The Best Place Yet

This entry is for Friday and Saturday.

We picked up our car a block from our hotel and left the big city. We drove about five hours north on a very nice freeway, stopping only once (at a Starbucks).

Those who know me are likely surprised by the absence of car talk in this blog. The cars in Spain are very nice. Very clean. No rust. But, no classic cars. No Super Cars (aside from one Aston Martin and one Lamborghini in Roses). No one modifies cars for aesthetic reasons. Not a car culture here.

We did not expect the terrain driving north. We could have been driving through southern Colorado. Mostly sand and hills. We saw crops only in river valleys.

However, as we approached our destination, LaGuardia (phonetically, substitute "w" for the "G."), things changed. This is Spain's wine country. Grape vines everywhere. (I suppose that this area is somewhat wasted on us. We both like wine, but neither us of posses sufficient wine knowledge or interest to truly appreciate the fruits of this area.)

Of all the beautiful towns we have visited, LaGuardia is unquestionably the best. It is a centuries old walled city atop a hill.

The narrow streets (no cars allowed) within the walls are lined with residences and small shops and cafes.

Below these winding streets is a labyrinth of wine cellars.

This town reminds us of what may be our favorite town in the world: Rothenburg on the Tober in Germany (it is the town we visited during our family vacation many years ago).

This town is not frequented by English speaking tourists. In this area of Spain, the first language taught in school is Catalan. The second is Spanish. The third is English. It seems as most folks here never got around to that third language. However, Jo's French is getting us by (more on that below).

Our hotel is unmatched by anywhere we have stayed in Spain (or maybe anywhere in the world). Our hotel was built as a castle in about 25 A.D. (at least the foundation was).

We look out at the valley through a wall of beveled glass windows.

We climbed to the top of its tower (see picture above) and we were  treated to a 180° view of the countryside.

The proprietor of the hotel is the nicest guy. He speaks no English. Thankfully, he speaks French and Jo can communicate with him.

Breakfast was amazing.

We then took a tour (in Spanish) of the majestic town cathedral.

From there we were off to a tour of the town tower (again in Spanish). We walked up a shoulder-wide staircase.

Next it was off to a tour (again in Spanish) of the underground water storage facility on the far end of the walled town (about 1/4 mile away). This was discovered only 20 years ago. Other ruins in LaGuardia date back 4000 years.

Better late than never, it dawned on me that Google Translate may be able to use the microphone to translate live. Sure enough, it did. Very cool.

We then followed the local tradition of lounging at an outdoor cafe and enjoying the scenery. I worked on this blog and Jo read tourist books.

Jo enjoying an Aperol (no spritz) and me a local beer. 

We then took a walk in the country.

During this walk I learned that Google translate will translate signs. Just point the camera. Again, very cool.

It was in our hope to tour one of the underground wineries in town. However, they were all either closed or full. Instead, we went to a bakery and bought some fresh bread. We went into another store to buy some chorizo, cheese, olives, and wine. We sat on a bench below our castle hotel and enjoyed our picnic overlooking the beautiful surroundings.