06/05/2024
A few facts about Spain that maybe you didn't know! 🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸
Paella was invented in Valencia and a truly authentic paella does NOT contain any fish or shellfish. No matter what Jamie Oliver says about adding chorizo and prawns, chefs from Valencia use just ten ingredients when making their national dish, none of which are fish. These are: rice, olive oil, water, salt, saffron, tomatoes, flat green beans, lima beans, chicken and rabbit. Simple, delicious and not a "Seamonster" in sight! 🥘😋
The Basque language, spoken in the Basque Country and parts of France, is a language isolate, meaning it has no known link to any other language anywhere in the world. Basically, lots of Z's and X's. zzzxzxzxzxxzxz
The stapler, the office tool, was invented by the Basque engineer Juan Lerma in the 18th century. Unfortunately, paper was invented 70 years later, so he died a poor man, mumbling something in Z's and X's 😉 📜
Restaurante Botín in Madrid holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest continuously operating restaurant globally, dating back to 1725. A great restaurant with reasonable prices! 😋 Visit!
Spain boasts one of the highest numbers of bars per capita in the world, with approximately one bar for every 132 inhabitants. 🍻 I'm slowly going through them 😉
The "Casa Estrecha" in Valencia is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the narrowest building in the world, measuring just 107 cm at its narrowest point. (That's 3ft 6, to us oldies) 🏠
In Spain, it's a tradition to eat twelve grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve, one for each stroke of the clock, symbolizing good luck for the twelve months ahead. Tip: buy seedless tinned grapes 🍇
"Don Quixote," written by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 17th century, is often considered the world's first modern novel. 📖 Personally, I preferred Fifty Shades! 😈
El Cid, a Spanish hero and legendary figure, fought with the Moors against Christians before turning against the Moors during the Reconquista. He was later immortalized in literature, film, and folklore. 🇲🇦🇪🇸
Silbo Gomero, a whistling language native to the Canary Island of La Gomera, is used to communicate across long distances and steep terrain. 😙........😙
While chocolate originated in Mesoamerica, Spain was the first European country to cultivate cocoa and introduce chocolate to Europe after it was brought back by Christopher Columbus. 🍫 Yes, NOT Belgium!
The "Ferrocaril de La Robla, a railway line running between Bilbao and León, is the oldest, continually running railway in the world still in operation, dating back to 1894. 🚂 The 5hr trip costs only 33€, around 30% of an equivalent journey in the UK. 🤬
Safe travels information courtesy of Andy & Gordi 🐾
