- Grapes
Leslie appreciates some wine grapes. We may have also sampled them. - IMG_0065
the real wine cellars - IMG_0066
including the inevitably naughty ones - IMG_0067
another playground! this one wine-grape themed - IMG_0071
Always iconoclasts, we ended up in a beer bar for dinner during our night in wine country. In fairness, it had been practically impossible to find decent beer thus far. Plus, Leslie was in the throws of a cold and needed some heathful Franziskaner to heal properly. - IMG_0072
the remarkable-for-Spain beer list - 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_0160
Our meal consisted of toast spread with various pates and a blue goat cheese blended with some of the sidra that was astringent and delicious. - IMG_2506
The main room made for excellent lounging. - 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_2509
staircase - IMG_2510
Next door is the tower built by the same family in, oh, like the 1400s. - IMG_2512
We started our day with a little walk on a trail that passed the hotel. - IMG_2513
Leslie and cows. Leslie is, at this point, quite sick with a cold. - IMG_2514
a little shrine built into a hill that reminds Leslie of guerilla Buddha shrines in Thailand - IMG_2515
Bryan on the trail - IMG_2517
typical farmhouse - IMG_2518
Sick Leslie and Arti, balm for the spirit - IMG_2519
Bryan on the road again - IMG_2520
We found the roads in Spain to be relentlessly marked with signposts, a boon to the foreign driver. - IMG_2521
mountains - IMG_2524
in the car - IMG_2525
The mountains were covered in a lot of intentional, grid-like reforestation, presumably lumber industry investments. - IMG_2526
random cool bridge - IMG_2527
We rolled through quite a few long, long tunnels. - IMG_2533
craggy - IMG_2535
approaching another tunnel - IMG_2537
At some point, we popped out of a tunnel and found ourselves in La Rioja--wine country! - IMG_2538
We stopped in La Rioja's capital, Haro, for lunch. - IMG_2539
We believe this was part of our brief overlap with the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, evidenced by the occasional sidewalk seashell.