We all know the wines from la Rioja.
This area has over 500 wineries and is internationally famous for the quality
of its wines. It is also a great place to spend a relaxed weekend from
Barcelona. You have lots of small and cute towns in the area.You could stay in El Ciego in the beautiful Marques De Riscal Hotel for a special occasion, in a cozy "Casa Rural"-rustic house- in Laguardia, in Haro or in Ezcarray. If you prefer a bigger city Logroño is the place for you.
We went to Haro, a small municipality
in the northwest of La Rioja. It is known for its fine red wine and every year- on June,29th-
they have the Haro Wine Festival where locals hold a wine battle.
The hotel Los Agustinos is an old
convent converted into this hotel. The rooms have kept their essence and
their covered courtyard is very cool. It is a nice place to stay while visiting
the area.You can visit many vineyards in Haro and in the nearby villages, which are not more that 30 minutes away by car.
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| Patio of Los Agustinos |
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| From Convent to Military Hospital to a jail to this hotel. |
They have a nice restaurant Las Duelas, in the hotel and Haro has some cute little
restaurants too. It is a nice and relaxed way to take a break from the hectic
life of a big city.
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| Tomato Bread in Las Duelas |
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| Burrata with Artichokes at Las Duelas |
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| Muerte por chocolate at Las Duelas |
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| Bar Jarrera |
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| One of the best mushrooms at Jarrera, Haro and great grilled goat cheese. |
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| Bravas and Asparagus wiht 2 sauces at Jarrera |
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| Muga vineyard in Haro |
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| Chilling in Haro |
You can visit LaGuardia or even stay in
a casa rural there. It is a beautiful medieval village, which hasn't changed
since the 13th century.
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| Peace to those who are coming, Health thos those who are staying and Happiness to those who are leaving; @Laguardia. |
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| Picturesque Laguardia |
We had also been to Ezcarray some years
back. It was such a pretty village and had beautiful walking paths. It is 13km
away from Valdezcarya where you have ski slopes. We had dinner one night at
Echaurren, the 1st restaurant in the region to be awarded a Michelin star. The
chef is also the food consultant at the Marques de Riscal restaurant in El
Ciego. We will talk about Marques de Riscal and another great vineyard Ysios in
my next post.
You also have Logroño -the capital of
La Rioja Province- with its small little lanes and the famous calle Laurel.
Logroño is filled with little bars , lined one after the other on the street, and each of them have their specialty. It is a great place to go and you can find good tapas for everyone, even for us vegetarians.
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| Specializes in mushrooms |
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| Setas |
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| Eggs | | | | | | |
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