Armchair travels to Spain

It's usually around this time of year that the travel bug starts to seriously bite us. This year, we have to just swat it away. But armchair traveling is cheap and fun! Anybody can do it!

Our latest obsession is Spain, spurred along by two marvelous PBS series: Made in Spain with José André, and On the Road Again... in Spain (Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, etc.). Both series are passionate, enthusiastic views of Spain and its cuisine. And my favorite kind of travel: a drive through the countryside. Dining. A big dose of city. Dining. Architecture and museums. Time for a little snack. Meeting the locals while sipping on a regional cup of hot chocolate, or glass of wine. Exploring the wild coastline... and tasting another regional specialty.

I don't think Spain has a more exuberant spokesperson than José André. He clearly is in love with Spain and with cooking (he also owns something like five restaurants, which I've heard are all fabulous), and brings viewers to some really interesting places (interspersed with trips back to his Washington, D.C. kitchen to cook up a storm inspired by the region just visited).

We watched and tivo/moxied/recorded all the episodes we could, but there's only so long you can keep the series... until it dawned on us that we could get the DVDs to carry in the shop! So there you go. We have a couple copies of each series for sale at Pomegranate (and can order again). It's something you'll want for yourself, but also makes a great gift for the foodies on your list. Warning: it could end up hurting your bank account, only because you will want to book tickets to Spain immediately after watching.

And that's not a bad idea -- seriously, if you're lucky enough to still have a bit of discretionary income, there are some great deals on flights to Europe right now, and fantastic deals on lodging. Almost guaranteed that no place will be overrun with tourists.

But if, like most of us, your big travel plans this year involve taking the sleeping bag into the back yard and roasting marshmallows on the patio bbq, armchair traveling with series like these will work. Pour yourself a glass of wine, get comfy in your TV chair, and prepare to escape.