We have some lovely Spanish friends who live in a village called Gorliz in the Basque country. We haven't visited them for a few years so we were really looking forward to seeing them this summer; unfortunately when the time came to travel Christopher wasn't very well. I didn't want to let them down as they had organised a wine tasting trip to Rioja, so I went by myself. Flights from Stansted were half the price of going from Gatwick or Heathrow, and now I know why. After five hours on the M25 I missed my flight, as did a number of other people, resulting in alternative flights being fully booked for a couple of days. I spent another few hours on the motorway and passed a very quiet weekend with Christopher pretending I wasn't in Southampton.
On the Monday I again ventured to Stansted. This time I was taking no chances and arrived five hours early. It is lucky I like reading as the delights of Stansted airport don't take very long to sample. However I at last landed in Spain, was met by my friends Jose and Iciar, and the very next day was whisked off to Rioja and the museum of viticulture in Briones
On the Monday I again ventured to Stansted. This time I was taking no chances and arrived five hours early. It is lucky I like reading as the delights of Stansted airport don't take very long to sample. However I at last landed in Spain, was met by my friends Jose and Iciar, and the very next day was whisked off to Rioja and the museum of viticulture in Briones
The museum explains every aspect of wine making as well as having a very large collection of corkscrews.
After the museum we went straight away to have a guided tour of the Marques de Riscal bodega, and some wine tasting. Bodega owners are very affluent indeed and it's almost as if they compete with each other to show off how rich they are. There is a hotel attached to the bodega that was designed by Frank Gehry, and the coloured metals are supposed to represent the different types of wine. Judge for yourself, but to me it looks like a luxurious hobbit home.
Jose and Iciar apologetically told me that we would not be staying there as prices start from around £400 per night. We looked at vines, manufacturing processes, courtyards and finally had the reward of tasting the wine
At four o clock (half way through the day), my dear hosts decided it was time for lunch, before we visited more villages and bodegas.
As Christopher was in England, Iciar's father, also called Jose, was the fourth member of the party. We had been in blazing sunshine all day, but at this point we had a thunder storm, and so we saw the winery of Ysios under very black skies.
This amazing looking building was designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava, who has also designed the Milwaukee Art Museum and numerous other extraordinarily expensive projects. The building is incredible, but Iciar told me that the roof leaked, interfered with the wine making process and needed extensive repairs. Calatrava is a controversial figure in Spain, but that building was great fun to look at.
After visiting two more villages and admiring churches, statues and city walls, we arrived in Logrono, the capital of Rioja. Here we met up with Iciar's brother and went out and about for pintxos. This is a fantastic Spanish custom where you walk from bar to bar having a little something to eat and drink in each one. In the north the little snacks aren't called tapas, and because we were nearly in the Basque country they're not called pinchos either. It doesn't matter what you call them though, they are delicious.
And that was the end of my first day in Spain, so that's all for now
After visiting two more villages and admiring churches, statues and city walls, we arrived in Logrono, the capital of Rioja. Here we met up with Iciar's brother and went out and about for pintxos. This is a fantastic Spanish custom where you walk from bar to bar having a little something to eat and drink in each one. In the north the little snacks aren't called tapas, and because we were nearly in the Basque country they're not called pinchos either. It doesn't matter what you call them though, they are delicious.
And that was the end of my first day in Spain, so that's all for now