Life in a Cataluñan Ski Town

So what am I doing here, you ask? Well I arrived to Taüll (a small village in Cataluña) about five days ago now right at the start of a busy busy holiday weekend here in Spain.  I took a bus up from Logroño on Tuesday and was met by Tony, the owner of the hostel/restaurant where I will be helping out for the next month. He brought me up the mountain, but it was already dark, so I couldn’t see too much of the scenery coming in. I was met in the hostel reception by two guys from South Africa as well as one girl from Australia, another from France, and was told that there were plenty more ‘workawayers’ to meet! How exciting! I started to think that this hostel and restaurant were quite the operation. Turns out that Tony has two restaurants in the town, one with an Italian menu and the other with a Mexican menu, plus the hostel.

I went to sleep the first night so excited to wake up to find out what kind of views we were going to have from this precious little ski town... When I woke up the next morning I literally let out a yelp as I opened up the front door to see the beautiful mountains covered with snow, little houses with smoking chimneys, and of course it was SNOWING! Picture perfect! I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience of this little village!

So what is my job? Well, I have the privilege of working in the Mexican food restaurant, which is so fittingly named ‘Sedona’. I love the name because it’s like I have a little bit of home with me here. Did I mention that Tony, the owner, is from Phoenix too?! Small world, right?! He also went to UofA, so it has been fun reminiscing about good old Tucson too!! I love working in ‘Sedona’ because the views are awesome and I only have about a five-minute walk down from my apartment and I even get to pass over a beautiful river every morning on my way! I learned quickly on the job how to use the espresso machine, how to make the perfect ‘café con leche’, and how to pour a Spanish style ‘caña’ from the tap. It has been so much fun to meet all of the different tourists passing through stopping in for a coffee or a bite to eat!

I am told that the slopes of Boí Taüll are just about 5km up the road. And when I say up, I mean straight up! Wow, walking the paths around here is quite a feat! I haven’t been up there yet, but I am hoping that tomorrow, my first day off, I will get up there to see what it’s all about! Tony told us that he knows the ski rental guy and so hopefully we can get some skis and head up to the slopes one day this week! Everyone here is awesome and so unique! I have been really enjoying meeting everyone and am so glad that we are all going to be here together to celebrate the holidays!!  

La vida en un pueblito de esquí

¿Qué estoy haciendo aquí, me preguntas? Hace cinco días llegué a Taüll, un pueblito de Cataluña, y voy a quedarme aquí hasta el 7 de enero. Cogí un autobús desde Logroño a Pont de Suerte donde quedé con Tony, el dueño del hostal/restaurante dónde yo estaré trabajando este mes. Cuando subimos la montaña a Taüll, ya se hubo ido el sol a las cinco, y por eso, no podía ver mucho del paisaje. Cuando llegamos a la recepción del hostal conocí a dos chicos de Sudáfrica, una chica de Australia, otra de Francia, y me dijeron que habían otros para conocer también. Empezaba a pensar que este hostal y restaurante eran empresas grandes si necesitaba a tanta gente trabajar aquí. Además del hostal, Tony tiene dos restaurantes en este pueblo, uno con un menú italiano y otro con un menú mexicano.

La primera noche, me acostaba pensando en que vistas vería cuando me levantaría la próxima mañana. Cuando me levantó, yo actualmente di un gañido cuando abrí la puerta de mi apartamento y vi las montañas cubiertas de nieve, casitas con chimeneas con humo saliendo, y desde luego, estaba NEVANDO!!! ¡Un cuadro perfecto! ¡No podría haber pedido una primera experiencia mejor que ésta en este pueblito tan precioso!

¿Qué es mi trabajo aquí? Yo tengo el privilegio de trabajar en el restaurante que sirve la comida mexicana, se llama ‘Sedona’. Me encanta el nombre porque es el nombre de una ciudad preciosa en Arizona y me siento como tengo una parte de mi hogar aquí conmigo. ¡¿He mencionado que Tony, el dueño, también es de Phoenix!? Es un mundo pequeño, ¿no? También asistió a la misma universidad que yo en Tucson, la Universidad de Arizona. Hemos pasado mucho rato rememorando muchas cosas interesantes de la vida universitaria en Tucson. Me encanta trabajar en el restaurante ‘Sedona’ porque está rodeado de vistas muy bonitas y solo tengo que caminar cinco minutos desde mi casa al restaurante. En la ruta, paso por un puente pequeño y un río muy impresionante con vistas de todo el pueblo. En el restaurante aprendí muy rápido como funciona la cafetera, para hacer un café con leche perfecto y también el grifo de cerveza, para echar una caña como les gusta los españoles, con la cantidad exacta de espuma.  Ha sido muy divertido conocer a toda la gente que pasa por nuestro restaurante para disfrutar un café o la comida deliciosa que ofrecemos.

Me dijeron, los ciudadanos de Taüll, que las pistas de esquí están solo 5km de aquí. Todavía no he estado allí, pero espero mañana, mi primer día sin trabajar, pueda ir a verlas. Tony nos dijo que conoce a la persona del pueblo que alquila los esquís y nos dará un buen precio. Quizás podemos ir de esquí algún día esta semana. Todos los trabajadores de ‘workaway’ son súper majos y muy únicos. Nos divertimos mucho hablar de nuestros viajes por todo el mundo. Estoy muy emocionada celebrar las fiestas de navidad y el año nuevo con ellos.   

Trip to the Picos de Urbión

Since I was leaving for the Pyrenees bright and early Tuesday morning, Fermín asked me if I would be up for going to the mountains on Monday to get in one more adventure before I was off!



We left at 9 am and were off the the Picos de Urbión, about an hour outside of Logroño. When we got to our hiking spot, the thermometer said it was -1 degree C (about 30 degrees F). Yikes! Fermín assured me that as we got moving and hiking we would warm up quickly...and he was right! It was a beautiful day, sun shining, the river flowing alongside of us the whole way, and I can't forget all of the wild animals. We saw cows, horses, deer, and even the herding dogs that live up in the mountains to take care of the flocks of sheep. Fermín explained on our hike in that all of the animals wearing bells, mostly cows and horses, were all owned by people that lived in the town below and they let the animals run free and graze all winter and then they come and get them to sell in the spring. How do they find their own animals after they have been wandering around the mountains for 6-8 months, you ask?! Oh easy, right?! No! Each bell has a distinct sound and the owners know exactly which one is theirs. Once they get close, they put a block of salt down to attract the animal in and capture them.


As we walked further in, the views got even more dynamic and the snow got thicker. I figured it was good practice for what I would be getting myself into in the Pyrenees. Haha! Fermín had told me the day prior that we may run into a man named Sergio on the path. He explained that this man from Madrid, after volunteering and helping with an oil spill in Galicia, could not bear to go back to city life and decided to make a life for himself out in the middle of the Picos de Urbión, which Sergio now calls his 'Urbión Paradise'. Well, we came upon Sergio's house, an old dilapidated shepherd's refuge, and what an experience he was!


He greeted us with open arms and within the first minute was urging us to prepare for the end of the world as we know it. He believes it will be sometime within the next month, in accordance with the Mayan calendar. He invited us into his home to show us his 'decorating'. He has no heat, no water, he bathes in the freezing cold river, and lives off of what people bring him as they stop in when hiking. As we were leaving, he graciously gave us each a piece of quartz that he had found on a hike and told us that it will bring positive energy to our lives. He, on the other hand, has a 'magic circle' that he has created with his quartz dedicated to send his positive energy to Palestine. Good luck with that, Sergio! I can safely say, it is a life I would never want to live, but if he is happy, more power to him! An interesting little intermission on our hike, I suppose! Haha!


We headed out, seeing some more amazing views and luckily right as we had made it to the 'lookout', the clouds had lifted and we were able to see the tip tops of the peaks! Absolutely beautiful! This trip was a nice breath of fresh air!! Thank you Fermín for another wonderful adventure!!




The Spanish version to come...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Viniegra de abajo, Rioja, España

"La Becada" Gastronomic Society

As we walked down a small side street on our regular Wednesday morning walk around the old town center, I wondered what we would talk about today and what I would see and learn. Fermín said 'Oh, let's stop in here for a minute' as he ducked into a small open door with the plaque displaying the name 'The Becada' on the outside wall. As I followed him in, I saw many people inside hustling around and I wondered what in the world this place was?! Fermín explained that this was a Gastronomic Society, and still quite confused at what that meant, followed him into the first room. Fermín introduced himself to what I thought was the staff of maybe something like a fancy restaurant as they quickly set tables with white tablecloths. I was still completely confused at what this place was and what we were doing there. Fermín explained to a couple of people that he had a good friend that belonged to the society and asked if he was there. They informed us that his friend was not there at the moment, but a 78 year old man stepped forward and said 'Well, I'm not busy. I can show you around if you'd like!' I, of course, was very eager to figure out what this place was all about and excited that this nice old man was going to take the time to show us around. As he a started to explain the history of The Becada, it became very clear what this place was...well sort of.



A gastronomic society is a place that a group of people belong, the Becada has 80 members, where they go to cook, enjoy food, and spend time with friends. Our guide explained to us that the Becada was started in 1941 and at that time women were not allowed. Kind of ironic that women wouldn't be allowed in a place where cooking was the main activity, I thought! As we toured, our guide showed us the pantry where the foods are kept and showed us how the system of selecting and paying for items worked. Still confused?! Yeah I was a bit too...







Ok so here an is example, as I lived it. As we entered into the fourth kitchen on the 3rd floor, there was a man there preparing a meal to die for, the mouthwatering aromas alone were amazing! He was cooking up a very typical Riojan dish, Caparrones (pinto bean and chorizo stew of some sort), and for the second course, baked lamb. Yuumm! He had just finished cooking up some green peppers and was eager to know who we were. As Fermín explained that I was from the States and he was showing me around Logroño, the man immediately asked if I would like to try a pepper. Never wanting to miss an experience, I accepted, and he began, then and there, pealing a pepper just for me. As he did this, our guide grabbed a fresh baguette and ripped off a hunk for me to pair with my pepper. As I ate, he asked me if it was spicy and when I responded 'yes', which by the way was quite surprising because there really aren't a lot of spicy things I have found so far in Spain, he proceeded to pop open a new bottle of Riojan wine to ease the burn. What fantastic hospitality!!






As I finished up my pepper the man explained that he was a retired chef and every Wednesday he prepares a meal for himself and 20 of his closest friends here at The Becada. Here's how it works. If you're a member, your can reserve one of the four kitchens, any day of the week and at any time of the day. You come and prepare your meal for your friends, your invites don't have to be members, and you decide what meal you will have, what wine you will drink, and what sides, spices, and extras you might need. You go to the pantry and pick out everything you need and get to cooking. You then mark everything down, all the food and drink that you and your friends have consumed, the computer adds it up and you pay your bill. No waitresses, no staff, and no shopping, just you and your friends. Our guide told us that just the night before one of the younger members had been there until 2am watching a big soccer match with his friends over a lovely meal that they had prepared all together. Interesting, huh?!



I think this was a bit hard for me to understand in the beginning because I have never seen anything like this. It was a whole new idea, but I love it! (minus the whole no women thing) haha! What a good idea, especially here, where it is nearly impossible to fit 20 people in your house. Instead, invite them here, use a state-of-the-art kitchen, and leave the mess behind! I'm thinking I need to get one of these started in the States, yes?!




The Spanish version to come...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Casco Antiguo, Logroño, España

A privileged visit in the “soon to be” Cultural Center of the Rioja

Thank you to Fermín, one of my amazing intercambios, and all of his wonderful connections in Logroño, we were able to take a private tour of a palace in the center of town that was recently renovated with the idea of turning it into the ‘Cultural Center of the Rioja’ (CCR) with a very urban feel. As most of you know, if you have ever looked at where the wine you drink is made, Rioja is a very well known region for wine making and a definite part of the culture here. For this, the architect, Jesús Merino Pascual, designed the outside of the building to look like a ‘botellero’, the place in the winery where the already bottled wine is positioned horizontally, one bottle staked on top of the other, to finish the fermentation process. Can you see the resemblance?

As we walked into the building, the changes that have been made were overwhelming. The whole inside has been transformed into a modern urban site, while still respecting the heritage of the building. Our guide pointed out many of the original pieces of the building that the architect kept and restored to integrate the past with the present; the original entrance with the crest of the family that owned the palace, the original ceilings complete with wooden vegas, and even one of the storage nooks at the entrance where they would first store the grapes when they were brought in from the fields.

As we toured the whole building, I could really see the potential that this building has. Everything was very well thought out. There are smaller rooms where art exhibitions could be held, bigger rooms where classes could be held about the history of the wine here in the Rioja, and even a large event space in the middle that would be great for a big gathering to feature a new artist or recently released wine. But my favorite part was in the basement, once the storage room for the wine as it fermented so many years ago, was transformed into little wine tasting rooms. The picture helps to explain how it is set up. Each ‘student’ or taster is given their own sink and light, the light to check the color and consistency of the wine, and the sink to dispose of any extra wine and to clean their glass in between tastings. Supposedly, the true wine taster, just has a taste and gives their remarks, but anyone I know, wouldn’t be pouring any down the drain! Haha!         

Sadly, after spending three million euros in renovations on this magnificent building, because of the crisis here in Spain, the building, as beautiful as it has been transformed, is standing empty waiting for the next step, actually opening its doors to the public. But for this, sponsors must be found.

After our tour, Fermín treated our lovely tour guide to a coffee in a small jazz café to show our thanks and appreciation for giving his time to show us all around and teach us the history as well as the plans for the future of this awesome building. Hopefully when I come back to visit in a few years, I will be able to enter and see the Riojan art, culture, and wine featured here, just as the architect had once imagined! 

Gracias a Fermín, uno de mis intercambios fabulosos, y sus buenas conexiones con la gente de Logroño, nosotros tuvimos el privilegio de visitar un palacio en el centro de la ciudad que recientemente fue reformado con la idea de transformarlo al nuevo Centro Cultural del Rioja (CCR) con un diseño muy urbano. Como muchos de vosotros sabéis, si notáis de dónde viene el vino que bebéis, Rioja es una región muy conocida por su vino y es una gran parte de su cultura. Por eso, el arquitecto, Jesús Merino Pascual, diseñó las paredes del exterior para que parezca un ‘botellero’, el lugar en la bodega donde almacena el vino que ya está embotellado. ¿Qué piensas tú? ¿Están parecidos?  

Cuando entramos el edificio, las reformas que han hecho me agobian un poco. Todo dentro había sido transformado a un sitio totalmente moderno, pero al mismo tiempo el arquitecto preservó alguna de la historia también. Nuestro guía nos enseñó muchas de las partes originales del edificio que el arquitecto decidió restaurar para combinar el pasado con el presente. Por ejemplo, las portadas originales todavía están con el escudo de armas de la familia que tenía el palacio antes, también algunos de los techos son los originales con rayas de vigas de madera.

Siguiendo nuestro tour, podía ver todo el potencial que tenga este edificio. Es obvio que el arquitecto pensó bien en cada cosa que construyó. Hay algunas salas mas pequeñas donde podría haber exhibiciones de arte, salones más grandes donde podría tener clases que enseñara la historia del vino de Rioja, y también un patio muy grande con mucho espacio donde podría invitar a mucha gente para presentar a un artista nuevo o un vino riojano recientemente premiado.

Desafortunadamente, después de gastar tres millones de euros para hacer las reformas en este edificio magnífico, debido a la crisis aquí en España, el edificio, tan bello como es, está vacío esperando el próximo paso.

Después de nuestro tour privado, Fermín invitó a nuestro guía a un café para decirle gracias por mostrarnos todo el edificio y enseñarnos toda la historia y los planes que tiene para el futuro. Espero en algunos años cuando visite Logroño otra vez, yo pueda entrar en este edificio y ver toda la cultura y arte riojana representada, precisamente como el arquitecto había imaginado.    

Touring the Wineries of Laguardia

Last Saturday Cristina and I went to visit one of her friends who has a super cute B&B in Laguardia, a town know for its “RIOJA” wineries, and only about 15 minutes outside of Logroño.  It was the perfect time of year to visit the village because it is surrounded by the vineyards of the bordering wineries.  Right now all of the leaves on the vines are changing to beautiful shades of red, yellow, and orange. Absolutely beautiful!

Laguardia is a picturesque walled village that doesn’t permit cars inside of the walled limits. It makes it a perfect place to walk around, enjoy the quiet cobblestone streets, hop into a bar for a tapa and a glass of the finest Rioja vino, and of course, take the tour of your choice of one of the many wineries located here!

 

First, we took a sneak peak at Zorione’s (Cristina’s friend) awesome B&B, she is an amazing decorator, and she let us into one of the rooms where the guests had already checked out! So cute! Then over a café con leche, we discussed our plans for the afternoon and she arranged for us to visit one of the wineries in the village. We were even lucky enough to be accompanied by some of her friends that were visiting from Bilbao. Before our tour started, we had some time, so we stopped into a bar nearby for a quick tapa and a wonderful glass of wine, my favorite so far, I think. Delicious! I definitely noted that wine for a future purchase!

When it was time for our tour, we moseyed over the Bodega Carlos San Pedro, surprisingly right in the middle of the village. I asked myself, how could it be possible that there would be space to make wine right here in the middle of the town? But Pedro, our guide and the owner, quickly explained to us that the entire village of Laguardia is filled with caves below the houses and that is where everyone keeps there wine while it goes through the fermentation process. Aha! We then climbed down the stairs right beneath us, into the dark, humid cave where the wine was ‘emerging’ to perfection. We learned that these caves are the perfect place for the wine to ferment because it stays the same temperature all year around and the humidity level is just right as well, thanks to the ‘penicillin’ (aka: mold) growing on the walls!

 

Pedro directed us through the cave showing us the process that the wine goes through as well as showing us how they used to have to do everything by hand in the past. What a job! He then arrived at a huge barrel of wine, where he first let me climb up the ladder and see and smell for myself the amazing aroma of the wine as it ferments. Then he climbed the ladder and extracted, with some kind of tool, wine straight from the barrel for us to try. He warned us that it was not at its prime yet, because all good wines finish the fermentation process in the bottle, but he wanted us to experience the wine right as it came out of the barrel. So cool! I thought the wine was great, it had a stronger flavor, but still it was very good. Quite an interesting experience! Thanks Cristina for again showing me another great treasure in the Rioja!

El sábado pasado, Cristina y yo fuimos a visitar a una de sus amigas que tiene una casa rural en Laguardia llamada Legado de Ugarte. Laguardia un pueblo muy conocido por sus bodegas de vino de Rioja y está ubicado a solo 15 minutos de Logroño. Otoño es la estación perfecta para visitar el pueblo porque sus viñedos cambian sus tonos de color verde a amarillo, después a rojizo pasando a anaranjado y terminando en marrón. ¡Unas vistas absolutamente increíbles!

Laguardia es un pueblo pintoresco que está rodeado de murallas muy antiguas. Han preservado las murallas  como prueba del paso del tiempo en la zona y el interior del pueblo está protegido de la entrada de vehículos a motor. Por eso, Laguardia es un lugar perfecto para dar un paseo por las calles de adoquines, tapear en un bar con un vino muy bueno de Rioja, y desde luego, hacer un tour por alguna de las  tantas bodegas más ubicadas allí.

Primero fuimos a la casa de Zorione (la amiga de Cristina), dónde nos enseñó su casa rural decorada con mucho detalle. Ella diseñó todas las habitaciones y también un comedor donde sirve a los clientes el desayuno. Tuvimos el placer de ver una de las preciosas habitaciones donde ya se habían ido los huéspedes. ¡Que maravilla! Después,  mientras tomábamos un café con leche, hecho por Zorione, ella nos organizó una cita para un tour a una de las bodegas más famosas con algunos de sus amigos que habían venido a visitarle desde Bilbao.  Antes de visitar la bodega,  fuimos a un bar donde nos tomamos una tapa y un vino buenísimo, de la marca Araco. Creo que es mi favorito de los que he tomado aquí en La Rioja. ¡Yo, definitivamente, apunté el nombre del vino en mi cuaderno para acordarme en el futuro!

 

Cuando llegó la hora de nuestro tour, fuimos a la bodega “Carlos San Pedro”, y me sorprendió que estaba en el centro del pueblo. Me pregunté, ¿Cómo puede haber una bodega en el centro? ¿Dónde habría espacio para guardar el vino y las uvas? Pero de repente Pedro, nuestro guía y el dueño de la bodega, contestó mi pregunta. Estando en la planta baja, donde se venden las botellas de vino, nos explicó que debajo de cada casa en Laguardia hay un espacio vacío, es decir, una cueva donde se almacena el vino mientras madura y fermenta. Después bajamos unas escaleras y llegamos a la bodega (la cueva) justo debajo de donde estuvimos antes. La cueva es un lugar muy oscuro y húmedo donde el vino se guarda en un depósito hasta que llega el momento del embotellado para así almacenar las botellas en las cavidades de la propia bodega. Aprendimos que estas cuevas son el lugar ideal para guardar el vino durante el proceso de fermentación porque la temperatura allí es la misma todo el año y el grado de humidad es perfecto, gracias a la ‘penicilina’ (también conocida como moho) que crece en las paredes con el paso del tiempo.

Pedro nos enseñó toda la cueva y también el proceso de elaborar el vino. También nos habló de cómo se hacía antiguamente, todo a mano. ¡ Un trabajo durísimo! Después llegamos al depósito, muy grande, donde se meten el vino para fermentarlo. Me dejó subir una escalera para ver y oler como era el vino que ya se estaba fermentando. Luego, él también subió y sacó, con una pipeta y decantador, vino para darnos a probar. Nos avisó que el vino del depósito, todavía no estaba en su punto óptimo para beber. Cuando lo probé, el sabor era un poco fuerte, pero aun así me gustó. Fue una experiencia muy interesante y aprendí mucho de cómo hacer el vino. Gracias Cristina por mostrarme, otra vez, un gran tesoro en La Rioja.