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Inspired: Francis Montesinos 2010 Spring Collection

CasaSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0700

New York Fashion Week was full of many beautiful, elegant, and inspiring looks. But I must say that the designers participating in Madrid Cibeles Fashion Week have really displayed out-of-the-box thinking and debuted some wild and funky fashions. In particular, I'm blown away by Spanish designer Francis Montesinos's Spring collection. I'd love to translate his aesthetic into a room; it's so fun, lively, and eccentric. So I hunted down a few products inspired by his designs.

Source: Getty

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Spain Scores Record For World's Longest Restaurant Table

YumSugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:30:17 -0700

Perhaps the world's lengthiest dosa has finally found its place at table.

Over the weekend, a dining table measuring 1.258 kilometers, or more than three quarters of a mile, entered the Guinness World Records. The front-page furniture hailed from the Valencian town of El Campello in Spain.

The feat was made up of tables from at least 60 various local restaurants. Restaurants that contributed space were allowed to decorate, wait on, and serve diners at these tables to their liking. Despite the fact that the record-setting structure beat out an 2007 record held by a restaurant in Vienna, Austria, that was 1.176 kilometers long, every single seat at at the table was occupied. Do you enjoy dining at long tables?

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Oh Snap! You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato Fight!

TresSugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Revelers enjoy themselves at the world's biggest tomato fight at La Tomatina festival in Bunol, Spain. More than 45,000 people from all over the world descended on the small town in Valencia to participate in the La Tomatina festival where over 100 tons of rotten and overripe tomatoes were thrown this year. Does this look like fun to you?

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Titanic Tomato Fight Takes Over Valencia, Spain

YumSugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:00:58 -0700

For many, corn boils and clambakes are the highlights of the season. But others look forward to very different Summer festivities - like the La Tomatina in Valencia, Spain. Yesterday, the town of Buñol, Spain (population: 9,000), held its annual world-famous tomato food fight. The event, which is on the last Wednesday in August, is an all-out escapade that involves more than 100 tons of overripe tomatoes, draws over 40,000 visitors from around the world, and spares absolutely no one.

To learn more about it and check out a gallery of images, read more.

It's part of a weeklong festival that includes music, parades, dancing, fireworks, and a massive paella cooking contest. The hourlong exchange, which takes place in Buñol's Plaza del Pueblo, dates back to the mid-1940s. Legend has it that the fight either began as a spat between local merchants, or when disgruntled citizens started throwing tomatoes at politicians. Après-argument, participants hose one another off and jump in the Buñol River, while fire trucks hose down the plaza.

This looks disgusting yet fun, so I'm adding it to my bucket list of things to do. Can you imagine how much tomato pulp the photographer must've been covered in?! Would you participate in La Tomatina?

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A Taste of Casa Balbino's Classic Spanish Tapas

partysugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:50:04 -0700

In the heart of any Spanish city, there's a plaza filled with countless tapas restaurants. The menus hardly vary from place to place - everyone offers their version of classics such as gambas al ajilo, patatas bravas, or tortilla Española. That's why places like Casa Balbino, located in the Southern city of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, are a dime a dozen. While they serve the traditional dishes, they also offer a wide variety of harder to find tapas. Because Sanlucar is located along a delta, the seafood is unbelievably fresh. One hot Summer afternoon, I ate my way through Balbino's amazing selection of tapas. Here, you'll find a taste of the scrumptious journey.

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The Seafood Is Fresh and Delicious at Spain's Romerijo

partysugar — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:30:52 -0700

While YumSugar's favorite seaside seafood joint has an amazing view and outdoor fireplaces, my preferred place for fresh and fried fish is a gritty, sometimes chaotic restaurant with wax paper napkins and plastic chairs. Located in the southern Spanish town of Puerto de Santa Maria, the wildly popular Romerijo is part restaurant, part fish market. It may not be elegant, but the incredibly fresh fish and classic Spanish atmosphere make this eatery a place I return to every time I visit Spain. To take a trip there without leaving your desk, read on.

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Is Nudity a Persuasive Method of Activism?

TresSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:00:00 -0700

A naked person might make you either look twice or cover your eyes; but activists in Spain hope it will persuade you to join their cause against bull fighting. Over the weekend, anti-bull fighting demonstrators in Madrid dressed themselves up in not much more than fake blood. They were trying to raise awareness about the animal cruelty involved with bullfighting.

Going naked or using sexy women to bring attention to neglected causes isn't new. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) routinely uses human flesh to get out its animal rights message; they even orchestrated a Running of the Nudes to protest the infamous running of the bulls in Spain.

Do you think nudity gets people to pay attention to important causes, or does it come off as a distracting gimmick?

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Home Away From Home: Selgas Cano Architects

CasaSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 06:15:49 -0700

Beyond high hopes for an ergonomic desk chair, most of us don't give a second thought to what our office space looks like. But when you're an architect, the design of your workspace may not only affect your productivity and mood, but the impressions of your clients as well. Madrid-based architecture firm Selgas Cano should have no trouble dazzling clients who visit its office, a futuristic gem in the middle of the woods. I was blown away when I saw the space, gleaming white and mimosa-colored and narrow like a train car. One side of the structure is nearly all windows, giving you the feeling of living (working) in the wild. My only complaint is that each desk sits behind another like bedrooms in a railroad apartment, which isn't very engaging socially. Check out plenty of photos shot by photographer Iwan Baan, and tell me what you think when you read more.

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Women Dressed in Flamenco Splash Spain With Color

TresSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:00:00 -0700

Each April the residents of Seville, Spain, celebrate the Feria de Abril festival. The fiesta began as a livestock fair in 1847, and today it marks the beginning of the bullfighting season.

Throughout the week, Sevillanas parade through the city adorned in larger-than-life traditional clothes. I think a lot of people in America would feel too self-conscious to get all decked out like this. Lucky Seville that they have a tradition that gives them an excuse to!

The flamenco dresses are gorgeous, and no two are the same. I'm dying for a reason to wear one! Take a peek. Source

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Enchanté? Carla Bruni Meets Her Match in Spain

TresSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:00:00 -0700

It's no secret we're obsessed with all things French at TrèsSugar, and France's first lady, Carla Bruni, is no exception. But while she may be our favorite, the Daily Mail claims she was bested yesterday by Princess Letizia of Spain in style and beauty.

Carla accompanied President Nicolas Sarkozy to Spain to placate rumors that Spanish tempers ran high after a gaffe-y Sarkozy said Spanish Premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was "not very smart." What better way to reach peace than to bring two beautiful faces from each country together?

I will insert an obligatory line about how both women are beautiful in their own right because, well, they are, but that takes me away from a problem I want to discuss. Beautiful women - Michelle Obama, Carla Bruni, and now Princess Letizia - are used to distract us from the political issues at hand. You know, like how President Sarkozy said something mean about the Spanish premier. Mon dieu!

Anyway, since the Daily Mail started it, I am going to finish. With a superior integration of the beauty-pageant-like sash and fortunate absence of a tiara, Carla reigns.

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