links and other useful
bits and bobs
things to buy reading matter travel web links
spanish websites
Things to buy in
Spain
| Food |
Turron - Spanish nougat. Two
traditional types - hard
(turron de Alicante) and soft (turron de Jijona). Great presents! Olive
oil - of course!
Olives/Caperberries - buy in jars or tins to bring home, but do experiement
at the market - ask to try - 'puedo probar?' - before choosing.
Gin - still £5 a litre for Larios which some prefer to
Gordons. Rives is also good. Wrap in a towel and tie in a plastic carrier
before packing in hold luggage - never had a broken one yet!
Tinned fish - Navajas (razor clams), almejas (clams), calamares
in su tinta (squid in ink) and pulpo (octopus) are all good
Saffron - much cheaper than here - buy on the market stall.
Paprika - ditto! .. especially the wonderful
smoked paprika (picante);
normal is dulce.
Paellero - useful flavouring to have to whip up a quick
paella (obviously not as good as saffron, but a good alternative.)
Chorizo - the spicy sausage Delia was hooked on a couple of
years back! Look in the supermarket or on the market for whole sausages.
Ensaimadas
(Mallorca) - Big, fluffy catherine wheel of a pastry, plain or filled with
sweet
cream or 'angel hair' jam (cabello de angel). Buy them at Palma airport, boxed - the
ideal last minute pressie.
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| Kitchen stuff |
Cazuela s - the brown earthenware cooking pots you
see for next to nothing everywhere. You can use them in the oven and on direct heat.
Stuff them with dirty washing and pack them in your case to bring home!
Before use, submerge in water for 24 hours to minimise the risk of cracking.Knives
- buy a knife or 2 on the kitchen market stall - they may not be as pretty as the knives
here (steel as opposed to stainless steel), but are they sharp! You'll buy a cook's
knife as sharp as a razor for around £6! Buy also the stone to sharpen it on.
Paella pan - So cheap it's unbelievable. Again the
best place to buy is the market. If it won't fit in your case, just put it in the hold as
it is!
Gas burner - For around £15-20 you can buy a portable gas ring
and legs - just right for your garden paella party. Beats a bbq hands down. |
| Other stuff |
Sheepskin slippers - On the market, from baby size
to adult. Leather handbags and wallets
Shoes - If in Mallorca, visit Inca's leather factory outlets
for bargains. Mallorca is the home of Camper shoes.
Tablecloths - You have to know you want one of
these before you even ask at the market! Try to pay around half the original asking
price at the market by nonchalence, walking away, pretence at no money! Same goes
for the fake Gucci watch stall!
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Spanish products in
the UK
Garcia & Sons Delicatessen, Portobello Road, London W.
Tel 0207 221 6119
Good range of Spanish foodstuff - turron, olives, deli counter - as well as paella pans
and some ceramica.
|
|
Brindisa Spanish Foods - based at London
Borough Market, by Borough Tube Station. Tel 0207 407 1037. www.tapas.co.uk |
Travel to Spain up Top
www.easyjet.com
- Flights to Malaga, Madrid and Barcelona from London Luton and Palma from
Luton and Liverpool; Bilbao, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca (summer only), Malaga and Barcelona from
London Stansted;
www.ryanair.com
- Spanish destinations include Valencia, Jerez,
Granada, Almeria, Murcia, Reus, Gerona, Sevilla, Valladolid, Zaragoza and
Santiago (mainly from London Stansted)
www.bmibaby.com
- Flights to Barcelona, Ibiza, Malaga, Murcia and Palma from East Midlands
airport
http://www.fly-crown.com/
- Monarch's scheduled flights to Malaga, Gibraltar, Alicante, Menorca. They will
take unaccompanied children, aged 8-16.
www.hotelsearch.com
- find a hotel in Spain - good discounts on direct prices.
www.renfe.es/hir/index.html
- train timetables and prices (in Spanish)
www.owners-direct.co.uk
- villas and apartments to rent
www.accommodationguide.com/spain.htm
www.carjet.com
-
car hire with online booking - pick up and return to
different airports in Spain
www.holidayautos.co.uk
www.easyrentacar.com - car hire
from Barcelona (down town) and Malaga (on airport)
Spanish Websites
http://www.SpanishIndex.com
http://www.SpanishArts.com
http://www.Spanish-Books.net
http://www.Radio-Flamenco.com
http://www.Spanish-Goumet.com
http://www.studyspanish.com/tutorial.htm
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Recommended
Reading
Facts
 The
Complete Spanish Cookbook
By Jacki Passmore
Recipes by region. |

Special Places to Stay in
Spain and Portugal
By Guy Hunter-Watts
Hotels and B&Bs all over Spain with good descriptions, and
prices. |
 The
New Spaniards
By John Hooper
Unravels the mysteries of the Spanish people. |
 Time Out Guides
Any Time Out Guide is worth getting - Unfotunately there are only
Madrid and Barcelona at present. |
FICTION
up Top

Driving Over Lemons
By Chris Stewart
Ex-Genesis drummer buys derelict farm in the Alpujarra.
|

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
By Laurie Lee
Adventures of the writer when he left Gloucester in the 1930s to walk
through Spain |

Voices of the Old Sea
By Norman Lewis
The writer's time staying in a fishing village on northern Costa
Brava in the 50s. |
 South From Granada
By Gerald Brennan
The writer's life in the Alpujarra in the 30s. |
Out of print books -
try your local library!
The Inspector Alvarez novels (various) by Roderic
Jefferies - all based in northern Mallorca
The Day Guernica Died by Gordon
Thomas - graphic recount of the day the Nazis razed the Basque city to the ground as a
practice run for the'Blitz Kreig' aerial bombings of the 2nd World War.
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