Woody Allen’s latest film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, opens this weekend. The Globe and Mail’s Gayle MacDonald caught a sneak peek, then headed to the Spanish city to see whether Allen got his depiction of the Catalan capital right. Her verdict, after a few days spent wandering in Barcelona?

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Service between two of Spain’s biggest and most-traveled cities opened yesterday, with the first train completing the 342-mile journey to Madrid in 2 hours, 35 minutes. The BBC and others have the story, and the Los Angeles Times Daily Travel & Deal blog breaks the train down by the numbers. 

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Last Saturday, my sister and I dug into a plate of our favorite tapas dish—patatas bravas—at Washington, D.C.’s popular Jaleo restaurant. It’s always the first dish I order—hearty chunks of potato doused in a spicy tomato sauce and finished with a garlicky white sauce, best devoured with the aid of toothpicks. While the patatas are a best seller in Washington, they’re an obsession in Spain. 

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In fourteen hundred and ninety-two...the Pinzons sailed the ocean blue? If descendants of Martin and Vicente Pinzon have their way, Christopher Columbus could be sharing some of the credit for his 15th century “discovery” of America. The two brothers piloted the Nina and the Pinta alongside the Santa Maria on the famous voyage, but have been largely forgotten today. “I’d like the name to get recognized,” Bob Pinzon told the AP. “I think Columbus got too much credit.”

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Today we published our review of Paul Richardson’s new book, “A Late Dinner: Discovering the Food of Spain.” We asked Richardson to recommend a few books that inspired him. Here are his picks:

Food in History by Reay Tannahill
Richardson says: “This book is permanently interesting and superbly written with enormous wit and erudition—a classic that is never far from my writing desk.”

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Religious pilgrims will now be able to fly to Santiago di Compostela, Spain; the shrine of the Madonna of Guadalupe, Mexico; and other sacred sites via official Vatican charter flights, the BBC reports. The first flight takes off Monday from Rome bound for Lourdes, France, with religious guides and the vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, aboard. Routes from other cities may be introduced, according to RTE News. The planes, which will be provided by the Italian airline Mistral, will feature the phrase “I’m Searching for Your Face, Lord” on seat headrests.

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Hotels in the southern Spanish city of Seville are looking to lure beach tourists to their scorching inland city this summer by offering “siesta rates,” with rooms discounted 30 percent during the hottest hours of the day—between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. “The siesta is making a comeback, recycled for the modern world as ‘Iberian yoga,’” Elizabeth Nash writes in The Independent. “Far from the afternoon snooze that consumes valuable working time, Spain’s siesta is being rebranded as essential for spiritual wellbeing and a balanced life.”

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The few dozen Spaniards weren’t revolting against high-priced rooms at the Madrid hotel. They were the winners of a contest sponsored by NH Hotels, which is planning to renovate the property. About 200 people entered the contest and psychologists selected the winners—if you can call them that. Apparently they were particularly in need of stress relief. Reports the BBC: “The winners included top executives and a working mother who said she simply wanted to hit something.” So how was it? Ignacio, a demolisher worked up about the high cost of living, told El Pais: “Ha sido una experiencia muy buena.”

Related on World Hum:
* Stardust Blown to Dust
* Tips on Using TripAdvisor, or How to Not Get the Room Next to the Jackhammering at 5 a.m.
* Average U.S. Hotel Room Price Tops $100

Photo of Madrid street by luisvilla, via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Or, in other words, travelers’ interests this week range from Hershey, Pennsylvania to the streets of Japan. Here’s the Zeitgeist. 

Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Magnificient Trees of the World
* The Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach, California (pictured) makes the list.

Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
A Tour of Japanese Cuisine With Spago Chef Lee Hefter
* From the same writers: A look at kaiseki

Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Japan’s Latest Budget Accommodation: Internet Cafes
* The nation that brought us the capsule hotel has done it again.

Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Hershey Honors its Past, Looks to the Future

Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
Amsterdam: Telegraph Travel Guides

Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Farecast

Most Read Feature Story
World Hum (this week)
Mark Ellingham: Rough Guides and the Ethics of Travel

“Hot This Week” Destination
Yahoo! (this week)
Playa del Carmen

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This week travelers prowled for bargains, studied French culture, got left behind for hours and mourned the passing of Hawaii’s cultural ambassador, Don Ho. Here’s the Zeitgeist.

Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
R.I.P. (and Aloha) Don Ho

Most E-mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Online Fares: If It’s Good, Is It Too Good to Be True?

Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
airfarewatchdog

Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Business Owner’s Guide to Cutting Travel Costs

Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Travel With Rick Steves
* This Week: “French culture 201 for the American traveler”

Top Rated “Your Pick” Video
LonelyPlanet.tv (current)
Istanbul Guerilla Guide
* Lonely Planet TV is still getting up to speed. This video gets the top spot with, as of Friday morning, two votes. 

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And airplanes and, uh, guns, too. This week the Zeitgeist takes travelers to Oklahoma, Oregon, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain and Pakistan.

Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
New National Historic Landmarks in 10 States
* Shown here: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Most E-mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
36 Hours in Portland, Ore.

Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Passenger on Northwest Pilot: ‘He Was Having a Fit, Swearing Up a Storm’

Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
The Costas Turn Chic and Cheerful

Most Read Weblog Category
World Hum (this week)
Italy

Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Wikitravel
* Bad publicity, good publicity and now more good publicity for the user-driven site. 

Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
* This book became a movie with Diane Lane. 

Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
* This book will become a movie with Julia Roberts.

Top Rated “Your Pick” Video
LonelyPlanet.tv (current)
Hong Kong Guerilla Guide

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Lots to see in the Zeitgeist this week. Travelers are taking a long look at racing in Las Vegas, sinking ships in Greece, dancing in China and Lonely Planet’s new video channel.

Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Bright Lights & Formula One Engines Rule in Las Vegas
* Two reasons for a look: Pulitzer winner Dan Neil wrote it, and there’s video.

Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Greek Cruise Ship Sinks After Rescue
* The AP has the video.

Most Watched Video
LonelyPlanet.tv (current)
miniclips
* Lonely Planet debuted its travel video channel this week.

Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
India’s ‘Spiritual Backbone’: Two End-to-End Explorations Down the Ganges River
* The last of Morning Edition’s five-part series runs today.

Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
A Little Italy on Board

Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Travel With Rick Steves
* This week Steves covers the pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago in Spain and tourism in Iran.

Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
If Apple Designed A Private Jet
* It would, of course, be called the iJet.

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