We started today with breakfast at the inn consisting of slices of toast, farmer's cheese, honey made by the innkeeper, Maria, and green tea. As we were leaving for our day of wine tasting, Maria made us a lunch reservation at a favorite restaurant of hers, and warned them that the young American couple was coming.

First stop was Elciego for a tour of the Frank Gehry designed City of Wine which houses the Marques de Riscal winery.

The tour was entirely in Spanish, so at first I was listening carefully trying to catch what I could, but eventually quickly gave up and just took in the visual part of the tour.

 One thing interesting thing we learned is that for every vintage year, the vineyard keeps 300 bottles from that year. They are kept locked away in a vault, until someone wants one. The bottles are opened by touching a hot iron/welding tool to the neck of the bottle quickly followed by cold water, this way the old cork and the grime on the bottle doesn't fall into the wine.

We tasted two varieties of wine, a white which we liked very much, and a red which was good, but not as smooth as the reserva from yesterday.

After the tour, we drove to lunch at the restaurant Maria recommended in Fuenmeyor.

The place is owned by a couple who appear to be in their 60s. The husband tends bar, the wife and their  20-something daughter do the cooking and their son waits tables. The waiter had a small translation book to guide us through the available dishes since they don't use menus, they just serve whatever is fresh.

We started with a plate of jamon iberico and a green salad with toasted pine nuts, raisins and fresh goat cheese, dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  For our main course, I had lamb chops and Jason had a steak, both were perfectly pan-fried.

We had some time before our next reservation, so we drove into Logrono to check it out. As soon as we pulled in to town, we went around the nearest traffic circle  and drove right back out. We weren't expecteing to be a bustling modern city and it was a sharp contrast to the serene villages in the surrounding area.

Next stop was Dinastia Vivanco wine museum in Briones.

They have an impressive collection of all things wine-related, from ancient grape presses dating back to Roman times, to corks and leather wine skins to religious wine-related artifacts like Kiddush cups, two Picasso paintings and a collection of thousands of corkscrews. The museum tour ended with a tasting of the winery's crianza.

We then drove up to the village of Briones, just above the museum/bodega. Its a very sleepy village, even smaller than LaGuardia, but with equally stunning views.

From spain 2010

On our way back to LaGuardia, we followed a path through the vineyards to see the Castle (can't remember the name?), the last remains of a town of the same name. We made it about halfway up towards the castle by foot. Finally a hike, after our previous failed attempts, but of course neither of us were in the right shoes. Even still, more beautiful views followed by a scenic drive back to Erlexte.

If only Laguardia Airport was as nice as LaGuardia Spain...

Time to hit the road. It was pouring in San Sebastian, so it was the perfect day to leave.

As we made our way into the Rioja, the views were equally spectacular, but the colors and landscape changed dramatically. Instead of the greens and blues of the north, we began to see the browns, oranges and yellows of wine country in the Fall.

We stopped in Haro for an unremarkable lunch and then headed to LaGuardia to check in to the casa rurale. LaGuardia is a very small medieval village surrounded by walls on all sides and there are no cars or even bikes allowed. Underneath the city is a series of tunnels that was originally used as a hideout for residents if the town was under attack. Today, the tunnels are used as wine cellars.

The casa rurale where we are staying, Erlexte, is built into the walls of the town. The owner, Maria, appears to be about 70 years old and takes care of everything, including the bee keeping, when she isn't at her daily yoga class.

Unlike other wine regions, where you can walk in  to any winery and taste anytime, in La Rioja, you must have a reservation.We had no reservations for the afternoon, but Maria made a few phone calls and  Bodegas Casa Primicia, just a few steps away from the Casa Rurale, which was open and able to give us a tour.

The bodega, housed in one of the oldest buildings in La Guardia, was just restored and opened in August, so we were one of the first to take a tour. The restoration work was fabulous, taking into account the original architecture mixed with stylish modern touches.  The tour took us underground to the cellars including the old tunnels.

 We then went to the tasting room which overlooks the beautiful valley below. We tasted three different types of wine, an unoaked red, an oaked temrpranillo, and a reserva. All were delicious, but the reserva was obviously the smoothest and best

We then walked around the entire town (which only takes a few minutes at most)

checked out the view from outside the town walls:

 and popped into a local pub to sample another type of rioja wine and plate of chorizo.

Later in the evening, we walked just outside the wall to a have dinner at a hotel and restaurant.

Even though we had just had chorizo earlier, it was too enticing on the menu that we couldn't not order it. Unlike the other plate which was thinly sliced and cold, this was a dish of small disks of sausage cooked in a frying pan--totally different and absolutely delicious. For our main course, I got a plate of grilled artichokes and grilled srhimp over a bed of creamy stewed vegetables and Jason had a roast lamb shank. And of course we had more rioja wine, produced by the winery just below the restuarant.

Viva La France! and last night in San Se

Today started with a quick drive over the border into France.

Since the GPS was only loaded with a map of Spain, we were armed with a set of detailed yet inaccurate google maps directions to find our way. After a few wrong turns, a stop for help in a McDonalds, and an attempt to flag down a mailman, we made it to our destination-- L'Auberge Basque-- a country inn with a beautiful restaurant.

We were only a half an hour away from our hotel in Spain, but it was like a different world. A very similar scenery, but a totally different attitude.

We ordered a 1/2 bottle of locally produced wine and chose the three course menu du pays. First up was a gaspacho with silky foie gras in the center surrounded by cubed beets, crunchypotato crisps and tiny slivers of granny smith apple.

The second course was a plate of tender, melt-in-your-mouth lamb chops over a polenta that rivaled the best cheese grits the south has to offer. The dish was dotted with small round slices of an okra-like green pepper with a kick.

We added a cheese course and then had dessert, which was a sliced peach lightly cooked and soaked in something almond flavored, piled high with delicate hills of powdered sugar and whipped cream running through it.

Yum.

View from the table:

We took a walk around the grounds of the inn,

and then drove into the beach town of St. Jean de Luz.

Along the boardwalk, we found the usual beach shops selling sandals and postcards and wonderful views

And French people in bathrobes.

Behind the boardwalk, we found the marina and the old town.

It was very apparent that we were in France as the streets were lined with cafes, and the pastries looked much more delicious, including this meringue that I just couldn't pass up:

Not to mention this guy wearing a beret:

From here we drove over to the Western side of the beach to check out what appeared to be an old lookout or fort with waves crashing against the sides of the walls.

After a scenic drive back to San Se, we joined in the daily tradition of the locals, the paseo, or stroll along La Concha beach

all the way to the very end to see the Chillida sculpture, Comb of the Wind or El Peine del Viento. There was a huge crowd to watch the sculpture at high tide and sunset. As the waves crash into the shore, the water shoots through the sculpture resulting in a slow moving mist.

It's a bit hard to explain in words, so I tried to capture it on video:

By the time we made it back around the beach, the sun was starting to set.

So we decided to start our final night of pinxtos hopping in San Sebastian at La Cuchara de San Telmo, which we had heard great things about.

While Alona Berri was known for its presentation, La Cuchara was all taste. We had a glass of txaxoli, a taste of beef cheeks (similar to brisket), a creamy risotto made with squid ink, lightly fried bacalo, and a ham-wrapped scallop. Each pinxto was better than the last, and we probably could have ordered several more, but we had to re-visit our favorite, El Fuego Negro, one more time.

We repeated the mini kobe burgers, tried their cod dish, which was served over curried cauliflower puree, and had a crab with avocado mousse and liquorice ice cream--a perfect ending for our eating-fest in San Sebastian.