Sunday, October 11, 2009

Aranda de Duero










Aranda de Duero is a small town in the province of Burgos. It has a population of about 32,000 people. The town is unique for having wine cellars that interconnect below the streets of the town cetnre. It is the capital of the Ribera del Duero wine region. Antonio took us out to dinner one night and to show us around. He used to visit it often when he was younger and was thrilled to act as our tour guide. It was a cool night and we quickly found a bar to get a copa and check out the cellars. After descending a cool damp twisty staircase for what felt like a long, long time it finally opened up to a plethora of rooms, all connected by small hallways. The roofs were arched and the walls were wet. The smell was musty and damp. We wandered around for half an hour discovering things and checking out wine storage areas.





Saturday, October 10, 2009

Hinojar del Rey





Hinojar del Rey is the village that Antonios grandparents lived in and where he spent the early years of his life living with them helping them. We went to see his Aunt and cousins and they showed us around. Its tiny and a lot of the houses are run down and unliveable. The cute thing of the village is that it is built up on a hill and all around the base of the town, and under the church are private cellars. Built into the side of the hill, the cellars and co-owned by the people in the town. They still produce and store wine in them. We got special access to one which wasnt in use for fermentation, only storage.




Burgo de Osma

Maria with a very large bell!
The cathedral which was founded in 1232.

Inscription in the walls of the cathedral.

The town square.



Shopping for dried mushrooms....yummy!





Friday, October 9, 2009

Thursday, October 8, 2009