Gastronomy Class and Tapas Tour: "What is it? I don't know, but it tastes pretty good!"

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" - Our tapas tour brought us to the Caballerizas Bar, formerly a stables!

In the second installment of our Life and Culture Course, Inés Criado returned to enlighten the group on the Spanish diet, regional delicacies, and the Iberian love affair with the pig! 

Salamanca is known for producing some of the highest quality jamón in the world so it's easy to understand why the tapas bars are full of it. For locals, it’s a no-brainer - what meal couldn’t be improved by throwing a little ham in there?!

Of course, for our handful of vegetarian students, it’s another matter completely. At least they have soon mastered some essential Spanish vocabulary."Soy vegetariano. No, no ham, thank you. No, pollo tampoco. No, not even tuna! Nada de carne!...."   

Inés explained how in coastal Spain the gastronomic focus switches away from ham and towards seafood (mariscos). In Galicia, for example, the speciality dish has tentacles! Pulpo Gallego anyone?!

To compliment the class, we headed out afterwards to a couple of tapas bars, aiming to get our tongues around some of the culinary creations we had seen. First up was Baviera Bar, where we were spoilt for choice (there are over thirty different tapas!) Then we marched over to The Caballerizas Bar, a favourite AIFS haunt that's hidden near the Cathedral.