 Barcelona,
Basque Country & Rioja
Dates: 20-31 may 2009
May 31 – June 4, Optional Extension for Rioja Alta
Wine Experience
(Please note: This itinerary will
be priced so that you can elect to take the entire itinerary
or Barcelona/San Sebastián/Bilbao, or San Sebastián/Bilbao/Rioja).
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| Itinerary Highlights: |
Day 1
Board transatlantic flight to Spain.
Days
2
Barcelona
Arrive in Barcelona. The bus and guide will be waiting
for you at the airport to transport you to your hotel
in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, where we will spend
four nights. This is the center of what was once a medieval
city and is a perfect reward after many hours of travel.
After time for a little relaxation and a light lunch on
your own, we will enjoy a walk down the famous pedestrian
street called La Rambla before dinner at Fonda España.
(Dinner) Overnight Barcelona.
Days 3
Barcelona
After breakfast we will have an overview of Barcelona
beginning with a visit to the Picasso Museum in the heart
of the Gothic Quarter. The museum houses the best works
of Picasso’s youth and his famous interpretation
of the Velazquez series of Las Meninas.
We will have lunch in La Venta, a restaurant high on a
hill with wonderful views of the city below. Our next
stop is Gaudí’s Park Güell, a fanciful
housing community that didn’t catch on in its day
because of its distance from the city center. Today it
is swallowed up by the city and makes a lovely park. Dinner
on your own.
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch) Overnight Barcelona.
• (We are
allowing several dinners optional in Barcelona, San Sebastián
and Bilbao as there are many very special restaurants
you may want to select. We will be happy to make reservations
for you. Also we can provide you with a list of unique
and special places to choose from).
Days 4
Barcelona –
Sitges – Barcelona
This morning we’ll visit the Miró Foundation
on Montjüic. Miró’s friend, architect
Josep Sert, designed the stark white building to house
this collection of graphics, paintings, sculptures, and
tapestries. Lunch on your own.
You’ll have some free time today before our late-afternoon
visit to the seaside village of Sitges where we’ll
visit the Maricel Palace Museum and enjoy a glass of the
local Cava (champagne) before a memorable dinner at Al
Fresco, one of our favorite restaurants.
(Breakfast at hotel, Dinner) Overnight Barcelona
Days 5
Barcelona –
Púbol – Figueres – Barcelona
Our day will be spent exploring the fantasy and absurdity
of Salvador Dalí and his wife Gala. We’ll
start with the medieval castle that Dalí bought
for Gala in the 1970s near the tiny village of Púbol.
The castle contains their unusual furnishings and some
of his paintings. We’ll have lunch in Mas Pau, a
more conventional but ancient house in the nearby countryside,
surrounded by gardens, decorated with antiques, and known
for fine regional cuisine.
Our afternoon is spent in the Dalí Theatre-Museum
in Figueres, home to his most bizarre works and his last
remains. This building defies description inside and out.
Enjoy! Return to Barcelona. Dinner on your own.
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch) Overnight Barcelona
Days 6
Barcelona –
San Sebastián
In the morning we’ll visit more of Gaudí’s
famous architecture including his most ambitious and final
endeavor, the yet unfinished Sagrada Familia. We’ll
have one last Catalan lunch at Brasserie Flo before we
enjoy the Palau de la Música. The music palace
is a celebration of modernist tile work, sculpture, and
stained glass designed by Lluís Domenech i Montaner.
A short flight will take us to San Sebastián, a
lovely city on the Cantabrian Sea in the Basque Country.
Dinner on your own.
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch) Overnight San Sebastián.
Days 7
San
Sebastián – Fuenterrabía – San
Sebastián
San Sebastian, the “jewel of Euskadi” is a
graceful, dynamic city embraced by hills
and an incomparable shell-shaped bay that opens out to
sea. The Old City or “Parte Vieja” will be
the focus of our morning walk. This small area features
pedestrian only streets, sidewalk cafes and family owned
shops.
We’ll board the bus mid-day for a short drive to
the sea faring town of Fuenterrabía and it’s
well preserved walls. After our lunch at Beko-Errota we’ll
visit the town and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
on the scenic slopes of Mt. Jaizkibel before returning
to San Sebastián. Dinner on your own.
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch) Overnight San Sebastián.
Day 8
San Sebastián
Chillida Leku, home to the works of the internationally
famous sculptor Eduardo Chillida is our morning destination.
The collection is housed in a beautifully restored sixteenth-century
farmhouse and on the extensive surrounding land.
Lunch on your own.
Even though this is officially a free afternoon in San
Sebastián, we have some exciting options for you
–perhaps a walk to Chillida’s Comb of the
Winds sculpture or the highly acclaimed aquarium.
A private Basque gastronomic society will prepare our
dinner, and a Basque choir will entertain us with songs
for each course of the meal.
(Breakfast at hotel, Dinner) Overnight San Sebastián.
Day 9
San Sebastián
– Gernika – Bilbao
Today we depart San Sebastián and drive west to
Gernika. This once-devastated village is famed for its
“Tree of Gernika,” the symbol of Basque heritage,
law, and freedom that inspired the haunting Picasso masterpiece
of the same name. We’ll visit sculptural monuments
by Henry Moore and Eduardo Chillida and enjoy the natural
beauty of the Urdaibai Nature Reserve.
We’ll have lunch in a caserio (Basque farmhouse)
called Lezika before making our way to Bilbao where we’ll
have an orientation walk in the modern part of this exciting
city. Dinner on your own.
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch) Overnight Bilbao.
Day 10
Bilbao
metropolitan area, Bilbao is the dynamic engine that has
fueled Basque prosperity for the last century. In the
new century, it has achieved an unsurpassed reputation
for art and architecture, rebirth and renewal. Our morning
walking tour showcases the new alongside the old in bold
relief.
After lunch at Baita Gaminiz, we visit the museum that
astounded the art world when it opened in 1997. The Guggenheim’s
expressive architecture, clothed in titanium that reflects
different hues as the light changes, mesmerizes visitors
at every turn. On one side, there’s a water sculpture;
the other features the ever-entertaining Puppy, a two-story
guard dog made of living flowers. The museum interior
is surprisingly intimate; we’ll have our own museum
guide to show us the highlights. Those who wish can take
a walk across the Calatrava Glass Bridge and ride the
funicular up the mountain for panoramic views.
9:00 p.m. Tonight’s banquet is at Kate Zarra, one
of Bilbao’s finest restaurants.
(Note:
This is our official farewell dinner even though our tour
is not complete. Our last day is full and our departure
morning will come very early. The last night is yours
to pack and pick up last minute gifts).
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch, Dinner) Overnight Bilbao.
Day 11
Bilbao
10:00 a.m. departure. We devote our morning to the classical,
contemporary, and Basque collections in the Bilbao Museum
of Fine Arts, one of the best galleries in Spain.
The afternoon is at your leisure. We suggest lunch on
your own in a neighborhood restaurant, such as Victor
Montes under the arcades of the Plaza Nueva. A few ideas
for your afternoon include the Basque Archaeological,
Ethnographical, and Historical Museum of Bilbao, where
you can see artifacts of the traditional trades and crafts
of this unique culture.
To whet your appetite, you could stop at the Riverside
Market – a ship-shaped historic building with stained
glass windows and bountiful stalls where hordes of shoppers
select from dozens of varieties of fresh fish, meat, fruit,
vegetables, flowers, olives and nuts. Dinner on your own.
(Breakfast at hotel) Overnight Bilbao.
Day
12
Flight home for those returning
to the USA
6:30 a.m. departure. We are up very early this morning,
since our plans are now dictated by airline schedules.
It’s time to say farewell!
(Breakfast at hotel)
End
of basic itinerary
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| Rioja Alta Wine Country Experience
-- Optional add on: |
Day 12
Bilbao—Haro for those extending for
the Rioja Alta wine country
Early morning at leisure.
11:00 a.m. Departure to Haro, the capital of Rioja Alta
wines. The town is built around an arcaded square and
has a collection of attractive noble houses dating from
the 16th-century. Arrival into Haro around 12:30 p.m.
and check into Hotel Los Agustinos.
At 1:30 p.m. we will depart for lunch at Dinastia Vivanco.
After lunch we spend the afternoon learning about the
wine making industry at the Rioja Wine Museum. You’ll
understand how soils, climates, and vineyards come together
to produce such a memorable taste – through both
ancient and high-tech processes.
We return to our hotel around 5:30 p.m. This evening we
welcome you to Rioja Alta with a sumptuous dinner at the
fine restaurant in the 4-star Hotel Los Agustinos.
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch, Dinner) Overnight in Haro.
Day 13
Haro – Samaniego – Laguardia –
Haro
10:00 a.m. We depart for a visit to the private bodega
of Ramirez de Ganuza located in a splendid stone mansion
on the edge of the tiny village of Samaniego. Careful
hand-selection of grapes is one of the hallmarks of the
bodega’s complex and elegant wines. We will continue
to Villa Lucia for a culinary activity and lunch.
In the afternoon, we'll transfer to the medieval city
of Laguardia to explore the narrow cobbled streets within
the city walls. Motor vehicles are not permitted because
the ground below is tunneled with over 250 wine cellars.
Besides serving as Rioja Alavesa’s key wine town,
Laguardia is also home to a spectacularly painted 14th-century
portal at the Gothic Santa Maria de los Reyes. We have
scheduled a visit to a private home of an American lady
married to a gentleman from Rioja. They are happy to share
a visit for their exquisite art collection.
We return to our hotel in Haro where you will have dinner
on your own.
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch) Overnight Haro.
Day 14
Haro – Elciego – Haro
This morning we will have time in Haro for a walk before
a visit to one of the famous wine bodegas. The bodega
of Lopez de Heredia keeps the ancient traditions of wine
making alive. We'll tour the facility and cellar before
tasting their wonderful product. Lunch will be at Vieja
Bodega, serving local specialties often grilled over the
wood trimmed from the vines.
Balance of the afternoon is at leisure before we travel
to the tiny village of Elciego and a visit to the cellars
of Marques de Riscal. Afterwards we will have dinner in
the elegant, Marques de Riscal Restaurant in the now famous
hotel designed by Frank Gehry.
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch, Dinner) Overnight Haro.
Day 15
Haro – Vitoria – Bilbao
Before we leave the area we will visit another architectural
jewel, the winery of Bodega Baigorri where we will see
the stark rooms and have a chance to taste these special
wines of the tiny region. We continue on toward Bilbao
but first take a stop in Vitoria (Gasteiz/Vitoria) where
we visit the old historical section and the Cathedral
before we have lunch at a specialty of the region, a Cider
House.
We arrive back to Bilbao where you have the balance of
the day free and dinner on your own. Anyone up for a stroll
of the local tapas bars?
(Breakfast at hotel, Lunch) Overnight Bilbao.
Day 16
Bilbao to Home (USA)
6:30 a.m. departure. We are up very early this morning,
since our plans are now dictated by airline schedules.
It’s time to say farewell!
(Breakfast at hotel)
End of Itinerary. |
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| Tour Dates: |
20-31 may 2009
May 31 – June 4 (Optional extension for
Rioja Alta wine experience)
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| Prices: |
Price: (A) Barcelona, San Sebastián,
Bilbao - 10 nights 4,010 € euro per person
based on two sharing. May 21 – 31, 2009.
Price: (B) San Sebastián,
Bilbao, Rioja – 10 nights, 3284 € euro
per person based on two sharing. May 25 –
June 4, 2009.
Price: (C) Barcelona, San Sebastián,
Bilbao, Rioja – 14 nights 5,382 € euro
per person based on two sharing. May 21 –
June 4, 2009
Single Supplement is available upon request. Single
rooms are very limited.
Deposit: To secure your reservations
for the full itinerary or either option, the
deposit
amount is 345 € euro per person. Deposit
amount can be paid by either Visa or MasterCard.
Balance for the tour is due no later than April
1, 2009. Final payment is requested to be made by
wire, please. |
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