Made in Spain

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Valencia looks polished from the outside, but the real city lives in the details you only catch on foot. We’re joined by Paul, a photographer and the founder of Streets of Valencia, and he guides us through a private walking tour that turns the Old Town into a living timeline, full of small stories you would never spot alone. 

We start in Plaza de la Virgen with the Turia River and why water shaped everything from the Roman founding of Valentia to the irrigation channels still used in local agriculture. From there we drop into the Roman layer at L’Almoina, talk about what was uncovered in the 1980s, and keep moving past cathedral corners, orange trees and worn stone marks that hint at the city’s trading past. We also stop to notice modern Valencia, including how Plaza de la Reina has changed through pedestrianisation, shade design and the everyday politics of keeping locals comfortable. 

Food is where the walk becomes instantly practical. Inside Mercat Central Valencia, Paul points out what’s seasonal and why this market still feels like a place locals shop, not just a tourist attraction. We get a clear, no-nonsense guide to paella valenciana, from bomba rice near Albufera to the all-important stock, the rule against stirring, and the joy of socarrat. The route ends with La Lonja de la Seda, Valencia’s UNESCO silk exchange, plus the city’s famously cheeky gargoyles, before we step into El Carmen and the Portal de Valldigna, a doorway into the old quarter. 

If you love Valencia travel tips, guided walks, local food culture and the hidden history of the Valencia Old Town, hit subscribe, share this with a friend planning a trip, and leave us a review with the one place you’d put on your perfect Valencia walking route.

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Tapas isn’t just a menu section, it’s a social system. We’re Nalini and Laura, two friends living in Spain, and we pull apart what Spanish food looks like when you stop treating it like a checklist and start seeing it as daily life: the pre-lunch vermouth, the quick bite at the bar, and the way a whole afternoon can unfold one small plate at a time. Along the way, we share the best folklore we found on how tapas may have started, including the story of a glass of sherry “covered” with jamón to keep out the dust.

We also get practical and specific: what makes tapas different from pinchos, why toothpicks matter, and how the honour system works in parts of northern Spain. Then we widen the lens with snacks that deserve more love, like altramuz (brined lupini beans) and how Spain’s Arabic influence shows up in both food history and language. If you care about Spanish cuisine, Spanish bar culture, or food travel in Spain, these details help you order with confidence and eat like locals actually eat.

From there we head into sauce territory, where opinions get loud. Why is mayonnaise everywhere in Spain, and what’s the Menorca link that complicates the “it’s French” assumption? Why does alioli taste so different from mayo, and what’s with the old superstition that it can “break” if the wrong person comes too close? We finish with the chaotic joy of chanchullo (crisps mixed with tinned seafood and pickles), the iconic Gilda pincho with its 1940s film backstory, and a slice of life featuring a striking local find: submarine-aged wine from an artisan garage winery near Altea.If you enjoyed this deep dive into Spanish food beyond tapas, subscribe for more, share the episode with a friend who loves a good snack, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.
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Your olive oil habit might be costing you flavour, money, or both. We head off on a little “Triple O” mission (oil obsession) to visit Señoríos de Reyu, a single-estate producer a winding drive inland from the Alicante coast, and the day changes how we think about every casual drizzle in the kitchen. When you learn that olive trees flower heavily but only around three per cent of those flowers become olives, “cheap” extra virgin suddenly feels a lot less straightforward. 

We talk through what makes a premium Spanish olive oil producer different: growing, harvesting, processing, and bottling all on site rather than sending olives to a co-operative. We get into coupage blends, why modern machinery protects quality, and how sustainability can be built into the land itself with biodiversity projects, composting, and using every part of the olive so nothing goes to waste. And yes, we nerd out over packaging and design, including aluminium bottles that better protect oil from light, heat, and air plus a bold designer collaboration that turns a bottle into a collectible. 

Then we get practical. We share what to look for on an olive oil label (harvest date that goes beyond the year, origin wording, acidity) and we bust one of the biggest myths: “cold pressed” or “first press” as a guarantee of superiority. We also give a quick shout-out to other award-winning Spanish olive oils we love, and we answer a listener email about Aena airports and how to request free support for invisible disabilities and neurodivergent travel in Spain. 

If you enjoy food travel, Spanish culture, and smart buying tips you can use immediately, hit play. Subscribe, share with a fellow olive oil obsessive, and leave us a review and tell us: what do you check first when you pick up a bottle?

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Podcasting looks simple from the outside: press record, tell a story, publish, repeat. Then you step into the industry and realise it is a mix of language quirks, listener psychology, algorithms, advertising money, and a lot of behind-the-scenes learning. We share what surprised us most after visiting the London Podcast Show, including the sheer scale of the event, how intense short networking meetings can be, and why you need to protect your energy if you want to make genuine connections.

We also zoom out to the history of podcasting itself, from how the word “podcast” was coined (and why it still carries the ghost of the iPod), to a small detail we love: many Spanish speakers say “poscat” because that consonant pairing is awkward in Spanish. From there, we get honest about why podcasts feel so comforting, how they have replaced parts of radio for many listeners, and the downside no one wants to admit: recommendation engines can trap us in beliefs we already hold, feeding an echo chamber one autoplay at a time.

Finally, we talk numbers and strategy. The podcast market is massive, podcast advertising works because listeners actually pay attention, and big-name deals show how valuable attention has become. But the heart of it stays small and human: a clear theme, a real relationship with your audience, and the grit to keep going when you feel out of your depth. If you care about the business of podcasting, starting a podcast, or growing a travel podcast community around Spain, you will take away practical lessons and a few laughs along the way. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who loves audio, and leave us a review: what makes you hit play on a podcast every week?

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Denia is the kind of place that makes you stop mid sentence and look up. A city on Spain’s Costa Blanca sitting between a castle and the sea, continuously inhabited for thousands of years, and somehow still calm enough to feel personal. We’re sharing why Denia earns its reputation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, and how to experience it without turning your day into a rushed itinerary.

We talk through Denia’s layered history, from its Greek beginnings to the Roman Dianium connection, then move into what you actually do when you arrive: wander the old town, eye up the castle, and head to the port and marina for that waterfront energy. We also get practical about the ferry to the Balearic Islands (Ibiza and Mallorca) and why it can be slower and pricier than flying, even though it still makes sense if you’re travelling with a car or staying longer.

The biggest surprise is the one most people miss: Jardín de l’Albarda, a conservation led botanical garden just outside Denia that feels like a secret garden hidden in a residential neighbourhood. We share costs, tips, why it’s brilliant for families and photographers, and why a simple coffee and cake there can become the most memorable part of the day. From gamba roja de Dénia and fideuà to a mindset of vivir despacio, we end on what slow travel can teach you about everyday life.

If you enjoyed this coastal guide and our slice of life chat, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs a slower weekend, and leave us a review. What’s your perfect Denia plan, castle first or lunch first?