past, San Sebastian’s quaint belle époque coastal location provided a fashionable summer getaway where the affluent elite could escape the overpowering heat of the city. Today, the city continues to attract a moneyed mix of haughty aristocracy and blue blood together with a legion of foodie pilgrims seeking the ultimate gourmet experience. On the basis of its unforgettable gastronomic heights, San Sebastian is synonymous with romantic proposals and amorous rendezvous where wine and food play a starring role. Fine 19th-century grandeur fans out from wide promenades to cobblestone streets and plazas perfectly framed by mountainous countryside and the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean. On the Paseo de la Muelle, fishing boats can be seen unloading their catch straight to the restaurants on the dock. For just-caught freshness, grab a rustic table on the harbour-side at lunchtime and ask to sample the latest haul cooked with olive oil and lemon. You don’t need to locate a French accolade in order to dine like a king in San Sebastian. Pop open a bottle of citrus-rich, semi-sparkling Txakoli, San Sebastian’s socalled ‘romance in a glass’ to witness show-offy waiters pour this light and fragrant white wine from great heights to give it extra fizz.
Food is exaulted with near-religious fervour in San Sebastian.
007 BARCELONA
CONTACT Hotel Omm Tel: +34 934 454 000 Fax: +34 934 454 004 www.hotelomm.es
Catalonia Tourist Office
Email: [email protected] Tel: +34 93 484 97 55 Fax: +34 93 484 98 20 www.gencat.net
Sharing a few intimate moments of peaceful ‘togetherness’ amidst Barcelona’s urban melee requires calculated planning. Noise permeates every stratum in a glorious metropolitan chorus of roaring traffic and blaring horns. Seductive and inviting, Barcelona’s buzzing vibe lures you in before delivering a mind-blowing sensory assault. Streetwise and stylish, it mixes contemporary architecture with wild imagination, adding tradition, style, neon-lit nightlife and primary hues to the blend. Bag-laden shoppers vie for curb space with street jugglers and vendors. Zen-inspired Hotel Omm offers a chance to flee the chaos of Gaudi and Gucci, offering a sanctuary of peacefulness where stepping into the ultra-chic lobby is to enter a meditative state.
Designed by architect Juli Capella to offer sleek and ambient city space, the Hotel Omm attracts a cool clientele who are hell-bent on chilling out. High above Barcelona’s madding crowds in trendy Paseo de Gracia, a funky rooftop pool provides awesome views. Its Michelin-starred restaurant Moo and hip bar Moodern may be permanently full but this shouldn’t put you off. Style is paramount at Hotel Omm where a clever jigsaw design pays homage to clutter-and-noise-free innovation. Even the rowdiest fashion-forward crowd is barely audible, such are the acoustics. Vast swathes of natural light flood the building, circumnavigating snug enclaves illuminated by mellow lamp glow. Muted earth tones are beautifully contrasted with lacquered crimson detail in a quirky twist on minimalist Asian chic.
In the sweet-smelling Spaciomm Spa, all stresses and strains are banished as you are swaddled in super-soft kimonos and serenaded by tumbling waterfall cascades close to to Jacuzzis, pools, Turkish baths, a steam room, sauna, ice fountain and gravity room. Perfect-pitch wind chimes are suitably soporific and have helped to sooth the furrowed brows of an A-list jet-set crowd that includes Natalie Portman, Joan Branson and numerous faces from Barcelona’s arts elite. An à la carte menu of therapies reads like an upscale Manhattan cocktail bar. As befitting an Asian-styled spa, several treatments centre on ancient Eastern health philosophies such as shiatsu and Ayurvedic massage. Keen to simply lounge around? Then cosy up in the Spaciomm’s stylish relaxation area where reclined steel Jacuzzi chairs offer the decadence of sleepy peacefulness close to a fizzing Champagne fountain.
Cuddle up by a very modern fireside in the Hotel Omm.
008 LANZAROTE
CONTACTS Holistic Holidays at Villa Iris Tel: +44 (0)20 8123 9250 (UK) Tel: +34 928 524 216 www.hoho.co.uk
Derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj’, meaning ‘to join’, yoga has important connotations when it comes to strengthening romantic ties. As a couple, yoga needn’t purely be enjoyed as two separate individuals – but can be practised together, adding a new dimension to a relationship’s depth and spiritual growth. Couples seeking ways to enjoy a greater bond can use yoga to feel closer to each other, physically and mentally. If all this sounds a bit New Age then fear not. Rather than a far-fetched hippy fad, so-called Couples Yoga is a healthy, new and fun way to spend time with your partner. Based on the ethos that all things are interdependent, exercise and rest are viewed as essential for vibrant health. Laughter and play are life’s fountains of youth, so sessions are suitably packed with giggles, while trust and communication are focused on through touch. ‘Somebody becomes closer and dearer to you as you understand them better’, explains yoga guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. ‘Then you enjoy the greater closeness.’
As a core component of all romantic relationships, touch is a binding force. It exchanges energy, allows auras to blend together and unite. Couples Yoga uses prolonged touch with locked eyes to maximise that vital ‘connection’. Deep-breath inhalation, linked hands and bodies positioned just a breath apart preempt a series of slow yoga poses (asanas). Then there is a deep embrace. Many yogic teachings fuse feng shui principals into their couple programmes to strengthen energy fields, emotions and attraction. Love, it is taught, adjusts its strength according to an environment – driving Cupid away in cluttered surroundings where negative colours prevail.
At the Villa Iris Yoga Retreat on the island of Lanzarote warm rose-pinks, salmon-reds and soft coral tones mix with towering plants, ferns and flowers, an auspicious mix that offers lasting love, according to Feng Shui. Curved pebble pathways allow positive Ch’i to flow more easily with an open front garden (Yang) and a private rear green space (Yin) dotted with stone sundials, carved rock statues, stepping-stones, flickering fibre-optic lanterns and melodic wind chimes. Reiki, massage, meditation and shiatsu are all close at hand as is a fine organic menu using local produce. Villa Iris also manages to achieve that delicate balance of personal space and kindred company – and a finer setting in which to achieve a conspicuous transformation in togetherness is hard to imagine.
Practising yoga as a couple can enhance trust and communication.
009 CORDOBA
CONTACT Tablao Cardenal Tel: +34 957 483 320 www.tablocardenal.com
La Buleria
Tel: +34 957 433 889
Mesón Flamenco La Bulería
Tel: +34 957 483 839
Dubbed Spain’s City of Romance on account of its sensual music and dance tradition, Cordoba’s flamenco scene is firmly entrenched in the city’s cobblestone old quarter, Juderia. Daytime Cordoba is a relaxed affair of pigeon-scattered plazas, pavement cafes and snoozing street-corner traders. It is after dark
