About this item
Patricia Harris began visiting Spain shortly after the death of dictator Francisco Franco and has witnessed the country's renaissance in art, culture, and cuisine as it rejoined Europe. Drawing on three decades of intimate acquaintance with the country, she leads readers along twisting mountain roads, down to the docks of fishing villages, into the shoe outlets of Elche, and out to the muddy saffron fields of La Mancha. She takes you down city streets of Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, and San Sebastian to dark flamenco clubs, sybaritic public baths, endlessly inventive tapas bars, design shops full of mantillas and fans, and into a brightly tiled chocolateria for hot chocolate and churros at 3 a. m. She explores the art from Velazquez to Picasso, architecture from the phantasmagorical vision of Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia to the cool suspension spans of Santiago Calatrava.
About the Author
A former arts administrator who handled funding for literature, theater, dance, and the visual arts, Patricia Harris has written about travel, food, art, and popular culture since she stopped going to other people's offices in the 1990s. She is co-author with David Lyon of more than thirty books that range from travel guides to one volume that plumbs the symbolism and semiotics of food. She is also the sole author (and photographer) of "100 Places in Spain Every Woman Should Go." In addition to books, she and David Lyon travel the world--and their home region of New England, for that matter--writing for magazines, newspapers, and web sites about interesting places and people and good things to eat. Although she shares the same name, she has never been the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and knows nothing about teaching children how to write software. She and David Lyon live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and make their online home at www.HungryTravelers.com.
