Poblet, Priorato & Tarragona

While we were staying with Salvador he said that he was up for doing a big road trip. He had a book in his house that had some stunning pictures of the villages and mountainside vineyards of Priorato, so we chose to do a trip that would involve seeing the Monastery of Santa Maria in Poblet, exploring the Priorato wine region and finishing up the day in the ancient Roman city of Tarragona.



We were up early the next morning on off to start our adventure. Our first stop was the Monastery of Santa María de Poblet. Constructed between the 12th and 18th century it is well renowned for its beautiful monastic architecture. We took a nice tour of the grounds then continued on.


As we started climbing the mountains to the Priorato region the temperature started dropping and we entered thick fog. The mountain views were obscured by the fog and gave the area an eerie, forbidding feeling. Priorato was a well known wine region in years past but with time became abandoned as conditions there were tough and it was hard to make a profit from the mountainous, rocky land. In the last decade, the heavy, concentrated wine from the region started winning international awards and getting high scores because it is a style that the American and British consumer values. The prestige has attracted many new wineries to the area which are making more of a high alcohol, fruit forward wine for the export market.



As we continued the fog started burning off and vineyards started appearing on the stony hillsides. We explored the small towns and walked through the mountain vineyards.

Unfortunately for us all of the wineries in the area were closed due to it being the holiday season so we had to enjoy the beautiful views and visit the picturesque small towns instead of wine tasting. We did get to taste a few local wines in local restaurants that were open and they were big, rich and more of a Napa style then most of the Spanish wines we had tasted. It was a fantastic experience, driving with Salvador and winding through the mountainous landscapes, and seeing the vineyards growing in such a stark and inhospitable place.

After many hours of exploration we headed towards the coast and stopped in Tarragona. Tarragona is a big, industrial city which is known for its history as a Roman enclave. Salvador had gone to the university there and was a great tour guide. It had a picturesque old town and nice old ruins.
After grabbing dinner in Tarragona it was very late and headed back to Salvador’s house. It had been a very full day and we covered a lot of miles. But it was worth every second of it as we got to explore a very special and less visited corner of Spain.

Sitges

One of the memorable road trips that we made while we were staying with our friend Salvador in Cataluña was to the beach resort of Sitges.

Know internationally as a packed and raging party town for Barcelona’s jet set during the hot summer months it is little more than a small, quiet coastal town when we visited during the winter off season.

We took off with Salvador and his sister in his car and wound through the coastal mountains that separate his home from the coast. At the summit we got out and visited a monastery that is located in the middle of the coastal mountain range. Its location looked out over the wooded mountains in all directions. After descending the other side we finally arrived.

Sitges’ bars and restaurants we hibernating during the winter but the city was cute and its waterfront location picturesque. We spent the day visiting the old town, then walking along its beachfront walkway. It was quiet and relaxing way to spend the day.

As the sun went down and the town got cold and dark we loaded into Salvador’s car and headed back.

Sant Sadurni d’Anoia & Penedes region

Our friend Salvador lives in a small town located between the Catalonian cities of Villafranca del Penedés and Sant Sadurni d’Anoia. This area is part of the Penedes appellation. As Salvador also works in the wine industry in Spain, he was very knowledgeable about the wine industry in his region and explained to us the current situation of the wine industry where he lives and how things operate from a local point of view.

Penedes is best known for its Cava or Spanish sparkling wine and Sant Sadurni d’Anoia is full of Cava wineries of varying sizes. The three biggest wineries of the region are Freixenet, Codorníu, and the primarily still wine producer Torres. As we were visiting during the holiday season we were unable to tour Freixenet and Codorníu as they were closed but we did take a tour at Torres and a couple of other smaller wineries in the area. It was great for us to taste all of the wines and see how the Spanish deal with the hospitality side of the business. We found Torres to be well run winery and we had a very informative and well run tour and tasting session.

In addition to wine tasting Salvador took us to visit a couple of medieval castles and churches around where he lives. We also explored the towns of Villafranca del Penedés and Sant Sadurni d’Anoia in depth and walked their streets.

As with Barcelona we found this part of Cataluña to be much different culturally than the rest of Spain and the architecture, language & food were unlike what we had experienced in the rest of the country.

We spent nearly a week with Salvador getting to know his region and visiting wineries. His family and friends were very welcoming to us and were great hosts. We tasted lots of really well made wine & Cava and got to see some interesting sights. It was an informative and memorable visit and lots of fun to finally see our friends’ home region.

Barcelona

Gaby and I met back up in Barcelona.

I was returning from Belgium and Gaby was coming from Málaga. We arranged for our flights to arrive at the same time in Barcelona’s airport so we got there almost simultaneously.

Barcelona is an amazing city. For me it is the definition of a cultured European city with its wide, tree lined avenues, beautiful people, cutting edge fashion, famous architecture and varied cultural offerings. It has been many years since I saw the city and you could see how it has prospered from the strong growth that Spain has experienced over the last 20 years.

Barcelona is the capital and principal city of Cataluña, a region of Spain that has a different language, culture, cuisine and architecture to the rest of the country. Many of the Catalans we met wanted more independence from Spain and for most of them Spanish is a second language.

We stayed the first night in a hotel in town, then the following day met up with our friend Salvador. Salvador lives outside of Barcelona and had worked with Gaby at her job in Napa. We had always wanted to see him in Spain and we finally got the chance.

With Salvador we explored the city on foot and saw its highlights. We started with Gaudí´s architectural masterpiece La Sagrada Família which is still under construction. We then walked to another of Gaudí’s works, Palau Güell. After lunch we explored the boutiques and wide boulevards of the Moderniste Eixample. From there we walked along Las Ramblas from the Plaça Catalunya to the port. The Ramblas and the fruit & vegetable market (La Boqueria) were full of people and alive with street performers. We then visited the Gothic quarter and explored old Barcelona (Ciutat Vella) and walked through its Roman and Medieval alleys. There we saw the gothic Church of Santa Maria del Mar. From there we visited the trendy Born neighborhood.

The city was packed and alive and in spite of the global recession, which we clearly saw the effects of in the Costa del Sol, Barcelona was buzzing and busy.

Gaby and I loved Barcelona and we had a terrific time seeing it again. It is such a visually stunning city and has so much to see and do. We would have loved to stay a week and explore it thoroughly. But it was time to move on and we were also looking forward to seeing Cataluña’s wine country so we jumped on a train and headed to Salvador’s home.

Belgium

Ok, I’ll admit it. I went for the beer.

I am a huge Belgian Beer fan and the opportunity to actually go and see the beer culture first hand was something I had wanted to do for a long time. And with the cheap fares in Europe it was economically feasible. So Gaby stayed in Malaga with her family while I flew to Brussels for 4 days of exploration of Belgium. I had never been to Belgium before and had no expectations either way of the country.

But in my 4 days of exploring Brussels, Antwerp and some small towns in the countryside I found a fascinating country with terrific food, beautiful architecture, an interesting culture and very nice people.

In Brussels I stayed with Esteban and Lisa. Esteban is from Salta, Argentina and he lives with his Belgian girlfriend Lisa in the outskirts of the city. They were both super nice and showed me around the city during the day and to the best beer cafes at night.

Belgium was freezing cold. I arrived there the day after Christmas and when I was there the high during the day was 0 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) and the low at night was -6 degrees Celsius (21 Fahrenheit). As I didn’t have the most appropriate clothes I pretty much wore everything that I had.

My first day in Belgium I walked around Brussels and got to know the city. My second day there was comical. I arrived at the train station in Antwerp and went to the Information office to get a map and ask for directions to a world famous beer café called the Kulminator. The lady there knew of the place showed me what street it was on and what bus to take. I followed her instructions and when I got to the street I looked for the café and all I found were scantily clad women dancing in the windows.

The woman had sent me to the Red Light District.

I finally got correct instructions and walked through Antwerp’s beautiful old town to the Kulminator. Unfortunately the beer café that I most wanted to see anywhere in the world was closed for holiday season. I couldn’t believe it. After walking around more and exploring Antwerp’s old city center I took the train back to Brussels. I had made arrangements with Esteban to meet up near his place that evening but instead got horribly lost. I found a bar and contacted Esteban with its address. I waited for him.

The bar ended up being Moroccan and they were playing live typical Arab music. An older Moroccan lady came up to me and started trying to dance with me. She was drunk and everyone in the bar was staring at us. I politely declined her offer and she proceeded to pull me on the dance floor. I declined again and she went off to argue with another of the bars patrons. It was quite an uncomfortable situation for everyone.

Belgium was a wonderful surprise for me. Clean, orderly, people were well dressed and very sophisticated, the buildings beautiful and the countryside green and forested. I think that Belgium was one of my most pleasant surprises of the trip. I hope to some day visit again.

Oh yes, and the beer. It was amazing!

Steve