Lauren Frayer

Whole villages are up for sale in Spain, and they're going cheap. This story originally aired on August 23, 2015 on Weekend Edition Sunday.

Austrian police say that dozens of people died after being crammed into the back of a smuggler's truck, which was found abandoned on a highway Thursday. And hundreds are feared dead after two boats sank off Libya's coast.

The man who tried to open fire on passengers on a train in France last week comes from a town in southern Spain where many immigrants live in grinding poverty.

French authorities are questioning the suspect in Friday night's attack on a crowded high speed train that was traveling from Amsterdam to Paris. The gunman lived in Spain, where he h...

People in the Spanish city of Bilbao have a mission: to cut down on food waste. Now, to prevent food from going directly into the garbage, residents just send it to the Solidarity Fridge.

Every August, Spain's countryside comes alive with fiestas.

A jolly trombone player prances through a crowd of revelers in Cantalejo, a small town about 1 1/2 hours' drive north of Madrid. But the hubbub is deceiving — because hardly anyone actually lives here. People come one week a year to ...

Spain's neighborhood tapas bars are facing competition from big chains. Fortunately, foreign tourists are now discovering them. This story originally aired on June 20, 2015 on Weekend Edition.

Whether it's fresh vegetables, barbecue or tapas, anyone can either restock or stock up on food from this Basque town's communal refrigerator.

A Spanish billionaire had the painting on his yacht, but wanted to sell it in Europe. Spanish authorities intervened, calling the Picasso a "national treasure" that can't be sold abroad.

They travel for months, even years, from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe, hoping for a better life. But many thousands are forced into prostitution to pay for the journey.

Not long ago, the Spanish economy was failing, and just like in Greece, an anti-austerity party was on the rise in Spain. Now the picture looks rather different.

Tests have confirmed the bones under a Madrid convent belong to Spain's most famous writer. He wished to be buried there because the nuns raised money and paid a ransom when he was captive in Africa.

Construction workers clamp scaffolding onto the historic facade of Colmado Quilez, an old-fashioned general store selling wine and cheese in downtown Barcelona.

One hundred years ago, customers rolled up here in horse-drawn carts. Now BMWs park on the Rambla de Catalunya, which has become one of Barcelona's poshest avenues.

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"Winter is coming" to Spain this summer. That's a reference to HBO's Game of Thrones, which is partly filmed there, and a popular slogan for a left-wing, grass-roots political party.

Nearly 6,000 migrants were rescued after attempting to make it to Europe from North Africa. A British naval officer says there are indications that as many as 500,000 migrants could b...

Eleven African migrants were squeezed into a tiny rubber raft attempting to travel the nine miles from Morocco to Spain. NPR's Lauren Frayer joins Spanish rescuers responding to the distress call.

Europe is increasing search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean after hundreds of African migrants drowned en route to European shores. We go out on patrol with Spain's maritime rescue service.

The renowned Spanish museum has made 3-D copies of some of its most iconic works to allow blind people to feel them.

The status quo took a hit in Spanish elections over the weekend. A major upset came in Barcelona with a win by Ada Colau, a prominent activist who fought evictions during Spain's economic crisis.