- Wine shopping
Our second day of driving took us from Basque Country into La Rioja, where you are basically required to shop for wine. Bryan picks out three bottles at a little shop in Haro: one Crianza, one Reserva, and one Gran Reserva. - Vineyards
The countryside was ridiculously picturesque. This shot was taken from the parking lot of an over-the-top museum about wine-growing/making/loving, looking toward the town of Briones. - Grapes
Leslie appreciates some wine grapes. We may have also sampled them. - IMG_2506
The main room made for excellent lounging. - IMG_2574
okay, and popular art - IMG_2527
We rolled through quite a few long, long tunnels. - IMG_2507
The walls and chimney are original to the 17th-century blacksmith's. The guest rooms have been built around the edges of the large store room used to pile coal. Lots of stone and dark metal and wood. - IMG_2518
Sick Leslie and Arti, balm for the spirit - IMG_2580
view from our hotel balcony in Logroño - IMG_2550
Bryan peruses some wine in a Haro shop. We left with a bottle each of Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva, three designations of various age and quality in Rioja wines. - IMG_2512
We started our day with a little walk on a trail that passed the hotel. - IMG_2515
Bryan on the trail - IMG_2568
corks-in-progress - IMG_2583
cathedral in the dark - IMG_2509
staircase - IMG_2575
purportedly the world's largest corkscrew collection - IMG_2543
Most of the grapevines were sporting their red autumn finery. - IMG_2579
We were very excited to see this bull silhouette, which was featured on the cover of our guidebook, until we drove a little more and realized they're all over the damn place. - IMG_2557
Leslie gets personal with some wine grapes. - IMG_2510
Next door is the tower built by the same family in, oh, like the 1400s. - IMG_2533
craggy - IMG_2519
Bryan on the road again - IMG_0066
including the inevitably naughty ones - IMG_2514
a little shrine built into a hill that reminds Leslie of guerilla Buddha shrines in Thailand - IMG_2525
The mountains were covered in a lot of intentional, grid-like reforestation, presumably lumber industry investments. - IMG_2558
Leslie, vineyard - IMG_0073
A side effect of turning our back on wine was that we had some delicious dry cider (sidra) from Northern Spain, which you pour into glasses from great height to give it some foaminess. - IMG_2513
Leslie and cows. Leslie is, at this point, quite sick with a cold. - IMG_2521
mountains - IMG_2526
random cool bridge