Barcelona to Bilbao - 7 days and nights in northern Spain with Maribel

Experience the art and architecture, languages and cultures of this spectactular part of Iberia; the Picasso museum. Gaudi's Park Güell and Casa Milá in Barcelona. San Sebastian-Donostia and Bilbao's world famous gastronomy and beauty, Frank Gehry's Guggenheim and Chillida-Leku Museums.

Itinerary Highlights:

Days 1, 2 & 3 - Barcelona

	12:00 noon - Check into the hotel
	The hotel is located in the right Eixample, close to Paseo de Gracia, Plaza Catalunya, Avenue Diagonal and the Gothic Quarter. It is close to some of our favorite places, including:

	La Rambla, the tree-shaded pedestrian boulevard that offers a little something for everyone, from art to food to flowers.
	The Picasso Museum, which contains a collection of the painter's early work and more. Included here is his interpretation of Velázquez's series of Las Meninas.
	The Miró Foundation, which houses an extensive selection from Joan Miró's works and other Spanish and international art.
	The Palau de la Música, one of the world's leading concert halls. Built in 1905, its rococo spaces play host to musicians from around the world.
	Park Güell, a fanciful housing community that just didn't catch on in its day. Its wavy, colorful roofs and benches, designed in mosaic tiles, are highlights of a popular park in a woodland setting, which also features Gaudi's own spartan residence.
	The Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family), a daring work that's been in progress for more than 110 years. The National Geographic says this magnificent cathedral represents the muscle and imagination that lifted Barcelona to the economic and cultural leader it is today.
	Casa Milá (also known as La Pedrera or the quarry), with its irregularly curved limestone walls reminiscent of desert sand dunes. Originally thought too futuristic, it is today considered a landmark of modern architecture.

	While in Barcelona you have the option taking a half-day cooking class, a workshop, combined with a visit to the world famous Boqueria market to select the freshest ingredients.
	Leaving Catalunya, we continue our journey to the Basque Country. A short flight takes us over the Pyrenees to the beautiful Basque seaside resort city of San Sebastián-Donostia.

Days 4 & 5 - San Sebastian-Donostia

From your hotel balcony you enjoy the expansive view of San Sebastián's beautiful crescent shaped beach, La Concha.

	On the first afternoon in San Sebastián we will visit the Parte Vieja, the Old City, often referred to as the jewel of Euskadi. Filled with numerous pintxos bars and outstanding restaurants, San Sebastián is considered the center of Basque cuisine.
	One the second day we will visit the Chillida Leku, a sprawling park, home to the works of internationally famous sculptor Eduardo Chillida.

Days 6 & 7 - Bilbao - Guernica

Bilbao, once an industrial wasteland, has transformed itself to become the center of business in the Basque country and the north of Spain and is challenging San Sebastian as the center of Basque cuisine and culture.

	Today we visit the famed Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim museum after a quick stop in Bilbao's Casco Viejo at the equally famous Riverside Market built by the architect Pedro Ispizua in 1929.
	On our last day we visit Gernika-Lomo, the center of Basque culture and history and it's famed Tree of Guernica, the Basque symbol of heritage, law and freedom and the inspiration for Picasso's controversial masterpiece Guernica.

Day 8

Taxi to the Bilbao airport for your flight home.

Packages for the running of the bulls

Join Peña Seattle in Pamplona-Iruña following in the footsteps of Papa Hemingway

The Fiesta de Sanfermín & Feria del Toro

|the festival of the bull - eight days of the encierro|

Offering Special Packages from 6 to 14 July 2010 Choose from our VIP or Standard 3-star & 4-star Hotel Programs - From 2 to 10 nights Add the night of the 5th at a special discounted rate at our 4-star hotel. Available with both Standard and VIP packages Special VIP & Standard Family Packages available at our 4-star Hotel. A child under 12 stays free in a room with their parents Triple room accommodations available on a limited basis only. Deluxe upgrades available at selected hotels Stay at one of our select country home during the fiesta. Perfect for larger famlies, smaller groups and longer stays. Country homes require a 4-night minimum stay. Our VIP Hotel Program includes our special buffet breakfast in the Nuevo Casino, Pamplona's oldest private social club. The club, located in the Plaza del Castillo above the historic Café Iruña, is open each morning until 10:00 am and again from 1:00 pm until 4:00 am the following morning and is the center of activities during the fiesta. Sponsered by Peña Seattle de Sanfermin. Note: "Hotel Only" packages are also available from the 5th through the 14th |Contact us for price and availability|

You can call from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. |or email us for reservations or additional program information| Agencies please check with us regarding agency pricing guidelines

Las Fallas 2009

The burning of the City Hall Falla, 2009

During our recent tip to Navarra we were invited by the Tourist Office of Spain, VLC Valencia Tourism and the Comunitat Valenciana to be their guests during this year's Las Fallas celebration. It was something totally new for me and quite different than our last visit to Valencia for New Years, when the fireworks are set off in the middle of the day.

Fallas is similar in many ways to the Fiesta de San Fermín, full of energy and late nights, and of course the fireworks, but it has its own style with the final night being the most intense and interesting, especially when we were able to be ringside for the Moors & Christians Parade in the Falla Almirante Cadarso.

After four days of celebrating we needed some rest, a few quiet days in the Rioja before finishing up our original trip to Navarra.

You can view the rest of the images from Las Fallas 2009 at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37104129@N07/sets/

Dining in the Rioja - Alta & Alavesa

In addition to the outstanding dinner we enjoyed at the Hotel Marques de Riscal, we revisited several of Rioja’s other top restaurants. Here are five that we have added to our select list of recommended dining in the Rioja:


Los Calaos (loscalaosdebriones.com) can be found in the village of Briones, just down from the Plaza Mayor. Housed in a two story deep wine cellar below a charming bed and breakfast inn, this restaurant is very atmospheric and extremely popular. The chef offers a traditional Riojan cuisine of baby goat, roast lamb, roasted red peppers and highly creative desserts. It’s a favorite of local winemaker Miguel Merino. Tel: 941 322 131


Hector Oribe, Gasteiz, 8, in the village of Paganos, 2 km to the east of Laguardia. This small and cozy eponymous restaurant of noted San Sebastian chef, trained by Arzak and Arguinaño, offers very attractively priced dishes that are sure to please. Selected as a Bib Gourmand for value in the 2006 red Michelin guide. It’s another favorite of area winemakers. Closed Sunday night and Monday. Tel: 945 600 715


Las Duelas is located in the Hotel Los Agustinos, Haro. Recently reviewed in Wine and Spirits, chef Juan Nales (trained at San Sebastián’s Akelarre) produces a creative market driven menu with specialties such as mushroom risotto with Parmesan foam, loan of roast venison with hazelnut croquette and fresh cheese ice cream and red wine sorbet. Persue the menu and wine list at aranzazu-hoteles.com/lasduelas.php Tel: 941 311 308 /941 304 463


Alameda, Plaza Azpilicuetam, 1, on the square in Fuenmayor – run by an expert husband and wife team; Tomas Fernandez grills their justly fabled ox steak; Esther Alvarez elaborates the updated, contemporary Riojan dishes. Rated as one of the very best in all of the Rioja by The Best of Spanish Gastronomy. Closed on Sunday night and Monday. You must reserve on weekends. Tel: 941 450 044


Venta de Moncalvillo, Daroca de Rioja-Market driven, creative Riojan cuisine offering as well as a 250 label wine list (plus 50 dessert wines) and great value 38 euro degustation menu. Run by reservations only, call a few days ahead for weekends, located just 10 min., 18 km south of Logroño in a tiny village, population 50. Chef: Ignacio Echapresto García. His brother, Carlos, is the sommelier. Specialties are game dishes. Closed Sunday -Thursday nights. Tel: 941 444 832

Dinner at L’Auberge basque, saint-pée (pays basque)

L’Auberge Basque

We drove from Hondarribia to Saint-Pée-sur Nivelle in late July for dinner at L’Auberge Basque with one of the region’s top chefs, Cédric Béchade (trained by Alain Ducasse at Paris’s Plaza Athénée) and as expected, he didn’t disappoint.

We had first stopped by in June 2007, a few months after the official opening of this small, exquisitely decorated boutique hotel and restaurant, a beautifully renovated former roadhouse located on the back road to Saint -Jean-de-Luz, and had the opportunity to meet with Cédric for a few minutes, but did not have time to stay for dinner that evening, so this summer we returned. It was our first chance to experience Cédric’s Michelin star cuisine. We began our repast with a kir and a Bob’s beer (an artisan brew from Hasparren) taken on their lovely outdoor terrace with spectacular views of the lush green countryside. At sunset we moved into the dining room, a contemporary space with open kitchen and well spaced tables, where we sampled the €43 “menu decouverte”, consisting of amuse bouche, entree, plat, and dessert accompanied by a bottle of Irouleguy Brana Rose ’07.

Pago de Cirsus de Iñaki Nuñez

We recently had the privilege of meeting Chef Javier Luariz-Ayerdi during a visit to this new and exciting Winery/Château Hotel during a scouting trip to Navarra. Javier, a Basque American, born in Miami, is a disciple of Michelin-starred chef Juan Mari Arzak. Chef Luariz honed his skills at the 5-star Gran Hotel Son Net (Relais & Châteaux) in Palma de Mallorca before his appointment as the executive chef at this handsome property in the south of Navarra. The Pago is located in La Ribera, Navarra’s “bread and vegetable basket”, adjacent to the Bardenas Reales Nature Park. The Bardenas Reales, a semi-dessert landscape stretching over 42,000 hectares, might look familiar to James Bond fans, as it doubled for Kazakhstan in the Bond film “The World is Not Enough”. An area of extraordinary beauty, the Bardenas Reales landscape, with its rocky formations, takes on a moon-like appearance with its craters, gullies and solitary outcrops formed over millions of years by erosion.

The Château consists of a tower built of old ashlar stones, in the style of a 14th century fortress, sitting above a sea of some 200 hectares of vineyards, along with a state-of-the-art winery supervised by one of Europe’s most renowned oenologists. This unique property offers total relaxation, breathtaking views, gorgeous sunsets plus cinematic entertainment. The ambitious project of visionary film producer and wine maker Iñaki Núñez, this exquisite retreat provides its guests with a 400-volume film library and a cozy 30-seat cinema where they can watch movies of their choice on demand, plus a wine tasting laboratory where wine connoisseurs can sample the estate’s several grape varietals-Chardonnay, Muscatel, Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The hotel’s dramatic décor is evocative of a lavish movie set-a romantic’s fantasy-like spending the night in an enchanted castle. The dozen guest quarters, distributed among the 4 floors of the stone tower, have been lovingly decorated with the finest of fabrics and furnishings. In-room amenities include a 37-inch High Definition Oki TV, Bang and Olufsen phones, DVD players, complimentary Wi-Fi, flasks of aged Scotch and rum, and of course, copies of Wine Spectator.



The equally stunning restaurant, “Senda de los Olivos”, which is separated by the winery’s barrel cellar by an enormous glass wall, serves the finest regional produce from La Ribera (delectable local asparagus, artichokes, wild mushrooms), delicately prepared and finished off with the estate’s own arbequina olive and white truffle oils. Chef Luaritz also creates delectable desserts, such as a fondant of hot chocolate with passion fruit ice cream. After their repast, diners are invited to enjoy coffee and a digestif of the wineries own muscatel on the veranda overlooking the pool and Tuscan style garden. Both the Pago’s award-winning wines and artisan oils are available for purchase.

The restaurant has received numerous accolades from Spain’s gourmet press and is sure to receive recognition soon in the prestigious Michelin Red Guide. After only two years of production, the estate’s wines, overseen by French oenologist Jean Marc Sauboua of Bordeaux’s Château Haut-Brion, have garnered six gold medals in international competitions. A Pago de Cirsus label was chosen as one of the 103 best Spanish wines in the UK’s New Wave Spanish Wine 2006 Awards.

To our mind the Château Hotel Pago de Cirsus is one of the most spectacular new hotel–restaurants on Spain’s burgeoning wine tourism circuit.

Hotel Aire de Bardenas, Nobles del Reyno

Located only a few kilometers away from the Pago de Cirsus, with a view of Tudela from the north and Bardenas Reales to the east, the strikingly avant-garde 4-star Hotel Aire de Bardenas takes a totally different approach to providing solitude. One of the select group of distinctive rural hotels belonging to the Nobles del Reino and Rusticae groups, it features only 22 secluded rooms offering guests the opportunity for complete relaxation and contemplation, a chance to be in unity with nature. And the hotel is set amidst the fields of La Ribera that provide Navarra with its abundant harvest of fresh produce.

As described in Wallpaper magazine, the Bardenas Reales “looks like the surface of the moon, and Barcelona architects Emiliano López and Mónica Rivera’s Hotel Aire de Bardenas like a lunar colony. Named after the wind that rolls in over the Bardenas desert, the hotel is a cluster of eight pale boxes around a main hall. They sit a little eerily, like the relic from 2001: A Space Odyssey, in the middle of a wheat field.”

This unique construction was the young architects’ first hotel project, and they found innovative ways to assemble very simple, completely recyclable materials to create a hotel that blurs seamlessly with its surroundings rather than simply to overlook the vast, open space. Each “cube” holds one or two rooms with ten others in the central building. All are built from prefab panels, and reused produce crates from local farms serve as a boundary walls and windbreakers. Those rooms in the central building not directly facing the dessert enjoy a private patio with fruit tree and open-air oval iron tub, which can be used year round.

All guest quarters have been decorated in simple lines using natural materials so as to blend in with the surrounding nature. The unusually deep baths and showers are separated from the sleeping area only by white cotton curtains. And each guest room centers on what the architects call an 'inhabitable window”: large, deep, glassed-in pop-outs with settees where guests can sit to contemplate the desert in silence.

The hotel also offers a seasonal outdoor pool plus restaurant serving the finest in natural cuisine including many vegetarian offerings.

Outdoor activities that can be enjoyed from both lodgings include mountain biking, walking, bird watching or Segway tours of the nature park. Horses, tennis and paddle tennis are available in the vicinity of both hotels as well. The El Cerro 18 hole golf course is due to open shortly, only five minutes away.

Both of the outstanding properties offer a unique glimpse into southern Navarra, its major wine industry and a peek at what Spain considers its main bread basket, producing the finest asparagus, artichokes and piquillo peppers in all of Spain, if not the world.

Please contact us to prepare a custom travel package with accommodations at either one of these highly unique rural lodgings.

Two atmospheric, hidden medieval villages in Catalunya

During our post-Christmas excursion through Catalunya, we were fortunate to have the time to take a leisurely tour of several pueblos con encanto, charming villages dating from the Middle Ages, all beautifully well-preserved.


From our base at the newly redecorated Parador high atop the Sau reservoir outside of Vic, we recently took a memorable day trip to tiny Tavertet and slightly larger Rupit. Both are two of the most photographed, highly picturesque hilltop villages in the Barcelona province, reminiscent of the Luberon hill towns of Provence, but less manicured, far more rustic and happily, are minus the tourist hordes.


Tavertet is found well off the beaten tourist path, nestled at the end of a 13-kilometer, narrow, winding road through a forest and craggy limestone outcrops. But this a detour well worth the trouble-to discover a hidden village of remarkable beauty, tranquility and with breathtaking views. The village is so well preserved that everything looks brand new. Although the majority of the homes date from the 17th-18th centuries, the new dwellings, getaway homes for the wealthy of Barcelona, have been built following the traditional style of stone and slate so as to blend perfectly with the ancient houses. The immaculately kept town, with only 40 full time residents, consists of two main streets, a Romanesque church, a rebost (village store, bar and local hangout), one gastronomic restaurant, Faves Comptades, a few traditional inns to feed the weekend day-trippers, one cute B&B, and a few cottages to rent. Following the path from the church leading away from the town, you’ll come to a magnificent but dizzying viewpoint at the edge of the rocky cliffs of Tavertet, with indescribable views across the valley to the Sau reservoir. This hamlet is very worthy of your discovery.



Equally pretty Rupit, with its 340 inhabitants, has been well discovered, and known as one of the most beautiful villages in all of Catalunya, but it remains remarkably unspoiled. After driving the meandering road from Vic through rugged grazing lands, you will reach the 1 km. detour to the town but must leave your car in the lot in the “new” town and walk to the medieval side. Entrance to the village is via a suspension footbridge across the brook that divides the town. With its ruggedly steep streets, ancient stone houses, some dating from the 16th century and all with hanging balconies bedecked with geraniums and dried flowers at each door, medieval Rupit is as picturesque as they come. This makes for a fine stop at lunch hour, as the friendly Hostal Estrella on the main square serves rich and hearty mountain cuisine at very low prices.

Contact us about preparing a custom package for you to explore this delightful area of Catalunya.

Adventures in the Priorat

It was very warm the last week of June in Catalunya, but a perfect time to explore this rugged wine region located west of Tarragona, about a one and a half hour drive south of Barcelona. Although not as well known within Spain as the Rioja and Ribera del Duero wine regions, the Priorat was first introduced to the United States several years ago and continues to offer some of the best and most expensive wines available on the market today, including those from Cellers Capafons-Ossó, Vall Llach, Cims de Porrera, Clos Dominic, Masia Duch (El Tancat), Clos Berenguer, Mas Sinén and even the small, and difficult to find, Celler del Pont. The productions are small, but the rich reds and succulent whites are well worth the price.

We were fortunate to be able to meet some of the Priorat’s most acclaimed pioneer winemakers, including Carlos Pastrana, owner of Clos de l’Obac, known for being passionate about his wines, and given a private Jeep tour of some of the most remote and steeply terraced vineyards in the region by the winemakers themselves, including a four-hour long visit with Francese Capafons of Capafons-Ossó, the maker of the esteemed Mas de Masos, rated as one of the 10 best wines in the world.



Dining in the Priorat can be as rewarding an experience as the wine tasting itself, with excellent village restaurants serving both traditional Catalan cuisine (El Cairat & Fonda La Figuera) and more contemporary fare (Celler de Gratallops & Celler d’Aspec), all sporting extensive yet surprisingly reasonably priced wine lists, showcasing the best of the Montsant and Priorat D.O.s.

Meandering the Ribeira Sacra

Using the Parador of San Vicente do Pino, a reconverted Benedictine Monastery, in Monforte de Lemos as a base, we spent 4 intensive days touring the out-of-the-way, exquisitely rural, ancient Ribeira Sacra, or ‘Sacred Bank” (noted as such for its wealth of monastic retreats). Without a doubt, it is one of the most stunningly picturesque wine growing regions of Spain! The rich, rugged canyons formed by the Miño and Sil rivers are covered with steeply terraced vineyards, vines cascading down the precipitous slopes to the very edge of the meandering rivers below. The harvests here require arduous, back breaking labor to collect the grapes from these plunging slopes.
Smaller than the Rioja, but slightly larger and with an even more dramatic landscape than the Priorat, the Ribeira Sacra has been growing wine for 2,000 years, its terraces (bancales) dating back to the Roman occupation. They produce lighter, lively, fruity, mineral-rich wines, primarily mencía-based reds and godello-based whites, along with fine liqueurs, or orujos. Adegas Vía Romana and Adegas Regina Viarum enjoy two of the most spectacularly beautiful and panoramic locations of any winery we’ve visited and are truly “must sees” for wine lovers.

Along with winery visits, we toured the area’s vast array of Baroque monasteries and Romanesque hermitages and purchased ceramics from the artisan hamlets of Gundivós and Niñodaguia.

The Ribeira Sacra wines are attracting world-wide attention, and we promise that once you try them, you will definitely be hooked!

Navigating the Rías Baixas

Road signs in Galicia can be challenging, but navigating the Rías Baixas (Lower Estuaries) region proved to be most difficult due to poor or non-existent signage. Therefore, when touring the area, the help of a local guide is strongly advised.

Like the Ribeira Sacra, this D.O. is divided into 5 sub zones, the largest being the Val do Salnés, Salnés valley, consisting of rolling fields laced with stone and wire trellises (parrales) used to lift the vines away from the damp soil, towards the sunshine and to provide ventilation and prevent rot. The vineyards are planted predominately with the resistant albariño grape (Spain’s most expensive), and these rather feminine wines taste intensely fruity- peach, pear, citrus flavors.

Along with the Palacio de Fefiñanes, located in the wine capital of Cambados on its handsome medieval square, we found the countryside Pazo de Señorás and Agro de Bazán to be the most charming and welcoming.

Both boast stunning Pazos, or ancestral manor homes, these usually with private chapel, garden, hórreo (stone granary built on stilts) and dovecote. And both wineries produce delicate, aromatic wines that pare perfectly with the region’s superb seafood.

Although we based in Cambados at the Parador del Albariño, we also recommend the elegant, Belle Epoque spa hotel, the 5-star Gran Hotel on the pine covered island of A Toxa as a pampering, relaxing base.

While in the area one should also visit the 12th century Monastery of Armenteira, the 16th century Monastery of Poio and picturesque village of Combarro with its line up of hórreos facing the river.

Following the Miño - the Ribeiro wines

Ribeiro (Ourense province), the oldest appellation in Galicia, in medieval times, under the reign of King García I, saw its wines, the potent tostados, exported from the court of Ribadavia to almost the whole of Europe. Ribadavia’s thriving Jewish community became rich thanks to the pre-Inquisition wine commerce. In the 16th century Ribeiro wine was revered throughout Europe and even shipped to America. Cervantes described Ribadavia as Spain’s “Mother of Wine”. But in the 18th century the vineyards suffered a sharp decline as foreign wine merchants moved on to Porto. Then in the 19th century a vine plague devastated the Ribeiro wine industry.

The vineyards here are situated in the deep green hills that slope down to four rivers that irrigate this pastoral land. (Ribeiro in the Gallego language meaning “River Bank”).
At his Viña Mein estate in Leiro, ex-attorney Javier Alén has been a pioneer in the renaissance of Ribeiro wines, returning to its native grapes, and bringing the Treixadura, called the “queen of all white grapes”, on to the world’s stage. Adjacent to the winery, the owners have created a cozy and charming 8-room B&B from the original stone farmstead, which makes a delightful retreat for oenophiles. Viña Mein also owns a strikingly avant-garde, boutique hotel, a member of the prestigious Rusticae group, in the hamlet of San Clodio, adjacent to the Monastery.

Other noteworthy wine estates to include on your Ribeiro itinerary: The Coto do Gomariz and Casal de Armán, an 18th century winery with atmospheric 8-room hotel and delightful bistro with heavenly views.

The wines of Northern Portugal

From the Ribeiro we crossed the Miño river and stepped back 30 years in time. The Portuguese Minho, far more pristine than its Spanish counterpart, is endowed with a number of highly photogenic fortress towns with their defensive walls and watch towers intact, filled with magnificently restored churches, beautifully manicured gardens, quintas (noble estates) and mosaic cobbled squares, along with thermal spas. Vila de Cerveira, Caminha, Monçao and Melgaço all delight visitors with their Old World charm.

In Melgaço, gateway to the Peneda-Gerês National Park, we dropped in to sample the area’s crisp, refreshing, slightly effervescent alvarinho vinho verde. Sampling here couldn’t be more pleasurable in the village’s Solar do Alvarinho wine center, a showcase for these fresh white wines, along with local cheeses, sausages, honey and handicrafts, including exquisite embroidered linens.

And a visit to the northern Minho valley wouldn’t be complete without an unforgettable gourmet lunch at Adega do Sossego in Peso. A tucked- away charmer, it serves gargantuan portions of local specialties, such as grilled trout stuffed with country ham, washed down with the house alvarinho wine, and ending with a complimentary miniature vat of their homemade digestif.

Following the wine routes of Galicia & Northern Portugal’s Minho Valley

We recently spent 17 days exploring Spain’s lush, misty, and verdant northwest corner: the land of the fierce Atlantic with its spectacular cliffs, of mighty rivers gushing through deep gorges, of chestnut, pine and eucalyptus forests, of Celtic heritage, legends and myths, of bagpipes, dolmens and petroglyphs, of stunning medieval architecture dotting the countryside along the various pilgrimage routes to Santiago. Galicia also offers wild horses roaming the high mountain Serras, stately granite manor homes covered with blankets of moss, lively outdoor markets with bubbling cauldrons of pulpo a feira (octopus), more festivals that one can begin to count and 1,300 kilometers of coastline with unique Rías or low estuaries that supply the region with an astounding bounty of fish and shellfish.

Galicia is blessed with a unique mix of favorable microclimates which, along with lemon, orange and palm trees, afford it five principal wine making regions,with their official Denominaciones de Origen, three of which we toured in depth: the Ribeira Sacra, Rías Baixas and Ribeiro. These three wine producing areas encompass the provinces of Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra and are currently enjoying a growing international recognition for excellence.

Meandering the Ribeira Sacra

Using the Parador of San Vicente do Pino, a reconverted Benedictine Monastery, in Monforte de Lemos as a base, we spent 4 intensive days touring the out-of-the-way, exquisitely rural, ancient Ribeira Sacra, or ‘Sacred Bank” (noted as such for its wealth of monastic retreats). Without a doubt, it is one of the most stunningly picturesque wine growing regions of Spain! The rich, rugged canyons formed by the Miño and Sil rivers are covered with steeply terraced vineyards, vines cascading down the precipitous slopes to the very edge of the meandering rivers below. The harvests here require arduous, back breaking labor to collect the grapes from these plunging slopes.

Smaller than the Rioja, but slightly larger and with an even more dramatic landscape than the Priorat, the Ribeira Sacra has been growing wine for 2,000 years, its terraces (bancales) dating back to the Roman occupation. They produce lighter, lively, fruity, mineral-rich wines, primarily mencía-based reds and godello-based whites, along with fine liqueurs, or orujos. Adegas Vía Romana and Adegas Regina Viarum enjoy two of the most spectacularly beautiful and panoramic locations of any winery we’ve visited and are truly “must sees” for wine lovers.

Along with winery visits, we toured the area’s vast array of Baroque monasteries and Romanesque hermitages and purchased ceramics from the artisan hamlets of Gundivós and Niñodaguia.

The Ribeira Sacra wines are attracting world-wide attention, and we promise that once you try them, you will definitely be hooked!

Navigating the Rías Baixas

Road signs in Galicia can be challenging, but navigating the Rías Baixas (Lower Estuaries) region proved to be most difficult due to poor or non-existent signage. Therefore, when touring the area, the help of a local guide is strongly advised.

Like the Ribeira Sacra, this D.O. is divided into 5 sub zones, the largest being the Val do Salnés, Salnés valley, consisting of rolling fields laced with stone and wire trellises (parrales) used to lift the vines away from the damp soil, towards the sunshine and to provide ventilation and prevent rot. The vineyards are planted predominately with the resistant albariño grape (Spain’s most expensive), and these rather feminine wines taste intensely fruity- peach, pear, citrus flavors.

Along with the Palacio de Fefiñanes, located in the wine capital of Cambados on its handsome medieval square, we found the countryside Pazo de Señorás and Agro de Bazán to be the most charming and welcoming.

Both boast stunning Pazos, or ancestral manor homes, these usually with private chapel, garden, hórreo (stone granary built on stilts) and dovecote. And both wineries produce delicate, aromatic wines that pare perfectly with the region’s superb seafood.

Although we based in Cambados at the Parador del Albariño, we also recommend the elegant, Belle Epoque spa hotel, the 5-star Gran Hotel on the pine covered island of A Toxa as a pampering, relaxing base.

While in the area one should also visit the 12th century Monastery of Armenteira, the 16th century Monastery of Poio and picturesque village of Combarro with its line up of hórreos facing the river.

Following the Miño - the Ribeiro wines

Ribeiro (Ourense province), the oldest appellation in Galicia, in medieval times, under the reign of King García I, saw its wines, the potent tostados, exported from the court of Ribadavia to almost the whole of Europe. Ribadavia’s thriving Jewish community became rich thanks to the pre-Inquisition wine commerce. In the 16th century Ribeiro wine was revered throughout Europe and even shipped to America. Cervantes described Ribadavia as Spain’s “Mother of Wine”. But in the 18th century the vineyards suffered a sharp decline as foreign wine merchants moved on to Porto. Then in the 19th century a vine plague devastated the Ribeiro wine industry.

The vineyards here are situated in the deep green hills that slope down to four rivers that irrigate this pastoral land. (Ribeiro in the Gallego language meaning “River Bank”).
At his Viña Mein estate in Leiro, ex-attorney Javier Alén has been a pioneer in the renaissance of Ribeiro wines, returning to its native grapes, and bringing the Treixadura, called the “queen of all white grapes”, on to the world’s stage. Adjacent to the winery, the owners have created a cozy and charming 8-room B&B from the original stone farmstead, which makes a delightful retreat for oenophiles. Viña Mein also owns a strikingly avant-garde, boutique hotel, a member of the prestigious Rusticae group, in the hamlet of San Clodio, adjacent to the Monastery.

Other noteworthy wine estates to include on your Ribeiro itinerary: The Coto do Gomariz and Casal de Armán, an 18th century winery with atmospheric 8-room hotel and delightful bistro with heavenly views.

Santiago, at the end of the Camino

After two weeks and 3,000 kilometers of explorations, we reached the end of our own Galician pilgrimage on the Road of St. James-with our final 3 days in spectacular Santiago de Compostela.

Preparations are officially underway for the Holy Year - Xacobeo 2010, when the city expects between 8-9 million visitors. The Jubilee Year of Compostela has been celebrated since the Middle Ages, whenever the feast day of the Apostle St. James, July 25, falls on a Sunday. Celebrations will begin the eve of Dec. 31, 09 and end one year later and will include special exhibits and performances by international artists (Cecilia Bartoli, Lang, Lang, Zubin Mehta, Cirque du Soleil, Merce Cunningham). Mark your calendars!

In our Santiago wanderings, we were lucky to catch the filming of a crowd scene of the Martin Sheen / Emilio Estevez movie, a family drama, The Way, which was being shot on the magnificent Praza do Obradoiro.

While we lodged in Galicia’s historic Paradors for our country stays, here we chose the superbly renovated 4- star Hotel Monumento San Francisco, a perfect blend of medieval and modern (with 50 monks still in residence). Its 76 rooms and huge suites combine the tranquility of a monastery with all the proper creature comforts of today, including a lovely indoor pool and fine gourmet restaurant. It provided us with true pampering at the end of our Camino. A jewel!

The Fiesta de San Fermín, Pamplona, Spain 2010

There are two basic ways to attend the fiesta in Pamplona.

The first, and by far most popular, is to do what tens of thousands of others have done over the years; make your own arrangements. Papa Hemingway did so when he first visited the city to attend the fiesta, but there is one small problem with this method, which is the same now as it was then, unless you are familiar with the city and surrounding area, it is often difficult to decide where to stay. You don’t want to be too far out because of the difficulty of getting into the Old City for the fiesta. Besides a shortage of available rooms, affordable rooms are often difficult to find, even outside of the city center. All of the hotels, hotel-apartments and hostels raise their rates 3 to 5 times the normal rate during the fiesta. Most hotels begin charging this festival rate on the 5th of July, but a few begin charging their festival rate as early as the 4th. Another problem in trying to make your own arrangements is that although a few hotels will accept early bookings, the majority of hotels in the city center do not set their official festival rates until the end of the year and generally will not accept reservations before then unless you are a regular client of the hotel. Response time can also be very slow in some cases.

As you may already be aware, many of the Spanish visitors to the fiesta either stay with friends or family. Younger visitors from around Spain usually end up sleeping on the ground in one of the city’s parks, while most of the younger foreign visitors, many of whom arrive with backpacks, either end up sleeping on the ground along with thousands of others, or, if they are lucky, find an opening at one of the many campgrounds in the Navarran countryside, some of which are “far from the madding crowds”.”

The second, though not quite as popular but undoubtedly the best way for a foreign visitor to experience this unique fiesta, is to book with a professional travel company or tour group providing a full array of services, someone who is actively involved in the fiesta and has a good relationship with the hotels they work with. You can make the arrangements through your local travel agent, one who has the right connections, or directly with a company that specializes in the fiesta and offers the services that we here at Iberian Traveler - Maribel’s Guides provide; a special hotel package at a select hotel in the city, reservations on one of our balconies for the encierro, the running of the bulls, additional festival programs that can add to your enjoyment and experience, restaurant recommendations and other personalized services to make your stay as fulfilling and interesting as possible. We feel that it’s one thing to attend the fiesta on your own or with family and friends, but actually becoming involved in and being a part of the fiesta is something only a specialist can provide.

Of course there is a third way of attending the fiesta. If you know someone who has been there before they might be able to introduce you to some aspects of the fiesta. If you know someone like this, they are usually very enthusiastic, but may not have experienced those parts of the fiesta that actually make it unique and one of the most popular festivals in Europe. But that’s not to say that you still can’t have a good time and go home with great memories.

Many of us who now do this for a living started out this way, building on our experiences over the years, forming relationships and close friendships, as the fiesta became part of our lives. In turn, we try to provide the best possible experience for all of our clients, some of whom have become our friends, returning as often as possible to enjoy the fiesta with us and the people of Pamplona, who welcome everyone to their city.

A little more about the city and the fiesta

The city of Pamplona goes all out for the fiesta, one of the largest in Spain, providing everything free of charge except for bullfight tickets. There are music concerts everyday beginning on the 6th of July with a mix of regional and international musicians, who this year included the Gypsy Kings and our friend and noted Basque musician, Kepa Junkera. The fiesta includes traditional Basque sports, a major international fireworks competition with displays nightly, special days set aside for children and seniors and a separate children’s festival, the magic of the historic Gigantes and Cabezudos (giants and big heads), the kilikis and zaldikos and the traditional Procession of San Fermin, where the people pay homage to one of city’s two patron saints.

The fiesta attracts ten of thousands of visitors from throughout Spain and around the world. The numbers have grown substantially since the early 90’s, but until recently all of the hotels, hotel-apartments and hostals in the city were primarily serving the needs of those visiting the Clínica Universitaria de Navarra (Navarre University Hospital), one of Spain’s premier hospital facilities and medical universities.

With only about 1300 hotel rooms located within the city center, i.e. easy walking distance of the Casa Viejo, the Old City and the center of the fiesta, and an equal number of rooms further out, from 4 and 10 km distance from the city center, Pamplona is unable to easily accommodate such a huge daily influx of visitors to the fiesta seeking hotel rooms or restaurant reservations. If you are interested in attending the fiesta, you have to plan as far in advance as possible. Of the total number of hotel rooms in the city center, less than half are ever available during the fiesta because of the returning clientele. Some families have been staying at the same hotel for generations and their rooms are always held aside for them.

Most of the hotels located within the city center are either 3 or 4-star, but there are a few 2-star hotels. There is one 5-star hotel, the GH La Perla of Hemingway fame, and a couple of new premium hotels scheduled to open soon; one boutique-style luxury hotel in the Casa Viejo and an all-suites luxury hotel early next summer, possibly in time for the fiesta. Two additional boutique hotels are due to open sometime in the near future, one associated with the Tour de France legend Miguel Indurain, who lives in Pamplona with his family, but no one seems to know exactly when they will open, but when they finally do, they are only expected to add an additional handful of rooms to the total. It’s not much when you consider that the city receives an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 visitors a day during the week and up to 200,000 over the weekend, doubling its population.

If you are planning on staying outside of the city center, you will have to rely on public transportation or taxis to get you to and from the hotel as parking in the city can be a problem anytime of the year, let alone during the fiesta. And this is after the city has added hundreds of underground parking places the last few years. The city has been allowing free parking in the blue zones during the fiesta, but these spaces are limited as the cars parked there seldom move.

Travel between Pamplona and the closest cities or villages is difficult if you have to rely on public transportation. The earliest buses from San Sebastian-Donostia, the closest major city, do not arrive in the Pamplona until after the encierro, meaning that you would have to plan on arriving the night before and spend the night on the street or sleeping in the park if you want to be there in time for the running of the bulls.

If you were to drive, you would have to leave Donostia very early in the morning in order to be in Pamplona in time for that morning’s encierro. It’s only a one-hour drive but it may take you awhile to find a place to park, and nearly impossible on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, or on the 6th or 7th.

There is the possibility of arranging a private transfer or taxing a taxi from San Sebastian-Donostia, Bilbao or Logroño (La Rioja), but you will still need to be up very early in the morning in order to reach Pamplona in time for the encierro, and such a trip is expensive unless you are with a larger group. We do provide private transfers from the nearby villages where many of our country homes are located, but these need to be arranged in advance.