Flamenco: I was first blessed with the good fortune to enjoy authentic, rustic and spontaneous flamenco in Madrid during the summer I spent there in my wide-eyed eighteenth year.  I stayed with my American girlfriend who was living there and had fettered out the best local places for food-ing, disco-ing and flamenco gawking.

Flamenco is not just dance

Let’s just say after an evening of rhythmic clapping, impassioned stomping, vigorous strumming and singing alternating with plaintive wailing…I was awakened to more than just a new form of entertainment.  The sultry intimacy in the air was palpable.  She and I, young and impressionable foreigners, made a hasty and prudent exit.  We didn’t wait to see what similar appetites the dance had stirred in the other patrons.  I am also a late-in-life dancer,  and so have come to appreciate and marvel at this dance form in my many subsequent visits to Spain even more than my first awe-struck encounters.

Seville:  OK, so I’m playing favorites.  I love so very many cities and regions of Spain, but Sevilla

My biggest love, the Giralda Tower in Sevilla, Spain

completely and mercilessly captured my heart. I first visited in 2007 on a Spanish immersion program, where I studied for five weeks at the Giralda Center and stayed with a woman who can certainly claim most of the blame or credit for me being enamorado with Seville   I call her my Spanish madre, and her personality is as much a comfort as her lovingly and skilled authentic Spanish meals that leave you insisting you cannot possibly fit another morsel, yet sneak 3rd and 4th helpings from the kitchen only an hour later, while everyone else is siesta-ing. But that’s not all! There is the grandiose cathedral with it’s proud La Giralda tower…a beautiful hybrid of styles, blending ancient Roman stones at the base with Moorish bricks until the crowning glory of the bell tower, added to reclaim the structure as a Catholic  treasure. And I didn’t even touch on the Alcazar!  The royal palace that is at once magnificent and yet retains an intimacy in it’s arched Moorish courtyards and extensive gardens.

View of La Giralda Tower from the Alcazar Gardens

“I have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills, Coming in solemn beauty like slow old tunes of Spain.” John Edward Masefield

Tapas: I wish I had more drool-worthy photos to share, but you see, the thing is…when you go tapas bar hopping with friends…you don’t really stop to take delicate photos of your food before it’s devoured. Too, it’s not often presented in the most “foodie” fashion.  Often served on nondescript metal platters, tapas are the epitome of food sampling and savoring.  It’s the best kind of culinary indulgence in that tapas are small portions of everything you can think of, ranging from baby eels or snails (ooops, sorry, did I lose you there?) to fried calamaris or shrimp croquetas.  In this method, you can taste six or more different delights and you’ll find a pattern of ordering more and more of your favorites.

Assortment of tapas in Malaga

I’m a calamari girl myself…as well as Spanish tortilla (potato, egg and onion pie) and insalata russa (Russian potato salad). Let’s not forget the myriad eggplant and zucchini options as well as succulent seafood morsels and the well-known and lauded saffron-infused rice dish, paella! OK, tucking my napkin in under my chin and Stark-Trek-beaming over to Spain now!

Me, happy in the hills of Spain (The Sierra Nevadas, actually)

Disfrutado: The French have joie de vivre.  The Italians, la dolce vita.  It seems somehow at odds that the Spanish don’t have a similarly acknowledged phrase for passionately embracing life and it’s wondrous wonders and delights.  So, I will call it “disfrutado” here for lack of a more fitting phrase.

Lively street performers in Seville, Spain

They simply….enjoy.  True, there is much to enjoy about Spain and being Spanish.  Thankfully, they take full advantage of this condition and circumstance. Try it.  Take “disfrutado” back home with you.  It’s infectious, so don’t come pointing fingers at me

Gaudi roof detail on Casa Batllo, Barcelona, Spain

Gaudi: This guy Antoni Gaudi broadsided me.  I don’t mind.  I love having my preconceived notions tossed on their head .  If it not for a rainy day that one trip to Barcelona, I may not have given this suitor the opportunity to seduce me with his wonderous designs and creations that reflect the one thing I revere beyond all other things…nature.  There are so many books on Antoni Gaudi and guides that insist that you must see the truly unique cathedral Sagrada Familia or the impressive Casa Mila.  And yes you certainly should.  But my two personal favorite do-not-misses are Casa Battlo (where he made me swoon on that fateful rainy day when I purchased a ticket and went inside) and Park Guell.  I’m an outdoors nature girl, remember? Please do not allow any prejudgements about his flamboyant style deter you from discovering this engineering and artful marvel.

Plaza de Espana, Sevilla, Spain

Sights : So many!  I was going to put historical and stunning architecture, like palaces, cathedrals and ancient fortifications and grand walls, but then there are the beaches and the countryside, and the mountains, and the outlying islands I must eventually get to.  My girlfriend from my “Spanish summer” spent some time in the Canary Islands and it’s definitely on my list!

Matalascanas beach, Southern Spain

Flights to Tenerife and other Canary islands and the posh get away of Ibiza are numerous and affordable, so I have little excuse for my next visit.  I am also hunkering to get some more serious hiking in.  I can already imagine my delectable picnic of savory Spanish delights to reward me after a long haul.  And perhaps a grotto will await me…I’ve read about some great spots.

Pilgrimage at Rocio, Spain

Traditions: Now I know all cultures and nations have a plethora of traditions, but in Spain, they take ritual and celebration to extremes.  They could have the X games of culture and take gold.  It seems that every week in Spain there is at least one feria (festival), one holy day or sacred observation, or one pilgrimage.

Some more "disfrutado" in Rocio, Spain

And the entire populace of the towns come out in full force to observe processions, the men on horseback like gallant paragons of historic romance novels, the women and girls decked out in elaborate and brilliantly festive polka dot or otherwise vibrant dresses…festooned with flowers and jewels, sometimes perched on the back of the men’s horses as trophies.  Sigh.  Can you tell I like Spain?

Corpus Christi observance in the Plaza de Zocodover in Toledo

Now that I’ve summarized (oh yes, dearies, this is a mere summary of my love for Spain!) my favorite highlights of Spain, it’s your turn to check it out and report back.  Or if you’ve already had the good fortune of visiting this vibrant country, please let me know your favorites and chastise me if I’ve neglected some important attributes.

All photos by Gina Stark, except the ones of me!

Read more about my Spain-i-licious adventures in Barcelona: You Directed – I Discovered!

and Rhythms of Spain