Spectacular Spain

After sharing the secrets of off-the-beaten-track Italy, Alex Polizzi turns her attention to Spain in this new series

After sharing the secrets of off-the-beaten-track Italy, Alex Polizzi turns her attention to Spain in this new series.

She begins by visiting a winery in the Rioja region in the north, then it’s on to Logroño, a city renowned for its pintxos (Basque tapas) bars.

Poor Alex spends an afternoon sampling as many pintxos as possible, along with a glass or three of Rioja (at least she has the decency to say ‘Life doesn’t get much better than this’).

After a quick side trip to Pamplona to watch the famous running of the bulls, Alex heads to Barcelona, where she discovers why the tradition of ‘castells’ – gravity-defying human towers – means so much to modern-day Catalans and, she’s suprised to find, to Alex herself.