Wine Tasting

Summer 2008 students used alll thier senses last night in a bilingual introduction to wine tasting. We were guided through the evening at BLA3 by expert enologist Juan Manuel and the BLA3 team.

With the aid of a bilingual information pack and presentation,we found out about the history and processes behind winemaking.With the help of a color chart, we identified colors and tones. We tuned in with our noses to identify aromas, after gently swilling it around in the wine glass to release even more depth and character we picked out some surprising touches of horse and smoke along with the more conventional aromas of fruit and flower.

Then we finally got down to tasting the wine, a selection of whites, reds and a rosé from different wine producing areas of Spain. After locating different sensory zones on the tongue, we carefully and slowly tasted the wine. The white and rosé wines were a great start to this hot summer evening. We discovered that the younger the wine, the more agressive and acidic the texture and taste. With older, oak barrel aged wines the flavors are mellow and even on the tongue.

The white, rosé and red wines that we tasted were accompanied by some delicious tortilla de patata, jamón and pan tomate.

And so we learnt how to taste, not drink wine and appreciate the complex processes and regional differences that make Spanish wines so great.

Flamenco at Tarantos

BCEA students got the chance to experience live the passion, energy and style of Flamenco last night.

We were taken aback by the powerful and emotional voice of the lead Flamenco singer and the rhythmic music of the accompanying musicians. The icing on the cake was the performance by a Flamenco dancer.

Responding to this and interpreting these strong emotions expressed in song, the dancer amazed us with the power, speed and sheer accuracy of her steps and movements. The traje de flamenco; flamenco costume is extremely femenine and accentuates the hourglass silhouette of the dancer. The evening left us eager to see more flamenco.

Spanish Cooking Class

BCEA Summer students chopped, whisked and blended last wednesday under the expert supervision of ......., our Spanish chefs for the evening and with the essential assistance of great quality fresh products purchased that morning from the famous Boquería market.

We put together a very complete and delicious menu which consisted of gazpacho, tortilla de patata, pincho moruno, pintxo de salmón y crema de hinojo, pescaíto frito, pan con tomate, and to finish a refreshing and very Summery dessert, lemon sorbet with gin tonic sauce.

The evening started off with introduction and a demonstration of the dishes we would be preparing, then we got down to the serious business of preparing and cooking our ingredients, with a little tasting going on along the way!! As you can see from the photos we had great fun and learnt a lot. There´s nothing better than getting stuck in!

We sampled our creations with a good glass of red wine, a great way to finish off a fantastic evening. Salud!

Costa Brava Day Trip

Summer 2008 BCEA students visited the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres as part of BCEA´s Costa Brava Day Trip. We were able to truly experience the museum, and enter into the personal and chaotic, imaginative and labyrinthine Dalinian world, full of suggestiveness as we were guided around this impressive space by Ana, our tour guide.

As Dalí himself said "I want my museum to be like a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be a totally theatrical museum.The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream."

It was certainly a surprising experience as we witnessed the projection and realisation of the artist´s dreams and creative energies on this huge "canvas".

After a cultural and informative morning in Figueres, we climbed back on the coach for a short trip along the winding roads which lead to the extremely beautiful coastal town of Cadaqués on the Costa Brava. The views of the scenery from the coach as we climbed, and then descended to this pretty village were magnificent. This village is located in a natural harbor in the Cap de Creus peninsula. Salvador Dali said this was the most beautiful village in the world, and used the sea, the bay and the horizon in many of his paintings.

This village was a popular artists' destination, especially once Salvador Dali moved to Port Lligat. His stay in this village attracted many artists, like Pablo Picasso, Andre Breton, Paul Eluard, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, Federico Garcia Lorca, Luis Bunuel who also had homes there, and many contemporary artists have homes there today.

It´s easy to see why, Cadaqués is an idyllic resort. Many of us tried out the delicious seafood paella available in the seafront restaurants.

What better way to pass a friday afternoon!!

Día de Sant Jordi, 23 de Abril (Saint Georges Day)

BCEA students hit the book and rose filled streets of Barcelona to mingle with the crowds and find out just what Sant Jordi means in Catalunya. April 23, is one of the most important holidays in Catalunya: the day of Sant Jordi, the patron saint of Catalunya. Jordi (or George as he´s known to English speakers) is the Roman soldier from the third century who has gone down in history as a successful dragon-slayer and princess-rescuer. As well as being the patron saint of Catalunya, Jordi also protects those afflicted by love. Sant Jordi is celebrated with an exchange of literature and roses. Women give their loved one a book, while men buy their sweetheart ( and often female relatives and colleagues too) a red rose.

Part of the book fever associated with the 23rd is also due to the anniversary of the deaths, in 1616, of Cervantes and Shakespeare, which led UNESCO to declare April 23 World Book and Copyright Day.

As the biggest day of the year for the Catalan editorial industry, 10% of bookshops annual sales are made in and around the 23 rd. Many writers, like Carlos Ruiz Zafón The Shadow of the Wind author are out signing copies and promoting their new books. Around 6 million roses are sold, so we were really glad to see for ourselves this very special day and enjoy the atmosphere.

Flamenco Night

Last night BCEA students had the chance to witness the passion and energy of Flamenco. It was a great opportunity to see an inspiring performance.We were amazed by the powerful yet graceful movements, the intricate hand and footwork and the musicians who framed the whole ensemble. The evening began with performances of flamenco guitar, toque, violins and cello accompanying the singer and dancers. The singer´s voice was dramatic and full of emotion. We saw how the dancer responded to this and interpreted freely these strong emotions. The traje de flamenco, flamenco costume is extremely femenine and accentuates the hourglass silhouette of the dancer. The evening left us eager to learn a few flamenco steps and moves, and take visiting parents to see a show.

Costa Brava Excursión, 12 - 13 April

Mediterranean blue sky and sunshine accompanied BCEA´s overnight trip to the Costa Brava which took place on the weekend; saturday 12 and sunday 13 April.

Saturday was dedicated to art,history and culture while Sunday was more leisurely and slow paced with the day spent on the magnificent Costa Brava. Saturday morning got off to an interesting start with a guided tour of the Museo Dalí in the town of Figueres. Ana, our guide for accompanied us around this fascinating building (the museum is housed in what was once a theatre), which was created by Salvador Dalí himself. It is a great showcase of his work, the perfect backdrop and most appropriate context in which to exhibit his work. While Dalí lived, no explanation or guided tours around the museum were permitted by the artist. But we were glad to have a chance to understand the motivation behind his work.

In the afternoon we moved on to Girona, a fascinating medieval town in the northeast of Catalonia.As Ana our guide explained, the 12th century saw a flourishing of the Jewish community of Girona, with one of the most important Kabbalistic schools in Europe. The history of the Jewish community of Girona ended in 1492, when the Catholic Kings expelled all the Jews from Spain. Today, the Jewish Call is one of the best preserved in Europe and is a major tourist attraction. On the north side of the old city is the Montjuïc (or hill of the Jews in medieval Catalan), where an important religious cemetery was located.Most traces of Girona's rich Jewish history were wiped out when the Jews were expelled from Spain, but we visited what remains of the district.

We also visited the Banys Arabs, Arabic Baths which date from the 12th century and which have been restored and Girona Cathedral which consists of a big Gothic revival nave, the widest Gothic nave in the world 22.98 m (75.39 ft).

After some free time to go shopping and explore Girona a little further, we climbed back on the
coach and headed to Platja d´Aro where we checked into our hotel for Saturday evening.

After a group dinner we headed off in different directions; cinema, bowling, local bars.

On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast looking out on the beach from the hotel dining room. We checked out and headed down the coast to the pretty beach town of Tossa de Mar.

The located on the rugged Costa Brava, Tossa de Mar is an enticing location. Artist Marc Chagall called it his Blue Paradise. The place has sprawled since Chagall was there in the 1930s, but Tossa has remained a pretty beachside village. The surviving walls and towers and ruins of the castle and fortress which once stood to protect the old town from pirates are beautiful and a provide a great viewpoint over the beach. We spent the afternoon eating picnic lunches on the beach or eating paellas on the restaurant terraces.

Exhausted and drifting off to sleep on the coach on Sunday afternoon we drove back into Barcelona, back to Spring in the city.

A great weekend!