everplaces

SECRETS OF SPANISH GASTRONOMY

Guest post by foodie, cinnamon tea lover and Malaga native Francisco Pinto

Since I was a child, in my family, we have been enthusiastic travellers. Now, with my wife, I am trying to keep that habit up. I look for something authentic, merging with local people and watching their customs. There is so much to learn from others that the things I like I incorporate them into my personal life to the point that I even learned German.

Most of my current spots in Everplaces are in Spain. This is a nice country with an enviable climate and gastronomic culture. Spanish cuisine has a wide selection of dishes. It is said that our mountainous orography acted as a natural barrier to communication among regions until the last century and that had an influence on the food. Our cooking methods and ingredients remain simple and unalterable for centuries. Our essential ingredient is always a trickle of olive oil. If I would have to mention three typical dishes they would be: tapas, Spanish omelette and Iberian ham.

Each region from Spain has its own cuisine: fish and seafood from Galicia, paella from Valencian Community, botifarra from Catalonia, Manchego cheese from Castilla-La Mancha, sobrassada and ensaimada from the Balearic Islands, and fried fish and gazpacho from Andalusia. A good meal needs a good drink and we have some of that in Spain. Spanish wines from La Rioja or Ribera del Duero are internationally known. Not lesser known is Cava — sparkling wine mostly produced in Catalonia.

We have a lot of cafeterias and, specially in the south, tearooms. If you like to drink something special, Moroccan tea — green tea with mint leaves — is a must. Personally, I taste brewing black tea with slices of cinnamon and star anise sweetened with maple syrup. Check out my favourite tea house on Everplaces.

As I am a big fan of Moleskine notebooks, I filled them up with map clippings and notes for all the places I wanted to go to. After visiting them, if the place was not worth it, then I crossed it off the list. However, it had some snags. Sharing was unbearable. When friends asked me for recommendations, I had to scan the pages.

Later smartphones became popular and after a couple of geolocation services I came across Everplaces. It is pretty much what I was looking for — offline mode, private places, images, maps, notes and easy to share all your profile without a click. I find the private checkbox very helpful. When someone recommends me a place I add it as a private place until I visit it and decide if it becomes an Everplace.

Check out Francisco’s food recommendations in Spain and prepare your next trip.

Photo credit: livingathome.de