Article: Gwyneth Paltrow makes gastronomic tour of Spain

American Actress Gwyneth Paltrow made a tour of Spain with four friends to become acquainted with the country's culture and best food, a trip that will become a television series entitled "Spain ... on the Road Again." The series, which currently airs on PBS in the United States, will begin to be shown next week in Spain on the Viajar (Travel) channel. The network's chief, Gema Alcaide, promoted the series on Wednesday at a press conference in Toledo, where Paltrow started her tour. Appearing with Alcaide was the head of publisher Temas de Hoy, Ana Lafuente, who announced the production of the Spanish edition of "Spain...A Culinary Road Trip" by Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow, which was published to coincide with the premiere in Spain of the TV program. On her trip, the Hollywood star was accompanied by Batali, one of the best-known U.S. chefs, Spanish actress Claudia Bassols and gastronomy critic Mark Bittman. Ángel Díaz, one of the promoters of the series, who was also at the press conference, said that Paltrow enthusiastically offered to participate in the project, and he emphasized that she was the "ideal" person to carry it out because she loves Spain and wants to increase knowledge of the country in the United States. The actress always has said that she loves Spain, since when she was a teenager she lived for a part of a year with a family in Talavera de la Reina, near Toledo, and - of course - learned some Spanish at that time. With the country rhythms of Willie Nelson and Spanish guitarist Antonio Carmona playing in the car, the four friends travelled through 10 Spanish regions at the direction of well-known restauranteurs like Ferran Adrià, Carme Ruscalleda and Juan Mari Arzak. The four also learned about the country's rich history and cultural heritage and experienced some of the popular culture, as well as making some interesting stops, like the time they visited the leader of the musical group REM, Michael Stipe, a friend of the actress, in Barcelona.