La Rioja: Haro

On Saturday, Jacklyn and I decided to go on a wine tour (can you believe it, dad?) with some new friends in the town of Haro, part of the La Rioja region of Spain where the country's best wine originates. Tired from the night before (yes, another night of clubbing at Fever. Not sure I'll go for round 3...), Jacklyn and I hopped on a bus to Haro and arrived with 30 minutes to get to the Bodega Bilbainas to meet up with the group and take the tour. As is customary for Jacklyn and I, we arrived at our destination without any sort of preparation: no map, no minutes left on our phones, insufficient clothing... So as you can guess, we got off the bus and were immediately lost, and to make it worse it seemed we were in a deserted town with nobody to be found on the streets or the stores to ask for directions.

Haro (pic courtesy of Ashley)

Jacklyn and I wandered the streets thinking it would be easy to find what we knew would be a cluster of different bodegas, where we would be sure to find our Bilbainas. Easier said than done. We hunted down any person we could find to ask directions, each pointing us towards the so-called "river". We couldn't find any such river, and you'd think that'd be the easy part, right? Jacklyn asked a man where the "río" was, and he said he didn't know what that was. I said it, and he said... "¡aah! rrrrío", rolling his "r"'s... yeah, that's what we said!! Then we started running, realizing we had found the hidden river and bridge we had to cross.

Crossing the bridge was easy... but then what?? The bodegas were far apart, and even though Ashley managed to call and tell me where it was we were still completely hopeless at finding any sort of Bodega Bilbainas. Then, low and behold, a Guardia Civil (one of the 3 police forces in Spain) pulls up and stops to ask us if we need help, knowing well that we were lost and American. Instead of telling us where to go (we only had 5 minutes to make it for our reservation), they offered to give us a ride. So, as you can imagine, the group of maybe 30 Spaniards waiting for us at the bodega immediately started to laugh when two American girls, in nothing but cardigans on a 40-degree day, show up late for the tour in a Guardia Civil truck. Needless to say, we sure made an entrance.

So, the tour began. And all I could think of the entire time was how damned cold I was. Our tour guide spoke very fast in Spanish, and while I tried paying attention in the beginning, that quickly went downhill. The tour began with an explanation of the wine made at this particular bodega, then we went outside (brrr!) to the barren vineyards, then to the fermentation plant, and then to the cellars.

Storage cellar.

Thus far, the tour had been freezing, and I couldn't help but think it would be so much better in the Summer months. However, as we headed into the cuevas (caves), the temperature rose, as did the creepiness. I swear Gollum lives in these caves- the smell of mildew, the dim lighting, the stone walls covered in a black, slimey mold (which Jacklyn almost pushed me into)- it was all pretty scary, but I didn't mind because I was back into good spirits with the warmth. This is about the time when Jacklyn and I couldn't stop laughing, and only made ourselves look more like goofs in front of the natives :)

¡Las cuevas!

The wine tour ended with a wine tasting in a cozy room, where the guide showed us the proper way to hold the glass and appreciate the taste of the wine. We were only offered two reds, and I didn't find the taste all too appealing. Sorry dad, I didn't get you a bottle of this stuff.

The group during the wine tasting.

We ended the day with a MOVIE NIGHT! Finally some down time. Nina, Jacklyn and I all settled down in the theater room in the dorm to watch Mamma Mía and sing Abba.

Oh, and I am currently recovering from a cold I contracted from this adventure. :/ I knew wine tours were a bad idea, see mom and dad?