Travel: Visit Lugo in northern Spain for the best in free tapas

Lugo in Spain is famous for one of few still completely intact Roman walls in the world, but this city has something else that is special.

Photo via Flickr by sanfamedia.com / CC BY-ND 2.0

Lugo in the Basque Country has been around for some 2,000 years and is a fascinating and historic city with a wonderful and warm welcome for visitors. However, there is nothing quite like free food. Across the city, bars can be found serving delicious free tapas with every drink you order. 

You can enjoy such delicacies as “pulpo con cachelos” (octopus with potato), tasty empanadas and bollos preñados (stuffed pastries), as well as anchovies, tortillas, and Cuban rice in several of the city’s tapas bars.

Take a virtual visit to Lugo, the home of free tapas https://t.co/RdIpJutogn #Spain #travel #goodeats pic.twitter.com/nnIqPouCHp

— El País in English (@elpaisinenglish) November 21, 2016

According to El País, the best tapas bars to try are located in the area of Rúa da Milagrosa and Rúa Nova and in the Plaza do Campo and Augas Férreas areas. And just think, go to enough bars, have enough drinks and you won't have to worry about dinner! 

The following are places to enjoy on a free tapas route of Lugo – have fun!

1. Fonte do Rei 2 (Av. de Madrid, 63)

2. Lagar (Rúa da Milagrosa, 38)

3. ¡Oh, mi Habana! (Av de Magoi, 134)

4. Ave César (Rúa Nova, 10)

5. 101 Vinos (Rúa do Miño, 6)

6. La Fábrica (Rúa Nova, 15)

7. Cervecería A Carballeira (Av. de Magoi, 63)

Thanksgiving Day first celebrated by Spanish sailors

While everyone believes it was the pilgrims who first sat down to Thanksgiving dinner back in 1621, it turns out the story might be a different one.

 Archaeologists at the Museum of Natural #history in Florida have revealed a different story about the origins of the popular #Thanksgiving Day holiday... read the full story on Blasting News.

Spanish animal shelter head faces charges for killing 2,000 healthy animals

The head of an animal shelter in Torremolinos is on trial for the inhumane killing thousands of dogs and cats.

Photo courtesy Guardia Civil

Prosecutors said on Tuesday that the head of the Parque Animal de Torremolinos animal shelter in southern Spain had put the animals down in a way that caused a "slow and painful agony."

According to prosecutors, the woman who ran the shelter, together with a janitor, injected euthanizing drugs directly into the animals’ muscle tissue, without previous sedation, and instead of intravenously as is recommended. The pair are also accused of having used a smaller dose than is recommended, in order to save money.

Justicia para los cerca de 3.000 animales asesinados por la prersidenta de la supuesta "protectora" Parque Animal de #Torremolinos pic.twitter.com/S5oI5Wu8uF

— Isabel Saez (@Isanimalista) November 14, 2016

Prosecutors wrote in the charges: "The animals were submitted to a slow and painful agony, which was totally unjustified and which the accused were aware of since the animals contorted in pain in front of them for hours."

The owner and janitor have been accused of killing 2,183 animals in the period between January 2009 and October 2010, when the methods of slaughter were first discovered during an inspection of the animal shelter.

It has been alleged by prosecutors that the pair would disconnect the security cameras on the premises while they carried out the “mass extinctions,” all the while playing loud music to cover the sounds made by the animals in their agony.

Prosecutors also stated that the majority of the dogs and cats were young and in good health and in certain cases were put down mere days after being dropped at the shelter. In one case, they say a man dropped off two puppies at the shelter back in June 2010 and those animals were killed later that same day, despite the fact that the man paid them €60 to accept the dogs.

While both defendants deny the allegations, prosecutors believe they killed the animals to “reduce costs” and to make room for the animal shelter’s for-profit activities, including a grooming service and private animal clinic.

The director, Carmen Marin Aguilar, had no veterinary diploma, but told the court in Malaga at the start of the trial that she “loves animals.” Aguilar told the Europa Press news agency that she doesn’t even dare to cut their nails, but added that she could not have injected the animals, as she has a “phobia” for needles.

Prosecutors hope to wrap up the trial on December 9 and they have asked that Aguilar be given a four-year jail term for animal abuse, falsification of documents and the illegal exercise of the veterinary profession. 

Warning: the video included below might distress sensitive viewers:

Source: The Local

German murderer nabbed in Spain over ‘RIP’ tattoo

A tattoo clue caused a German man to be arrested by Spanish police for killing his girlfriend in October this year.

Photo courtesy Policia Nacional

The arrest was made on Sunday in Lloret de Mar, a seaside resort northeast of Barcelona, where the German man was hiding with the couple’s 18-month-old son. Identified only as Dominik R, the man is suspected of having slit his 20-year-old girlfriend Lisa’s throat and stuffing her inside plastic garbage bags at their apartment in Freyung, southeastern Germany.

Tattoo gives the man away

It turns out the man had recently got a new “macabre” tattoo on his upper arm, with the name of his girlfriend, her birth date and a cross next to the suspected date of her murder, together with the words “Gracias por todo” or “Thank you for everything.”

After the arrest in Spain, the National Police released a photo of the murder suspect and his incriminating tattoo.

Photo courtesy Policia Nacional

Spain alerted by German Police

The National Police in Spain started a search for the man after their German counterparts told them the suspect may have fled to Spain. The man is suspected of using his girlfriend’s mobile phone after he murdered her, to update her Facebook and other social media in an effort to throw off investigators.

Photo courtesy Policia Nacional

The couple’s child has been taken to a juvenile welfare home in Spain until German social services can collect him.

Sources: The Local - Policia National

Justin Bieber fans queue for his concert in Madrid a month early [Video]

It seems if you want a good position when the Biebs starts to sing, you have to get there early, really early.

Hundreds of Spanish Beliebers have been camping out for days and weeks – and some over a month – outside the #Madrid venue where Justin Bieber, 22, will be performing on November 23. Through rain and shine and chilly temperatures, these fans are not moving – they want to ensure they are as close as possible to their idol when the gates to the venue finally open.

Read the full story

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz to star in new film by Iranian director

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will be directing a movie starring married couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, set in Spain.

Photo Javier Bardem by David Torcivia  - Penelope Cruz by Joelle Maslaton  / CC BY-SA-3.0

Penelope Cruz told the Barcelona newspaper, La Vanguardia about the new project. She said the movie will be filmed in Spain, but as yet the location is unknown. Cruz, 42, said the film will be an “intense drama which is a gift for actors.” She said it was a luxury to work with Farhadi, the winner of a foreign-language Oscar in 2012 for the film “A Separation.”

Farhadi is reportedly working on the original screenplay for the new movie and shooting is set to begin next year. While the plot is mostly under wraps for now, the story reportedly revolves around a family of winemakers living in rural Spain.

Cruz, Bardem to star in new Farhadi film - Oscar-winning Spanish actors Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem will st... https://t.co/nprHxAFWNT

— Dr. Carl Smith (@Dr_CarlSmith) November 20, 2016

Bardem and Cruz were married in 2010 in the Bahamas, but first met when filming “Jamon, Jamon” back in 1992 – one of Cruz’s first films. They are currently working on another film together. The movie “Escobar” is about the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, with Bardem in the role of the drug lord and Cruz playing his lover, journalist Virginia Vallejo.

This will be their first movie appearance together since the 2008 Woody Allen romantic comedy, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," where they starred with Scarlet Johansson. Cruz won a supporting actress Oscar for her role in the film. For his part, Bardem, 47, won a supporting actor Oscar in the 2007 crime thriller "No Country for Old Men.” 

Cruz went on to say how excited they are to be working together on Farhadi’s new film.

"No one planned it. And we are not going to work together in everything, but if things come up (for both of us) and they make sense, why not?"

Source: The Local