Skies Treaty and now offer low-fares to travel across the continent. My trip to Rome. . . We arrived in Rome at 10:00 am after an early flight out of B...

Overlooking Zaragoza and the Ebro River Day 1 This past weekend I hopped on a bus and traveled to Zaragoza. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Aragon. WARNING: buses in Spain never arrive on time. Clara, an old friend, showed me around Zaragoza which is where she attends college. The surrounding areas of the University of Zaragoza reminded me of a lively college atmosphere back in the United States. I dropped my luggage off at her apartment and we were immediately out in the thick of the nightlife of Zaragoza. Since I had not eaten all day, our first stop was Londons—a simple college restaurant. Clara and her friends are frequent customers here for the cheap food and drinks. I scoffed down a Jamón Serrano sandwich with green chilis and sardines. Jamón Serrano is a type of dry-cured Spanish ham quite popular in Spain and one of Clara’s favorites. While we enjoyed our sandwiches, she told me a story about her arrival in the United States five years ago. Going ...

The website for the Sitges Film Festival Sitges NEVER disappoints (Photo Credit: Cindy) My friends and I celebrated the scariest month of the year, in the most suitable manner, watching the famous Sitges Zombie Walk.  The International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia took me back to Sitges last weekend. Starting in 1968 this international film festival has continued to be successful year after year. Becoming the number one fantasy film festival in the world grants the company of famous movie stars, directors and producers. This year Nicolas Cage received an award along with an emotional Tilda Swinton and many more. My friends and I started the day off with one objective, seeing the Zombie Walk. After moseying around Sitges for an hour, we stumbled upon a free screening of a documentary focused on the creation of horror films. Not holding our attention for long, we left the theater in search for tickets to one of the main movie screenings. Unfortunately, some movies ...

Cook & Taste Cooking Class (Photo Credit Sandrine) Last week the SAI Barcelona Family learned to make Paella Valencian style, Romesco sauce, Tortilla de Patatas (potato omelet), tomato bread, and Crema Catalan. Each dish, carefully made by all of us, turned out delicious. Without the help of Chef Mario and the beautiful kitchen that Cook and Taste provided us, our meal would not have turned out the way it did. The kitchen was not ready for us (PC: Leticia) Paella Valencian Style The modern form of paella came about in an area near the Albufera lagoon. This lagoon is located on the east coast of Spain adjacent to Valencia. In the Valencian language, similar to Catalan, the word paella is used for cooking pans. It wasn’t until the dish’s popularity grew that the word paella started to identify with the dish. Soon after, it became a staple dish in Valencian culture. Chicken Paella (PC: Sandrine) Tortilla de Patatas Also known as the Spanish...