* * * * * Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Author of Don Quixote* * * * * * Casa de Cervantes, Valladolid Dostoevsky in The Diary of a Writer on Don Quixote* "There is nothing in life more powerful than this piece of fiction. It is still the final and the greatest expression of human thought, the most bitter irony that a human is capable of expressing; and if the world came to an end and ..read more

* * * * *  (Parts of this chronicle first appeared in the Penguin Guide to Spain & in the Berlitz Travellers Guide to Spain.) In early May, 2007, I stayed in Valladolid while attending the Premios Zarcillo, an annual judging of wines ostensibly drawn from around the world by an international panel of wine experts, but primarily from the host region of Castilla y León. I had not really ..read more

* * * * * by Gerry Dawes ©2009 First Published October 19, 2009On Sept. 4th, 2009:, Decanter published Arrest warrant posted for Spanish Wine Academy director co-authored by investigative reporter, Jim Budd, and Decanter editor, Adam Lechmere.  And on October 2, Decanter published Pancho Campo resigns to 'focus on clearing name', this time also signed by Adam Lechmere and Jim Budd ..read more

* * * * * "Whether I am in front of (great?) porno or a great wine I (can recognize) either without difficulty". -- Robert M. Parker, Jr.'s The Wine Advocate's Spanish wine critic Jay Miller in an interview with Barcelona’s La Vanguardia, January 2011.   Jay Miller in Catalunya.  (Photo: La Vanguardia.) "For The Wine Advocate’s (just "retired") Spanish Wine Critic Jay Miller a ..read more

 * * * * *  Gildas (pronounced 'Hildas' in Spanish), the tapas whose curving anchovy bodies (salada, salty) alternating with olives (salada, salty) and picante guindilla peppers (verde & picante, green & spicy) on a skewer were inspired by Rita Hayworth's curves in the 1946 American movie 'Gilda,' which starred Hayworth and somehow made it past Generalisimo Franco's film censors since it was a ..read more

 * * * * * <!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> ..read more

* * * * *   A Spanish Adventure Designed, Organized and Guided by Acclaimed Spanish Gastronomy, Wine & Culture Expert Gerry Dawes, Premio Nacional de Gastronómía (Spanish National Gastronomy Prize) & James Beard Journalism Awards Finalist    Food and Wine Road Warrior Gerry Dawes in Burgos, Spain. James Campbell Caruso with Sunset in a Glass at La Boca.  Photo by Douglas Merriam. "Gerry Dawes ..read more

 * * * * *   Bar La Catapa, Calle Menorca, 14, Madrid (Zona Retiro).  Phone: 686 14 38 23. "Today we have tripe with garbanzos" on the blackboard and "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - - Benjamin Franklin, inscribed on a post at Bar La Catapa, Calle Menorca, 14, Madrid (Zona Retiro).  Phone: 686 14 38 23.  La Catapa is rated as one of the top gastrobars in Madrid ..read more

* * * * *  Note: I just returned from a 3,500 kms. trip in October 2022 around Spain, half of which was in areas we will be visiting.  I have added some very attractive features to this itinerary.   (Note on COVID: My prediction is that the COVID spike currently in Spain will pass right after September 1, when all the millions of tourists go home.  Spain's population usually doubles in ..read more

 * * * * *  Omnium Sanctorum church on calle Feria, Sevilla by Gerry Dawes©2021 The Church of Omnium Sanctorum has a La Giralda-like Mudéjar tower which originally may have been the minaret of a mosque that once stood here, and a multi-archivolted Gothic doorway, both of which, despite their seemingly diverse religious origens, make it one of the most distinguished of the Gótico-Mudéjar churches ..read more