I cut my travel-writing teeth writing about Barcelona in (I think) 1982. It was a fascinating country then, less modern than much of the rest of western Europe, with medieval towns and neighborhoods second to none.

As I revisited many times over the years, I saw plenty of changes, but nothing adequately prepared me for the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008, when I traveled through just about every part of the country, shooting Spain: On the Road Again, with Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Claudia Bassols.

The show was the brainchild and lifelong dream of my longtime producer and friend Charlie Pinsky, who first visited Spain when he was in high school, never stopped going, and developed lifelong friendships there that served us well in developing the show.

As a result (and thanks to the star power of a couple of the cast members), we were able to travel fast and far, receiving open-arm welcomes from northeastern Catalonia to southwestern Andalucia, from the islands off the east coast to Finistere, the “end of the earth” in Galicia. We walked, flew, drove, biked, hiked, and boated. We ate menus del dias at truck stops, and we ate the most exquisite avant garde food seen anywhere in the world.

And we saw, fortunately, that although Spain now prides itself on its modernity (it’s not just food, but architecture, art, style, and commerce), the old Spain is easy to find, and as welcoming as ever.

Check out the show on your local public television station, or the little photo gallery here, or our website.