Leaving LaGuardia

On our last night here, we found Fodor's review of our hotel:

"WHY WE LIKE IT: 

It doesn’t get much more romantic than sleeping in an immaculate castle within a dreamy walled village from the middle ages. The food is good, the bar is beautiful, and one of the most idyllic and delicious wine regions in the world is all around you for the taking."

Another massive and fantastic breakfast and we were off to Pamploma, but not before we bid goodbye to Javier, the best hotel proprietor we have ever met.

Here is the main square in Pamploma.

The bull run starts in this square.

We just happened to be here for the abbreviated quarterly running of the bulls. For 25 Euros (and signing a lengthy release in Spanish) I was able to participate. I may be accused of lack of courage, but I stayed on the side as you can see from the photo where I am looking back to see the bulls. They unevently passed me by seeming more interested in goring others.

Finally, Jo found a cornucopia of tourist traps to buy the grandkids gifts.

Then it was off to the seaside town of San Sebastian. 

Once again, we watched people go by from an old town cafe.

Back to hotel to rest before heading out past our normal bed time for dinner.

We headed out for dinner at a  fashionably late (or early if you are a Spaniard) time. The pintxos (tapes) bar was fantastic.



On the way back to our hotel we stopped at much swankier hotel for a nightcap.

Day Trip to Vitoria-Gasteiz

(This post is also out of order. If I make any change to a post, it jumps to the top.)

It is October 15th. Again we were treated to an exceptional breakfast.

Then, we were off to a hike around the LaGuardia Lagoon. The owner of the castle hotel brought us two hiking packages full of food (as if we need more food). We were surrounded by grape vines.

We then got into our hail damaged KIA Model POS and drove to Vitoria-Gasteiz. The very old town was in the middle of the very big city. 

We saw yet another beautiful cathedral (one of many in this town).

Jo could not resist the opportunity to look like tourists.

We then sat at an outdoor cafe in the main square which honored the Battle of Vitoria.

While I'm not considered a fashionista, we did admire the clothing worn by the Spaniards. They dress way better than we do. Levis are the style here so I fit right in.

The vast majority wear tennis shoes (which most in the States call "sneakers). The most popular shoes for fashion conscious Spaniards are the good old fashioned Converse All-Stars like the ones I wore in junior high.

Many wear Converse All-Stars on steroids.

If the fashion trend in New York and Los Angeles catches on here, I was the only fashion forward person in my Hokas.

We walked the old town and admired the omnipresent graffiti on every doorway.

We had a very scenic picnic in the back of the POS in an underground garage. Then it was back to our castle.

The beautiful walled town of LaGuardia is closed up Sunday evening. It was fun to walk the empty streets. We return to the hotel restaurant and had an outstanding meal. 

Tomorrow it is off to Pamploma which is famous for the Running of the Bulls.

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. 

Final Day in Barcelona

Off for our final hours in Barcelona. We are batting 1000 with this weather. Never too cool. Never too warm. Not a cloud in the sky. Back on the tourist bus.

Barcelona is a very clean city. Very few homeless folks. However, very congested. 

America's influence on the world is omnipresent. Papa Johns, KFC, McDonald's, Starbucks, and Burger Kings are everywhere. Judging by T-shirts, many locals here went to Harvard or Yale or they live in Boston. Many must own Harley Davidsons. Many T-shirts just have random sayings in English. Most locals are Yankees fans as evidenced by their hats. 

However, nothing detracts from the charm of the city. All of its narrow city streets are adorned by trees. On each side of the streets are small stores and restaurants confined in a space about 12 ft wide. When the businesses are closed, they roll down a metal security shade. They've all been nicely decorated by artistic vandals.

We were off to Park Guell designed by the artist Antoni Gaudi. He is the same guy who designed the Sagrata Familia and the Casa Batllo. Once again, Dr. Seuss would be at home here (some of these are stock photos because the lighting was very poor due to the sun angle and pollution.)

We bid farewell to Scooter and Michelle who are off to the Picasso museum before heading home tomorrow. 

The rest of this blog covers the adventures of Chris and Jo over the next several days.