Travel

It's our last full day in the Rioja region and we made some schedule adjustments to get everything in. Today we toured the Muga Winery in Haro with the Spanish language group, even though our Spanish is fairly limited. Our guide, Carmen, led the 28 of us through their facility explaining everything as she went. Having been on dozens of winery tours in English, we were never completely lost, but there are a few details that we probably missed. Okay, there are things we totally missed and others that we made up from what we thought we heard.

Our next stop on this tour-preview trip is the Rioja wine region. Most people think of Rioja when they think of Spanish wine and we're going to check it out. But first we had to visit Bilbao, capital of the Basque region and home to the architectural masterpiece that is the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum building designed by Frank Gehry.

With heavy hearts we packed up and left the Hotel Rector. The beauty of the property is matched by the thoughtfulness of the staff. Last night, when Silvia, who works at the front desk, learned that Karla is a sommelier, she asked her advice on a bottle of wine. We had a great conversation about the hotel and her career and Good News Girlz. There's a warmth to the professionalism that few hotels achieve.

This morning we drove northwest out of Madrid and straight into what looked like West Texas. The sky was big and blue, the grass brown, the land flat, and there was a whole lot of nothing between small towns. Ávila, pronounced ah VEE la, is an hour and a half drive from the city and worth checking out. The old walls have been restored and for 5 Euros you can spend hours wandering around above the city, watching people, looking at the scenery, and listening to the audio tape that comes with your entrance fee.

Our last day in France and the weather is perfect. Prepared to enjoy every minute, we started early with a walk through town and a visit to the Friday morning market. The merchants were helpful and patient with our French.

Nicolas arranged a wine tasting for us at Château de Santenay, castle of Philippe le Hardi or Philip the Bold, son of Jean le Bon or John the Good.

Wednesday is mini-market day in Beaune, and we drove over from Meursault for our cooking class with Marjorie Taylor. We met at the Hess cheese shop to begin our day. Marjorie, a former pastry chef and restaurant entrepreneur, followed her daughter Kendall to France. Kendall, studied French, Art History and viticulture and has lived in France for over 10 years. When Marjorie came over in 2008, they created The Cook's Atelier to share their love of food and wine and all things French.

Today, we woke to clouds and drizzle.  We weren't concerned because it was a travel day with no outside activities scheduled.  Our first indoor activity was breakfast. Everything was delicious - especially the panne cotta. We would have stayed longer at Les Crayeres, but we had places to go and wines to taste.

Clouds loomed as we headed across the river to the right bank, or east, of the Gironde River to visit the Saint-Emilion region of Bordeaux. We met our tour guide Bruno for a tour of small vineyards and medium-scale production wineries. The terroir in the Saint-Emilion area varies slightly based on the elevation of the property along the plateau - the land higher up the edge and on the plateau has the best limestone and clay soil for growing grapes.

Our first full day in Bordeaux was great. Bruno Delmas, wine expert and tour guide, met us at our house and we drove out to the Médoc wine region on the left bank of the Girond River. After years of an informal ranking, in1855 Napoleon III rated all wines in the region.