Casa Josephine is an elegant, stylish and comfortable family house that dates back from late 19th century. Tastefully restored in 2006, Casa Josephine is located in a small village amidst vineyards in the heart of Rioja Wine Region, near the top wine cellars built by Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava and Zaha Hadid. The perfect choice to discover Northern Spain and to indulge in the pleasures of  “la buena vida”.

The house: Four-story manor house with

• Three double rooms
• Two suites (double and triple).
• Four bathrooms
• Two spacious meeting/dining rooms
• Fully equipped kitchen
• TV, DVD, hi-fi, Wi-fi internet access...

Houses up to 10-11 people.

Family-owned and managed.

Full-house rental only.

America's Cup, one of the most popular sports competitions in the world is taking place in Valencia.

We want to share with you one little secret... a not to be missed if you are in Valencia these days: the Hospes Senzone

In  the beautiful region of Asturias the Jurassic Museum has opened its doors.

This singular museum which has adopted the form of a giant tridactyl footprint gathers the most complete informative and representative collection of dinosaur remains in the world.  Using “time” as a common thread, demonstrates the life on the Earth from its beginning to the arrival of a man, offering different aspects of the life of dinosaurs.

An interesting collection of footprints and fossiles found in the Asturian Jurassic coastline can be seen here. The collection is a reliable reflection of then archaeological sites that are sprinkled over the coastline of Asturias.

This 21st century Museum was conceived to show the richness of Jurassic remains in Asturias together with a strong commitment to investigation. Please contact us for enjoying the ultimate tour of the museum and pre-historical caves. 

www.museojurasicoasturias.com

Ken Follet has finally written the second part of his book "Pilars of Earth". The new book takes place at the magnificent Cathedral of Vitoria in the Basque region of Spain.

The beautiful Gothic Cathedral of Vitoria is under renovation works. Made for Spain organizes tours for visiting the works. During the tour you will be direct witness of the reconstruction of a 13th century cathedral seeing "on site" how restorers, archaeologists, stone masons and architects work to return a monument to its former glory.

Chef Pilar Latorre's seasonal menus for the cooking classes in her Madrid cooking atelier and in her wonderful Masia at the Ampurdan (northern Barcelona)

Marbella Club, one of the most famous Hotel in Spain, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The Hotel is in great shape and provides the best service in the Costa del Sol.

As we say in Spain "an image is worth more than a 1000 words"

On February 27th the Jewish Community of Spain celebrated the 90 Anniversary of the first Synagogue opened in Madrid.

The Community inaugurated the new Museum of the History of the Synagogue. The Museum offers a walk through the history of the Synagogue and Jewish Community of Madrid.

The museum was inaugurated with the attendance of Jacob Israel Garzon - Head of the Jewish Community of Madrid, Victor Harel - Israel Ambassador to Spain and Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon – Major of Madrid.

The Synagogue is located at Balmes Street number 3, phone number is (+34) 91 591 3131

The great Spanish film by Guillermo del Toro "El Laberinto del Fauno" (Pan's Labyrinth) won 3 Oscars last Sunday.

What is it about?? In the violent period following the Spanish Civil War, a young girl captivated by a fairy tale comes to believe she is the lost princess of the story. In the wake of her mother's remarriage to a cruel fascist officer, young Ofelia explores a vast stone labyrinth, where she encounters the faun Pan and is given a series of three tasks to perform.

Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero (Art Direction); Pilar Revuelta (Set Decoration)

Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro

Make up: David Martí and Montse Ribé

The film was inspired on the beautiful woods and mountains of Cantabria (northern Spain).

For more information please contact Made for Spain or check www.madeforspain.com

For general information on Cantabria and Spain: http://spain.info/TourSpain/?Language=en 

For information on the Oscars and the film: http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=list

1.- The ideal number of people for tapas hopping is 4. For going tapas is best to go in small groups. Any group from 3 to 6 works well. More than 6 will not work at all.

2.- Tapas are enjoyed standing by the bar.

3.- After the second tapa in one place the group needs to move to the next tapas place.

4.- The way to pay the tapas is "invitando". This means that one pays in one place and the other pays in the next and so on. You should never split costs and each person needs to pay at least in one place.

5.- You need to match the tapa with beer or wine. The drink should change depending upon the tapa enjoyed at that very place.

6.- Never argue while having tapas. This is a way to have lunch or dinner while having fun guaranteed. You should avoid conversations that could end up in a discussion.  

The Guinnes Book of Records gives the title of the “most expensive hamburger in the world" to a great burger that costs US$69 at DB Burger Royale located in New York city.

Estik Restaurant in Madrid sells the truly most expensive hamburger in the world at about US$ 110.

At Estik you can taste other great meats on top of their Kobe steak hamburger. Estik is located at Espronceda 34. We strongly recommend you to book a table in advance +34 913 950 037

The beautiful Moorish palace of the Alhambra was built by the Nasrid Family in the 13th and 14th century. This Moorish Family reigned in Granada until 1492. The Alhambra has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

One of the principal courts of the Alhambra is the Patio de los Leones (Court of Lions). the Fountain of the Lions, placed in the center of the patio, is one of hte most genuine gems of the Alhambra complex. It is an alabaster basin supported by 12 white marble lions, emblems of strenght and courage.

One of the Lions was taken out of the fountain for restoration. The process was a great success so the other 11 lions are going under restoration now and will not be on their fountain until 2008.

Maybe you never heard of Hospes... or maybe you have.... Hospes is a small Spanish boutique hotel chain... but it is much more than that... Hospes is one of Spain's best kept secrets.

Small beautiful palaces or historical buildings turned into great luxurious homes for travelers. At a Hospes hotel it is all about beauty and about service.

It is cold in Spain lately... Most parts of our country are all white these days. I thought you would enjoy seeing some pictures

La Granja - Segovia

Segovia

Pamplona

Toledo

We visited the new ME Hotel today and we loved it.

The Reina Victoria was one of the most emblematic hotels in Madrid. It has been closed during 2 years and has gone through a great renovation process being re-born as ME Madrid in Fall 2006. This is a unique hotel. Very, very hip, fantastic views, outstanding location at Madrid's old quarter, great service, very good music and incredible technology everywhere...... Here comes some history of the hotel together with some pictures:

Since it opened in 1925, the art-deco hotel on Plaza de Santa Ana has been closely conected with bullfighting. This is the place where the crème de la crème met during the bugllfighting season. The heads of four of the most famous brave fighting bulls still adorn the walls of the bar. Across the way, Ernest Hemingway enjoyed drinking his beer in the Cervecería Alemana.

Lobby / Bar

The legendary Tower suite in the corner tower was the first choice of Spain’s best matadors. This is where Manolete and Luis Miguel Dominguín resided. With its rooftop deck, ME Madrid’s adjacent Sky Bar offers a beautiful panorama view of the city. Lavisly renovated, the hotel is one of the top Madrid addresses since its re-openign in 2006.

Alonso Alvarez de Toledo (co-owner of Made for Spain) with Raul Palomo (ME Director of Sales and Marketing)

View from the suites (all of them located on the 6th floor)

Sitting room of a Suite

Raul and Leonor Morales (Sales Coordinator) invited us to a fantastic lunch at Midnight Rose the trendy restaurant of the hotel. The Chef is Jaime Renedo from Madrid's restaurant Asiana. This 25 years old Madrileño Chef is revolutioning the city gastronomical scene. Just to give you an idea they welcome us with some kind of tiny Oreo cookies made of black olives and Gruyère cheese!

Madrid should congratulate for this fantastic addition to its hotel scheme.

Valdemorillo is located 19 miles north-west of Madrid. Valdemorillo’s bullring offers the first event of the bullfighting calendar. Valdemorillo bullring boasts the privilege of opening up the Spanish bullfighting season with a fair organized every year at the beginning of February. 

Sunday February 4th the Feria of Valdemorillo begins with a bullfight of toros of Antonio San Román. The Matadors will be Jesulín de Ubrique, Francisco Rivera Ordóñez and Manuel Díaz El Cordobés.

Beautiful toro from the Ganadería of the Count of la Maza.

The last day of the Christmas season in Spain is celebrated on January 6^th, Epiphany (the Three Kings day)

The Three Kings Day (Día de Reyes) is a Christian celebration that commemorates the Biblical story of the three kings who followed the star of Bethlehem to bring gifts to the Christ child.

The tradition in Spain is that the children get their Christmas present on Epiphany morning. Christmas presents are brought by the Three Kings on January 6^th to every Spanish home. On January 5^th at night we all leave one pair of shoes in the sitting room by the Nativity scene (Nacimiento) together with some liquor for the Kings and some cookies for the camels on January 5^th. When we wake up in the morning our presents are waiting for us by our shoes.

As in Spain we celebrate every occasion we can eating and because every fiesta is connected to a special local delicatessen made up for the special occasion we celebrate the Día de Reyes eating the Roscón de Reyes with some hot chocolate. Many grandparents organize for all their sons/daughters and grandchild to visit them on the Día de Reyes to eat the Roscón together and receive their presents. 

Meli, my sister in law, cooking a Roscón de Reyes

I was walking Recogidas Street in Granada the other night with my family. Then we saw what I was told was a rehearsal dinner (Granadas way!!!) Isn't this fun? the bride is riding a donkey being helped by the groom.

Ignacio my brother took this picture of them. When I asked him to send me the picture to share with you he did but he also sent us some pictures he took in Sierra Nevada, the beautiful mountain range and ski resorti outside Granada.

Granada is a beautiful city surrounded by some of Spain's tallest mountains. The weather is cold in winter and the ski resort is located some 50 kilometres away.

I am finally back from Cannes and to my surprise I found everything ready for Christmas in the city

So I did what many other Madrileños did today. I went to Casa Mira, the most prestigious shop in Madrid, to buy turron and other Christmas specialities. Casa Mira is located at Carrera de San Jerónimo 30, Madrid. Tel. +3491 429 8895

This is how the outside of Casa Mira looks like

And this is the inside.... Crazy busy but worth the wait...

Then I decided on visiting the new Mercado Gastronomico Urbano de Madrid: La Plaza at Plaza Vazquez de Mella. This is a great event organized by my good friend Victor del Campo being the sponsor Madrid City Hall. This event takes place at the begining of December every year. I strongly suggest you to visit if you are visiting the city these dates:

Noelia Fermosell (on the picture below) gave me to taste some excellent wine her family produces in Cenicientos outside of Madrid. I promissed to visit her winery in January. They took over their grandparets winery and I want to organize for our travelers visit their premises and taste their great wines.

Then Pedro Martinez (below) sold me some ecological beans pre-cooked with olive oil and paprika that his family grows and prepares in Colmenar de Oreja outside Madrid. He promised to me to receive some of you if coming to Madrid and want to visit an ecological vegetable garden.

I ended up my tour to the Gastronomical market stopping tasting some great wine that the Robles family prepares in Cordoba with Pedro Ximenez grapes.

I enjoyed a great day in Madrid and wanted to share with you!

We are in Cannes attending a travel conference these days. It is work but it also being great fun for us as we are seeing many friends we love from the travel industry.

I am here with my good friends Alonso Alvarez de Toledo, co-owner of Made for Spain, Andrea Grisdale and Laura. Andrea is the owner and manager of the best travel company in Italy: I.C.Bellagio http://www.icbellagio.com 

Wendy and Brook from Conde Nast Traveler are also attended and they were so kind as to invited us to lunch yesterday.

Lunch was great fun. We spoke about Spain and what is new and what is coming in our country.

I know well how kind, friendly and easy going both Brook and Wendy are... What I did not know until yesterday is about Wendy's love for photography...

Please check Wendy's post http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/blogs/perrinpost so to see the great picture she took!!

Don't miss Brook Wilkinson and Kathryn Maier article "The Fabulous Fifty" at the December issue of Conde Nast Traveler.

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/detail?articleId=10515

Look for Made for Spain's experience:

Secret Sagrada (The Arts)
Take a behind-the-scenes tour of Sagrada Familia, the cathedral designed by Antonio Gaudí in the 1880s and still unfinished. The building's stark, angular Nativity and glass-and-tile towers make it the most memorable feature of Barcelona's skyline. Construction is expected to continue until at least 2026, the hundredth anniversary of the artist's death. A Gaudí academic will show you around the architects' offices, sculptors' and artisans' workshops, and construction areas during working hours. Cost: $1,075. Source: Virginia Irurita, Made for Spain, Madrid (34-91-310-7070; virginia@madeforspain.com; madeforspain.com).

Valencia is booming. I visited the city last Wednesday and Thursday and fell in love again with its vibrant beauty. The last addition at the city is the new auditorium by Santiago Calatrava. Here are some pictures so that you get an idea of how extraordinary the City of Arts and Science o Valencia is.  

We had lunch at the port and enjoyed visiting 2007 America's Cup pier... everything is getting ready for this extraordinary event.

The 5* Hotel AC Miramar opened its doors in Barcelona some weeks ago. Miramar is one of the most beautiful hotels we have ever stayed in. Miramar is surounded by the Mediterranean Sea and impressive Barcelona's panoramas.

The AC Miramar is an exclusive five star hotel with 75 rooms. Miramar was built in Montjüic for the 1929 World Fair. The hotel is surrounded by beautiful gardens with typical Mediterranean tree species, designed by Forestier. The original building has been carefully restored, keeping its former personality, in order to turn it into a singular, exquisite and beautiful hotel, provided with luxury, exclusiveness and charm. The restoration has been done by the architect Óscar Tusquets Blanca.