Trip Review: Spain 9-Day Tour, Andalusian Cuisine & Farm Tour, Seville Flamenco Dance & Tapas

We discussed with our travel planner the possibility of visiting local producers of typical Andalucian food products (wine, olive oil, ham). The unexpected highlight of our Andalucia tour was our personal tour of a free-range farm and processing plant in Huelva Province, where they produce the highest-quality Iberian ham and other pork products. The owner was incredibly generous with his time while leading us through his operation, including the farmlands, baby pig nursery, and the curing and processing facility. The tasting which capped off the tour was memorable, featuring several wines and a generous sampling of ham and pork delicacies better than any we encountered in the best restaurants.
A second highlight was a flamenco and tapas tour in Sevilla. Unlike the rest of our trip, this was done in a small group, but it proved delightful. The guide was extremely knowledgeable about flamenco, and prepared us with insights that greatly helped us to better appreciate subtleties of the artistry. The performance was of high quality and thoroughly authentic (we have some prior experience with flamenco). The pre-show and post-show tapas tastings were at two very dissimilar but interesting spots, one very historic and traditional, the other more contemporary and eclectic, thus encompassing a nice overview of the range of tapas possibilities.