A Weekend in Wine Country

Last week was laughably short, because we had Monday and Tuesday off, and I always have Fridays off, so I only had work for two days last week. I was with the infantiles again, so I have nothing interesting to share about teaching last week. So let's fast forward to the weekend!

On Friday, I took the bus to Toledo to visit Natalie and Kendra. Also, Natalie and I were traveling together yet again, this time on a guided tour in wine country in Castilla y León, but the tour left on Saturday morning from Madrid. I got to Toledo around 2:00, and we spent most of the afternoon talking. Kendra and I hadn't seen each other in several weeks, so it was nice to have time to catch up. Later in the day, Natalie and I went Christmas shopping for her family (because I did my Christmas shopping in Córdoba and Morocco) while Kendra went to teach a private lesson. I could happily wander the winding streets of Toledo for hours, and I was looking forward to dusk when they would turn the Christmas lights on.

We met up with Kendra again later, and the three of us went to see one of Toledo's nativity scenes. I mentioned in a previous blog post that nativity scenes, or belenes, are a big deal in Spain, and Toledo was no exception. In front of a bank (of all places), there was a whole manger set up with the usual figurines, but this belén went to another level. There were also a variety of live animals, including geese, pigs, goats, donkeys, and even miniature ponies, as well as a little stream that rushed into a tiny pond. It was so elaborate and strange to find in front of a bank, and Kendra pointed out that it reminded her of a minigolf course. But belenes are a big deal, so clearly no expense is spared when they set them up.

The rest of the evening was pretty quiet. We had tapas in a nice restaurant that had really lovely Christmas decorations, and after wandering around and taking in the twinkling Christmas lights, we went back to the girls' apartment and watched Love Actually. I love Christmas more than a person probably should, so I was really thrilled to finally be getting into the Christmas spirit.

On Saturday morning, Natalie and I hopped on the 8:00 bus to Madrid to meet up with our tour, which included our friend Kristina--again--and another one of her friends (also named Christina, but at least the spelling is different!). We were going north to Castilla y León, and I was looking forward to a change of scenery.

In typical Clare fashion, I fell asleep the moment the bus started moving. But when I woke up, we were indeed farther north, but we were also surrounded by fog. As in, thick-as-cloud-cover fog. Apparently the change of scenery I craved was going to be harder to come by than I expected. The other thing is that on Saturday, I was a little underdressed for the weather. I've become very accustomed to the warm weather in La Mancha (even though it's the middle of December, most days have a low of 45º or so), and I just wasn't prepared to greet Jack Frost when I stepped off the bus, especially combined with the thick fog that also made everything damp. I never worry about what I'm wearing because La Mancha is so much warmer than Pennsylvania, but I felt right at home at our first stop in Castilla y León.

Our first stop was in Toro, which is relatively famous for their wine. Of course, the most well-known wine from Spain is La Rioja, which is named for the region in which it is made, but Castilla y León is nothing to sneeze at in its own right. In fact, I've heard that many people believe that the wine from Castilla y León is of a higher quality than La Rioja, but obviously it's all subjective. But I digress. Toro is well-known because their wine has denominación de origen, or designation of origin. Products with a designation of origin are special because they come from a specific geographical area, and having that designation protects the product from copycats. For example, you can get "champagne" at basically any liquor store but real champagne comes from France. Spain is full of products that have designation of origin, including La Rioja wine, manchego cheese (which is from my neck of the woods in La Mancha!), and Toro wine, among others. So our first stop was a tour of a bodega, or a winery, that is the second-oldest in Toro, and therefore has very high-quality wine.

After the tour, we went to a cheese cellar (I didn't know that there was such a thing) for a tasting of many cheeses as well as the traditional Toro wine. The cheese selection, which were all sheep cheeses, was amazing. We tasted cheeses made with wine, smoked peppers, and honey (the honey cheese, in particular, was to die for), three different aged cheeses, including reserva, which is two-year-old cheese, and cheese made with pork fat (In this instance, in my opinion, they took their love of ham too far. The pork fat cheese was my least favorite. Very greasy.). Combined with the famous Toro wine, it was a really fun experience.

The selection of 7 different cheeses!

The famous Toro wine

After the tasting, we had the opportunity to explore Toro for a little while. Before we had lunch, my friends and I wandered through the town, originally following signs for a market, but it turned out to be closed when we got there. However, we found a really lovely canyon instead, so it was still an enjoyable wander.

Toro's plaza mayor

Main street in Toro with the bell tower in the distance

Main street with the cathedral (blanketed with fog, of course)

Lovely canyon that we stumbled upon accidentally

After our break, we got back on the bus and headed over to Zamora. Zamora is the capital city of the same-named province in Castilla y León, and it has some really lovely architecture. In fact, it's the city with the most Romanesque churches in all of Europe. So despite the very persistent fog, we didn't let that keep us from exploring the city. We found our way to the Plaza Mayor, a Roman bridge over the river Duero, the cathedral, and the castle of Zamora, among other things.

Entrance to the old city

Christmas lights in the Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor

Christmas lights in the Plaza Mayor

Roman bridge over the river Duero

Zamora Cathedral

Zamora castle

Aren't these trees crazy?

That night, we went to a dinner at a wine cellar in the middle of nowhere, literally. We were on the outskirts of a small town, and getting to the restaurant was interesting, to say the least. We were literally stumbling through the dark countryside to get there. And then when we did get there, there was unlimited wine with dinner. To say that the night was interesting would be an understatement.

In the morning, we got back on the bus and headed to Ribera del Duero, another region well-known for its wine. We took a tour of the Viña Mayor winery, which has some of the best quality wine in the region (And they also do great business in the United States, apparently. If you're looking for a good Spanish wine, keep an eye out for Viña Mayor!). After the tour, we got to do a tasting of two of their wines, both of which were delicious.

Vats to hold the fermenting wine

Anybody thirsty?

Cork ceiling and some of the wood they use to make barrels

7,000 barrels, which hold 300 bottles of wine each

The tasting!

View of Ribera del Duero

Viña Mayor winery 

After we finished our tasting, we went to Aranda de Duero, home of another delicious wine. For our final tasting, we went into an underground wine cellar that was several hundred years old. As always, the wine was delicious, but once I went down, I was afraid I wouldn't make it back up. I pity the guy who works there and has to ascend those every day.

Don't want to take a tumble down these steps

In the old wine cellar

Alas, Aranda de Duero was our final tasting, so our weekend in wine country was complete. We hopped back on the bus and made our way back to Madrid. I managed to catch the last bus back to Quintanar. It was a late night, especially considering I had a full week of school ahead, but this week is the last full week before Christmas break! The holidays (and my family) can't come soon enough.