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Posts tagged ‘holiday apartments’

Sep 11

Malaga | The Wheel

They seem to be springing up like mushrooms these days, but ever since the London Eye first opened its capsules back in 2000 to welcome in the new millennium, it’s been obvious that these hi-tech Ferris wheels for carrying sightseers above it all were here to stay.

malaga wheel (1)the Mirador Princess

The latest to be erected is the new Noria (literally a treadmill) de Malaga, which can be found in the port area just beyond Muelle Uno, on Avenida de Manuel Agustín Heredia. It will be even easier to find at night, as the LED illuminations will be visible from up to 30km away, and will be there for at least the next eight months, with the option of an extension.

malaga wheel (3)view of Muelle Uno from atop the Wheel

The wheel, rather romantically called the “Mirador Princess”, is fully transportable, though it does require 25 special trailers, and once it arrived on site it took a team of 25 men and a very large crane two weeks to erect. It stands 70 metres high and has 42 air conditioned cabins, each taking up to 8 people, so fully loaded it holds a maximum of 336 people. Each ride lasts 15 minutes, and takes each cabin around three circuits (a full circuit actually takes only four minutes, but the extra time allows people to get on and off). The price of a ride is 10 euros for an adult, and 6 euros for a child, unless you’re less than 80 cm tall (2 foot 8 inches), in which case it’s free.

malaga wheel (2)view of the Wheel from Muelle Uno

So how much bang do you get for your buck? From the top of the wheel you will be able to see about 30 km, as long as there’s nothing in the way. This is enough to give you a view across the city, with novel views of landmarks like the Cathedral, the inner harbour, the Atarazanas Market and the Alcazaba, as well as a fascinating roofscape of the old town. Personally, although I don’t really have a good head for heights, I think that getting up somewhere high for a look around is the best way to start a holiday in a new city, and gives you a different perspective.

Ooo look! Is that our apartment?

Sep 4

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Seville | Ham and Sherry, the Whys and Wheres

Anybody taking a short holiday in a new place is faced with the problem of prioritising their time, making sure that they see the things that are genuine “unmissables”, and foregoing some of the less important, while still having the opportunity to relax a bit (it’s a holiday after all). A lot of this will revolve around the sights and monuments, but these days experiencing the best of local culture and customs is high on many people’s list of things to do. For these people I have one very important piece of advice. Do not, on any account, leave Seville without doing the ham and sherry thing.

There are lots of reasons for this. First of all, of course, is that it’s a pleasurable culinary experience, regardless of the social and cultural stuff that comes with it, but I’m going to take that as read and concentrate on the other aspects, the ones that make it an essential part of coming to Spain.

jamon sherryjamón Ibérico with Amontillado

So let’s begin. With more than 3,000 tapas bars to choose from in Seville, and ham and sherry available in almost all of them, where should you go for the most authentically Sevillano experience? Personally, my top choices are the more traditional bars, places with hams hanging from the ceilings, Semana Santa and Spring Fair posters on the walls, and all the other paraphernalia that give a bar a special atmosphere. Favourites include Bar Las Teresas in the Santa Cruz, Casa Morales in the Arenal neighbourhood, and Taberna Manolo Cateca in the city centre.

Why sherry, and what exactly should you be ordering? As an aperitif to accompany ham and other starters you should be choosing a dry white sherry. Fino, Manzanilla or Amontillado are all suitable companions to your plate of jamón. But what’s so special about sherry? Sherry is possibly the world’s most misunderstood wine. Many people outside Spain still think of it as a dark, sweet wine (and there are sherries like that), but dry pale sherries are a totally different thing. The grapes are grown, and the wine aged, in southwest Spain, making it a genuine local product that has developed over the centuries into a perfect pairing for the food, and it should be sipped while you eat (it changes the flavour of both wine and food), not drunk beforehand.

jamones at Las Teresas

It’s traditionally taken with cured meat and cheese, first and foremost with the famous Jamón Iberico Bellota. This is made only from the Spanish black-footed (Ibérico) pig, which is unique to Spain and Portugal (no pig-smuggling allowed!), raised free-range on a predominantly acorn (bellota) diet, salt cured and then aged in the air in special warehouses that maintain “cellar” temperatures for a minimum of two years. Also have caña de lomo, prepared the same way, but from the back of the pig, chorizo (sausage seasoned with garlic and paprika), and an aged cheese such as a Payoyo, all very typical of southern Spain.

sherry tour (1)cured sheep cheese, caña de lomo & jamón Ibérico with Manzanilla

There are few things that can compare to ham and sherry, consumed in its natural home in an old tavern in Spanish Spain. So book your apartment and get out here and enjoy it.

And there’s lots of other good stuff too, from the sunshine to magnificent palaces….

Aug 19

Seville | Bellas Artes Museum

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Bartolomé Murillo – The Immaculate Virgin

It may not be as grand and prestigious as the Prado or the Pompidou, but Seville’s Fine Arts Museum still houses one of Spain’s most important collections of works of art (mostly paintings, but also sculptures and engravings), and does so on a human scale that can be enjoyed without having an in-depth knowledge of art.

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Statue of Murillo – Plaza del Museo

The Museum can be found about five minutes walk away from the commercial centre, not far from the river, in the Plaza del Museo, a charming formally laid out square with marble benches, orange trees, two giant Moreton Bay Fig trees, and a statue of Bartolomé Murillo, probably Seville’s most famous painter. On Sunday mornings there’s a local art market here. Come along for a browse, and maybe you’ll be able to buy an early work by the next Michaelangelo (well, we can all dream).

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Courtyard – Bellas Artes Museum

The building itself is stunning, and is almost as much a reason for coming here as the artwork. It originally belonged to the Convent of the Order of the Merced Calzada de la Asunción, founded on the site by Saint Peter Nolasco shortly after the reconquest of Seville by the Christians in 1248, but the building we see today, with the galleries arranged on two floors around three quiet courtyards and a central staircase, dates back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and was largely the work of Juan de Oviedo. The garden courtyards are a great place to just sit and relax a while before or after seeing the collection.

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Alonso Vazquez – The Last Supper

The Museum was founded in 1839, following La Desamortización (Ecclesiastical Confiscations – the Spanish version of the English Dissolution of the Monasteries), and many of the artworks in the Museum originally came from religious buildings seized by the government at that time. The emphasis of the collections is on Spanish, and particularly Sevillano, painters and sculptors, from the late Mediaeval period to the early 20th century, including the Golden Age of Seville in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the wealth generated by trade with the New World encouraged the flourishing of arts and the intellectual life in general. The Museum has works by over a hundred artists, including such luminaries as Murillo, Zurbarán, Valdés Leal, Goya and the Herreras.

If walking’s not your thing, you can rent a holiday house or apartment in the next street. Relax and enjoy!

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Monsalves Town House

Aug 12

Paella Explained

In my line of work I get asked a wide variety of questions by visitors eager to get the most out of their stay in Spain. Everything from “Is it worth seeing the Alhambra?” (Duh), through “Do they still do bullfighting?” (Yes, except in Catalonia, and yes, they still kill the bull) to “How does the washing machine work?” One of the most common subjects of enquiry, perhaps surprisingly, is paella (pronounced pie-aiya, the Spanish double-ll always being pronounced as a y). It seems that outside of Spain, where it’s just part of the furniture, paella is regarded as the Spanish “national dish”, and it comes as something of a surprise that in many parts of Spain it’s not particularly common. People are also quite hazy about what a paella actually is (it’s a specific dish, not just rice-with-things-in-it, which covers everything from risotto to kedgeree and exists in pretty much every country in the world), so today’s post is a kind of paella 101.

paella 1

What you can expect

Firstly, paella is not really a Spanish dish, but a regional dish from Valencia on Spain’s east coast, where rice was first cultivated by the Moors, who improved and adapted the Roman irrigation systems of the area for this use. By the 15th century rice was an important staple, often eaten as a casserole with fish and vegetables. Modern paella was developed by farmers around the Albufera lagoon near Valencia during the 18th and 19th centuries, and was traditionally cooked on open fires of orange and pine branches, whose aroma infused the dish. Initially the principle added ingredients were water voles, eels, snails and beans, but as living standards improved rabbit and chicken became the norm, and are regarded today as proper Valencian paella.

paella

What to avoid

The name of the dish is a Catalan/Valencian derivative of old French paelle, meaning a pan, but now referring to the wide, flat metal pan (a paella) in which the rice is cooked, and whose shape allows the distinctive light crust, the hallmark of paella, to form on the bottom. Classic paella is made with a short grain rice, usually calasparra or bomba, chicken and/or rabbit, snails (optional), green beans, artichokes (in season), garlic, olive oil and saffron. It is a matter of some contention as to whether other varieties, made with fish, seafood and other ingredients should be classed as paellas. Purists say no, but there doesn’t seem to be any other convenient way of referring to them, and the usage has become so widespread that it’s no longer possible to hold back the tide. But apparently adding chorizo to a paella is the ultimate sin.

paella classChef Victor at Taller Andaluz shows us how it’s done

So where can you get a good one? For the most part, the answer seems to be Valencia or Barcelona (and places between). Sevillanos don’t seem to have mastered the art, although they do have fabulous rice dishes of their own. Look for arroz del día at bars, only served at lunchtime and often made with long grain rice. Avoid places with pictures of lots of different paellas, they’re always tourist traps, and the paella preprepared/frozen. Good paella should be fresh and takes at least 40 minute to arrive at your table.

There is another alternative, though. By far the best paella I’ve had in Seville was at the cooking class in Triana market (we made three traditional Spanish dishes, all excellent, and had lots of fun, too). And if you’re renting one of our self-catering apartments you can practice the recipe yourself (though you will need a proper paella pan).

May 21

Seville | Town Houses

Glued to Downton Abbey? Big fan of Upstairs, Downstairs (at the risk of giving away your age)? Ever wondered what it would be like to live the lifestyle? Well, we can’t offer you the mansion in the country, but if you’ve ever wanted to live in a genuine Town House, we can offer you one of those (even if it’s only for a vacation), and in an exotic location in sunny Seville that will make it the holiday of a lifetime.

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For two hundred years after the discovery of the New World, Seville was the richest city in Europe, and wealthy merchants and aristocrats built themselves grand residences here, and some of these still exist. So here are six classic Sevillano town houses that are now available for holidays.

Betis Terrace is an 18th century town house on the Triana side of the river, complete with 3 bedrooms and bathrooms, and a split level terrace with views across the river to famous landmarks such as the Cathedral, Maestranza Bullring and Torre del Oro. Although refurbished to the highest modern standards, it still retains many traditional features and furnishings such as tile floors, wood beam ceilings and wrought iron work.

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Salvador Terrace is in a magnificent location in one of Seville’s main squares, the El Salvador, which has been an important centre of life in the city since Roman times. Luxuriously furnished, and with air conditioning and marble flooring throughout, its 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms will accommodate up to 8 people, and with two terraces overlooking the square and the El Salvador church it’s a perfect place to relax with a late night cocktail.

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Pedro Miguel is a superb 4 bedroom town house in the famous Macarena neighbourhood, with bright, modern interiors and a private terrace its perfect for large families or groups of friends.

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Also in the Macarena is Quintana Terrace, another 4 bedroom house with a private terrace and a central patio. With wood beam ceilings, exposed Moorish-style brickwork and colourful ceramics it retains its traditional feel while incorporating all the modern conveniences you look for.

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As its name suggests, Cathedral Terrace is right by Seville’s famous Cathedral and faces the Giralda Tower, the minaret of the Grand Mosque of the late Moorish period. The luxury of the interiors matches the perfect location, a combination of modern comfort and traditional high style that includes a patio, a cierro window (a glassed in or closed balcony) in the living room, and a split level terrace with a circular wrought iron staircase. It really doesn’t get better than this.

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Except…

Perhaps it does. Monsalves Terrace is a 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom mansion near the city centre, with 2 living rooms, 2 terraces and a patio, that will play host to up to 12 people. Every part of this house has been lovingly restored to include modern comfort and convenience alongside antique furniture and decoration. Wood beams, hand carved wooden doors and ceramic tiling in light, spacious rooms will make you think you’re living in a palace. Which you are. I could get used to this.

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